The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has criticized the US-led sanctions against Iran, saying the bans have hindered the country’s humanitarian efforts to support the large number of refugees it is hosting, Press TV reports.
In a Thursday news conference with Director General of the Iranian Interior Ministry’s Bureau for Nationals and Immigrants Aziz Kazemi, Sivanka Dhanapala, the UNHCR representative in Tehran, hailed Iran’s “generous” support for foreign refugees despite the illegal bans against the country.
“Overall, the global economic situation makes our lives very difficult in the humanitarian community and seeking funds, but it is also compounded by the sanctions” imposed against Iran, Dhanapala stated.
Also speaking in the conference, Kazemi expressed disappointment with the impact of US-led bans on the country’s humanitarian activities, emphasizing that such issues should remain separated from political agendas in the international community.
“I have stressed on several occasions that humanitarian issues should not be entangled with political issues…the issue of refugees should be clearly differentiated from other issues in the world,” he added.
Iran hosts one of the largest and most protracted refugee populations in the world, including Afghans who have been in the country for about three decades.

According to the Iranian Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants’ Affairs, the total number of refugees registered with the authorities stood at some 882,659, including 840,158 Afghans and 42,501 Iraqis as of October 2011.

The UNHCR has ranked Iran as the world’s second top refugee host after Pakistan. The Islamic Republic has provided the refugees with education and jobs, making efforts to pave the way for their repatriation to their home countries.

By Press TV

 

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