Human Rights Watch asks Iran to let Afghans seek refugee status

The Iranian government's earlier announcement that it will grant a six-month visa extension to 4,50,000 Afghans is a helpful move to prevent their imminent deportation, according to the Human Rights Watch. However, the visa-extension plan is no substitute for an asylum system that will allow newly arriving Afghans to lodge refugee claims.

An Iranian foreign ministry official described the visa extension plan as a reflection of Iran's 'brotherly relations' with Afghanistan. The official said that the Afghan government had agreed to devise an assistance plan for reintegrating the 4,50,000 Afghans when they return to Afghanistan. Under the Iranian plan, the previously undocumented Afghans will be able to apply for temporary visas and work.

"The Iranian government deserves credit for sparing almost half-a-million Afghans the threat of imminent deportation. But the visa extension won't remedy a broken asylum system that routinely results in the detention and deportation of unregistered Afghans without access to refugee status, due process, or an opportunity for legal appeal of their forced removal," said Patricia Gossman, senior Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch.