Mr. Antonio Guterres
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
94, rue de Montbrillant
1203 Geneva
25 April 2010
Dear Mr. High Commissioner,
Because of my long service with UNHCR, many of my Iranian compatriots have urged me to write to you about the plight of the Iranian asylum seekers in the countries neighboring Iran and the prospect of a new massive exodus which could well dwarf the crisis of 1980s.
The Iranian Diaspora has great respect for UNHCR’s humanitarian work and is thankful to your Office for protecting the refugees who have left Iran since 1979. UNHCR’s active leadership of the international community in finding permanent solutions for hundreds of thousands of Iranian refugees over the last 30 years has not only helped to maintain the dignity of the Iranian people but has also contributed to the flourishing of Iranian culture abroad.
Unfortunately, as a result of the recent events in Iran, the waves of arrest, arbitrary imprisonment, torture, rape and execution of political prisoners have led to a sharp increase in the number of Iranian asylum seekers in the neighboring countries, particularly in Turkey, Pakistan and Iraq. Today, the simple act of participation in a peaceful demonstration in Iran is a political crime for which the minimum punishment is arrest, severe beating and torture under interrogation. This, since June 2009, has caused the ever increasing presence of asylum seekers in the countries of asylum. I am certain UNHCR representatives have kept you informed of this phenomenon as well as of their deteriorating condition in the first asylum countries.
Recently, at the initiative of an American NGO, OMID, a group of 14 humanitarian workers, including a doctor, a dentist, a nurse, a traumatologist and 4 lawyers accompanied by a member of the European Parliament went to Turkey for 2 weeks to review the deteriorating situation of the Iranian asylum seekers in that country. The group is in the process of preparing its final report which, I am sure, will be provided to UNHCR when completed. The preliminary assessments shared by some members of the mission, while pointing to the unsatisfactory physical and psychological condition of the UNHCR caseload, indicates the presence of “thousands” of unregistered Iranian asylum seekers whose plight has not come to the attention of UNHCR. Similar information has been coming out of Iraq and Pakistan in recent months. You may wish to know that Voice of America (Persian) has started a series on Iranian refugees using extensively the input of this fact finding mission.
Another disturbing development is the growing pool of Iranian asylum seekers in Europe whose cases have been in limbo for years without any perceptible action or concern by the relevant authorities. During the recent demonstration for human rights in Iran at the Place des Nations in Geneva (15 to 17 February 2010) I met at least a dozen Iranian refugees who had been “temporarily” admitted to Switzerland and had been waiting for a decision on their status for unreasonably extended periods. I am told that there are thousands of such cases all over Europe and that Switzerland is not an exception.
Last January I was taken to the Geneva Airport detention center to visit an Iranian family (M) who had been detained there for over forty days and was about to be sent back to Iran. After contacting UNHCR about the case, I realized that UNHCR has no role in any advocacy activity and that the task of protecting the asylum seekers is performed by local NGOs who, despite limited resources at their disposal, perform an extraordinary service on behalf of the international community. The advice provided by your staff helped to prevent the refoulement of family M and I wish to express my appreciation for their attention and assistance.
What is particularly disturbing to me is the apparent lack of availability of up-to-date information about the country of origin on the basis of which the decisions on eligibility are supposed to be made by the authorities. Without going into the details of the case, I am disappointed to note that family M is to be returned because the decision on their eligibility is based on stale information currently available to the Federal Migration Office. The official decision states:
‘’Les activités de M, comme la distribution de tract et d’affiches, et sa participation á quelque manifestations, ne sont pas propres á fonder l’existence d’une mise en danger concrète en cas de retour en Iran…….. En résume, il faut conclure que M ne présente pas un profil politique l’exposant, lui et sa famille, á une mise en danger concret en cas de retour en Iran. Ni la situation politique régnant actuellement dans le pays d’origine des requérants ni aucune autre motif ne s’oppose au rapatriement, lequel est raisonnablement exigible» [Emphasis added].
This effectively says that M, having no political background, will be in no serious danger on his return to Iran despite his active participation in peaceful demonstrations and the actual political situation in Iran reasonably permits his return. Unfortunately the hoards of political prisoners and maimed victims of torture and maltreatment ‘’produced’’ in Iran since June 2009 clearly contradict the above conclusions.
Mr. High Commissioner, I hope you would agree with me that the authorities responsible for status determination of asylum seekers are in need of refresher courses by UNHCR if their level of current country information is similar to that of the Swiss official responsible for the decision concerning family M.
In conclusion, permit me to inform you that some observers of the Iranian crisis believe that the Iranian authorities have been soft pedaling the repression in view of the Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council on Iran (which took place from 15 to 17 February 2010) and the Iranian candidacy for membership on the Human Rights Council. The elections to the Council will take place on 13 May at the General Assembly in New York and the final result of the UPR on Iran is expected by the middle of June this year. It is believed that further draconian repression is expected during the summer which may result in yet a further massive increase in the number of Iranian asylum seekers.
Yours sincerely,
Jamshid Anvar
Former Director of Asia Bureau, UNHCR
CC: Mrs. Shirin Ebadi
Mr. Abdulkarim Lahiji
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