INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TEHRAN - Ivo Freijsen, Representative for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Iran, has said Iran provides wide-ranging
services for refugees and the UN agency is honored to support Iran's efforts in this regard.From long ago, the hospitality of Iranians has
Since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan, during these many years, Afghans have sought asylum in Iran and have started living here.Now
they love Iran like their own country
Their children study here and go to the university
They get married here and start families
The government and people of Iran have always done what they could to serve them with kindness.The latest example to prove this statement is
the vaccination campaign to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the refugees were vaccinated just like all the Iranian citizens
Providing access to higher education, employment opportunities, and healthcare through the Universal Public Health Insurance for refugees is
all proof of the hospitality of us Iranians.In an exclusive interview with Iran Newspaper published on September 4, Freijsen said Iran is an
started hosting them [refugee]
As we have always said, Iran has had positive approaches toward refugees, we appreciate that, and we are honored to support Iran's
efforts.In fact, Iran provides wide-ranging services for refugees: such as basic healthcare services, education, and vocational training
And as you said, during the COVID-19 pandemic, those who were in Iran, whether the ones that had passports or the ones that had
documentation and were [registered] refugees, received the vaccination.We have always said that Iran has positive approaches toward
refugees, and this is commendable and we are proud to support Iran's initiatives.We need to create a favorable environment for those
government to attend to the needs of refugees, we cooperate in the areas of registration, data collection, and provision of
documents.Moreover, as long as these people [refugees] are in the country, they need work
We believe that healthy refugees are productive and resilient, refugees can both be helpful in Iran and be beneficial to their country when
need.It is especially important to understand refugees
On the contrary, refugees want access to the job market, employment, and education, in order to help the societies in which they have sought
within countries or outside, and this is an obvious fact that is not unknown
In the end, people are forced to move and leave their countries
Small solutions are not enough to overcome these crises, and we should look for constructive solutions to resolve these issues
is very natural: if I or you were living in an unfavorable situation, we would do the same
If you were a farmer and had no land to farm or no water, or your rights are violated in your own country, you would be forced to migrate
Our humanitarian support is not the main solution but only temporary relief
The main solution is peace, tranquility, development, and access to human rights
All world leaders are aware of this and should only start acting according to it.According to the data from the government, as of October
2022, Iran hosts 800,000 registered refugees (Amayesh cardholders)
Of this number, approximately 780,000 are Afghan, and about 20,000 are Iraqi refugees.Also, around 586,000 Afghans possess passports and
Iranian visas, including those who had Amayesh cards before and later received student visas to continue their university education.Of
course, approximately 2.1 million Afghans live in the country without documentation.President Ebrahim Raisi has said despite the fact that
the Europeans have made many claims about supporting the Afghans, but have not provided them with any assistance, contrary to their
comments, today more than four million Afghans are guests of the Islamic Republic.In light of the pandemic, all refugees, even those
undocumented, benefited from access to free primary health services and free COVID-19-related testing, treatment, and hospitalization, just
like Iranian nationals.The same happened for the vaccination when the country generously considered refugees for vaccination against
