DUSHANBE, April 1, Asia-Plus — Issues related to international protection of rights of refugees were discussed in Dushanbe yesterday at a meeting of Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi with visiting UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, according to the MFA information department.
In the course of the talks, the two pointed out fruitful development of cooperation between the Government of Tajikistan and the UNHCR on international protection of rights f refugees and provision of international aid to them.
Both sides vowed to take efforts to provide international protection of refugees within the framework of international documents ratified by Tajikistan and the national refugee legislation in future as well. The meeting resulted in signing of a joint communiqué.
We will recall that visiting UN refugee chief yesterday also held talks with President Emomali Rahmon for discussions on the national asylum system, the integration of about 1,000 Afghans who have lived in Tajikistan for up to 20 years, and closer cooperation between the UN agency and the Government.
During his stay in Tajikistan, Guterres will also participate in the opening of vocational training projects set up at a refugee training center in Dushanbe.
In 1993 Tajikistan became the first country in Central Asia to accede to both the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, and it was also the first country in the region to adopt national legislation on refugees.
