The Islamic Republic of Iran, Comment on Joint Meeting of 300 K and 20 M on Refugees

بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم

Comments by
H.E. Mr. Javad Amin-Mansour
Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of
The Islamic Republic of Iran

Joint Meeting of 300 K and 20 M on Refugees

           I thank the distinguished Permanent Representatives of Belgium and Kenya for organizing and the Permanent Delegation of EU for hosting this event of major host countries and major donors. My thanks also go to the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, in particular Mr. Grandi and Mr. Daniel Andress for their tireless efforts during the first Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in December 2019.

         The Forum was indeed a good experience in terms of diversity of stakeholders, number of pledges and interventions, as well as the number and level of participants. Thanks to all involved in that event. Now, we are in the process of making arrangements to realize the pledges and promised contributions during the Forum. We need to work together to follow-up the implementation of pledges and, in that context; I stress on the role of the High Commissioner and his team with the generous support of the Governments and the other stakeholders.

        In this line, we hope the outcomes of the GRF will become a turning point in realizing the principle of fair and equitable burden and responsibility sharing by all stakeholders, and will find its appropriate place, as integral part of the international refugee protection system. I also would like to highlight, among others, the role of the Support Platform for Strategy Solution for Afghan Refugees (SSAR) in minimizing the suffering of the host countries and enforcing the principle of burden and responsibility sharing.

         My government has made its utmost efforts in supporting and protecting Afghanistani nationals who have taken refuge in Iran for nearly 5 decades in spite of very minimal support we have received from the international community. As a yet another sign of our long-lasting resolve to help Afghanistani refugees, we signed into the ‘’Support Platform for the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees to Support Voluntary Repatriation, Sustainable Reintegration and Assistance to Host Countries.’’ This new initiative could be fruitful provided that it would receive adequate supports and assistance from all stakeholders. We expect all Governments to shoulder their responsibility by sharing the burdens, keeping their doors open for resettlement, and contributing to the process of reintegration of the refugees.

        The Support Platform for Strategy Solution for Afghan Refugees (SSAR) is indeed another chance to address one of the most protracted refugee problems in a holistic approach and, of course, as a further reminder that the plight of Afghan refugees continue to drag well into 5^th decade.

        We consider that the Support Platform is a test case for the feasibility of the Global Compact on Refugees. That is why it is a critical issue and deserves adequate attention of all of us to make every efforts to make it a success. We are of the view that the Support Platform should invest in plans and projects that facilitate voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees and their reintegration in Afghanistan.

        Last but not least, while advancing in meeting the global refugee related challenges, one cannot turn a blind eye on the unilateral coercive measures including the ongoing imposed economic sanctions which undermined the national capacity of the host countries to protect and the collective and cooperative efforts of the international community for burden sharing and reducing the sufferings of the refugees per se. Such policies and measures are certainly contradictory, unwarranted, and meaningless.

I thank you;