Tajikistan must stop expelling Afghan refugees, says UN

GENEVA (AFP): Tajikistan must stop expelling Afghan refugees, the UN refugee agency has told AFP, after the reclusive Central Asian state sent dozens of people back to the Taliban-controlled country last month.

Thousands of Afghans have sought refuge in neighbouring Tajikistan since the 1990s, fleeing the aftermath of the Soviet-Afghan war, fighting sparked by a US-led invasion in 2001 and repression under two Taliban governments.

“The UNHCR is aware of the forced return of at least 80 Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan in December 2024,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told AFP, adding that the “vast majority” had valid documentation and refugee cards.

“The forced return of a person at risk of torture or other serious human rights violations contravenes Tajikistan’s refugee legislation,” it said via an email sent Saturday.

There were almost 9,000 refugees from Afghanistan in Tajikistan as of the end of 2024, it added.

Tajikistan says they are able to enjoy many of the same rights as Tajik citizens while in the country.

But human rights groups warn those sent back are at risk of persecution, including torture.

Tajikistan and Afghanistan share strong cultural and linguistic links, but relations have become strained since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Unlike other Central Asian leaders, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has been critical of the Taliban, particularly of their treatment of Tajiks — the country’s second largest ethnic group.

Other countries bordering Afghanistan, such as Pakistan and Iran, have also expelled Afghans.