Statement  By   Representative  of the Islamic Republic of Iran Before 86th Standing Committee of the Ex-Com Geneva, 7 March 2023 بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم   Thank you chair, Deputy High commissioner, Assistant High Commissioner, First of all, I feel obliged to express once again the Islamic Republic of Iran’s deep condolences to the government and people of Syria and Turkyie due to the recent devastating earthquake. Our sincere condolences also to UNHCR for the loss of its humanitarian colleagues in the earthquake.  My delegation is delighted to express its gratitude to UNHCR, in particular Mr. Ratwatte, Director for Asia and the Pacific, for providing us with informative presentations and Update on its operations including in Asia and the Pacific, and would like to take this opportunity to share some observations in this regard. As is highlighted in the first paragraph of the Update of UNHCR’s operations in Asia and the Pacific, “the Islamic Republic of Iran extended its inclusive health and education policies to Afghan nationals in the country. Today, the country hosts 3.4 million refugees and individuals in a refugee-like situation, making it the second largest host country in the world.” This information is built on the result of the nationwide census scheme for undocumented Afghans conducted by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The statistics show that there are at least, 2.6 million Afghans more than registered Afghan refugees in Iran. The outcome of the recent headcount has been considered as a reference for the number of persons in a refugee-like situation in the mentioned report. However, provided that the recently counted people have not yet been verified as ‘under prosecution’ in their country, there is no reason to be considered as Refugee or individuals in a Refugee-like situation in Iran. There is still a room for discussion with Iranian national authorities on this issue. Furthermore, the concept of ‘Refugee-like’ situation needs to be more discussed to be agreeable to all member states.   Chair,  The meeting of the SSAR Quadripartite Steering Committee, hosted by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran was held on December 2022 in Tehran. Given that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has not recognized the de facto authorities in Afghanistan, hosting them in Iran was politically sensitive and complicated. However, all parties of the Steering Committee emphasized support for voluntary repatriation, sustainable reintegration, and assistance to host countries paving the way for enhancing voluntary repatriation and improving the implementation mechanisms and coordinated efforts towards this end. Iran has been hosting millions of Afghans for the last 4 decades. Despite Iran's capacity to protect Afghan refugees has been strained by the US-made unilateral coercive measures that have also severely narrowed humanitarian space, the government has provided Afghan nationals, to the extent possible, with livelihood, health, and education mostly by own limited resources. For instance, to mitigate the plight of Afghans after the new rules ordered by the Taliban on banning female students from higher education, Iranian universities have expressed their readiness to enroll thousands of Afghan girls. Additionally, the budget of Tehran University for scholarships to Afghan students has been increased fivefold, in the same vein, to say the least. Based on the principle of fair and equitable burden and responsibility sharing we expect the international community to update and adjust its views to support the Afghan host countries to adequately meet their requirements. In conclusion Chair, the Islamic Republic of Iran is keen to actively take part in the coming GRF to seek a meaningful sustainable and durable solution to ease the suffering of Afghan refugees as well as the pressure shouldered by their host countries.  I thank you.