Afghans at risk “have no clear way out”: UN refugee agency

GENEVA, Aug. 20 (Reuters) – Most Afghans are unable to leave their homeland and those who may be in danger “have no clear way out,” the UN refugee agency said on Friday.

Shabia Mantoo, spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), reiterated her call on neighboring countries to keep their borders open to allow people to seek asylum in light of what she called the ” evolving crisis “.

“The vast majority of Afghans are not able to leave the country through regular channels,” he told a Geneva briefing. “As of today, those who may be in danger do not have a clear way out.”

There have only been “small-scale movements” of Afghans crossing Pakistan and Iran, Mantoo said. The two countries already host 90% of the 2.6 million registered Afghan refugees since fleeing their homeland in recent decades.

More than 18,000 people have left Kabul since the Taliban took the capital of Afghanistan, a NATO official said on Friday, pledging to redouble evacuation efforts as a result of criticism of the handling. of the crisis by the West. Read more

Mantoo praised the evacuation of Afghan citizens through these separate bilateral programs, but stressed that they should not replace a “more urgent and comprehensive international humanitarian response.”

“UNHCR remains concerned about the risk of human rights violations against civilians in this evolving context, including women and girls,” she added.

Reports by Stephanie Nebehay and Emma Farge; edited by Philippa Fletcher

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