KULOB, September 13, 2008, Asia-Plus — More and more Afghan nationals are seeking a status of refugee in Tajikistan.
Over the first eight months of this year alone, 957 asylum-seeking foreigners have arrived in Tajikistan.
Speaking at a meeting in Dushanbe, Gallia Gabayeva of UNCHR CO Tajikistan said on September 12 that the number of foreigners seeking a refugee status in Tajikistan has been increasing.
The meeting, staged by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan to prepare participants for the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM), was held in Dushanbe on September 11-12.
“In 2007, there were 745 such applications, while over the first eight months of this year alone, the number of such applications has increased by more than 200,” Ms. Gabayeva said.
According to her, among those seeking refugee status in Tajikistan are citizens of Iraq, Iran, Cameroon, Nigeria, Sri Lanka; however, the overwhelming majority of them are Afghan nationals.
According to her, earlier, the country was receiving refugees mainly from the northern regions of Afghanistan, while at present there are also refugees from the southern regions of Afghanistan, which are traditionally seeking asylum in Pakistan.
Ms. Gabayeva noted that till August 2008, Tajikistan had suitably observed all international documents on refugees signed by the country, though there had been some misunderstandings.
“In August 2008, the first deportation of Afghan family numbering, five persons, took place, and now, we are keeping up with development of the situation, being anxious that this precedent may cause negative tendency,” she noted.
In the meantime, according to Lieutenant-Colonel Abdurahmon Buzmakov, deputy chief of the Khatlon police directorate in charge of the Kulob region, six Afghan drug traffickers have been detained in the region in January-August this year.
