U.N. urges Afghan neighbors to help refugees

Refugees wait in Afghanistan to enter into Pakistan on Saturday, November 11 at the Torkham border, 55 kilometers (34 miles) northwest of Peshawar, northwestern Pakistan

November 18, 2000
Web posted at: 7:25 AM HKT (2325 GMT)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) -- The United Nations, faced with a rising number of displaced Afghans, on Friday urged neighboring Pakistan and Tajikistan to reopen their borders and accept new refugees.

The continued closure of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan would "exacerbate" the humanitarian situation of the Afghan refugees, the Office of the United Nations' Co-ordinator for Afghanistan (UNOCHA) said in a statement.

Islamabad banned the entry of new Afghan refugees last week -- after accepting 30,000 people in two months -- saying it was unable to accommodate them for economic reasons and also due to security fears from supporters of the anti-Taliban opposition.

The opposition accuses Pakistan of backing the ruling Islamic Taliban. It has condemned the ban and denied that it was sending any supporters to carry out subversion in Pakistan.

The closure has stemmed the flow of poor Afghans into Pakistan, which hosts at least 1.2 million Afghan refugees, most of whom are fleeing the country's raging civil war and its worse drought in 30 years.

"If people are forced to leave their homes to survive, they have the right to decide where their best chance for survival rests," the statement said quoting United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan, Erick de Mul.

De Mul said he was also concerned about the minorities who might be denied their right to asylum as a result of the closure.

The United Nations faces the prospects of catering to swelling ranks of internally displaced persons, estimated at 200,000, due to the closure of the border with Pakistan and Tajikistan, which closed its Afghan border in September.

The UNOCHA also said some 11,400 internally displaced persons were in makeshift shelters between Tajikistan and Afghanistan with no signs that Tajikistan would let them in.

"Tajikistan is a party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and the closure of its borders with Afghanistan violates is obligations under the treaty," the statement said.

"The Office of the UN Co-ordinator for Afghanistan calls upon all countries neighboring Afghanistan to act in accordance with international humanitarian law," it said.

The U.N. Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) reported on Friday that a U.N. task force would assess the humanitarian needs of the new internally displaced population which has gathered in Jalalabad and eastern areas of Afghanistan.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Pakistan not reopening border to Afghan refugees
November 15, 2000
Hopes evaporate along with water in thirsty Afghanistan
October 24, 2000
U.N. official helps refugees return to Afghanistan
September 17, 2000
Humanitarian crisis brewing in northern Afghanistan, aid groups say
September 12, 2000
Russia proposes U.N. solution to fighting in Afghanistan
September 7, 2000
United Nations worried extremists using Afghanistan as base
August 23, 2000
U.N. helps drought victims in Afghanistan by crossing war zone
August 21, 2000

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Taleban home page
Afghan Info Center

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.