Protesting Afghan refugees demand financial assistance, resettlement

Groups of Afghan refugees staged a protest outside the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in New Delhi on Monday, presenting a list of demands, including better facilities and financial help, their refugee cards to be expedited and facilitating their resettlement in countries such as Canada, the US, Germany, the UK and Australia.

Ahmad Zhia Ghani, head of the community in India, said many Afghan refugees here did not have any access to basic facilities like education and jobs, and that India should have a proper framework to deal with the existing refugees before letting more in. He said the delay in processing their refugee cards had led to many Afghan refugees being unemployed for years.

“We are gathered here for three of our demands to be met. First, refugee cards to apply for long-term visa in India. Second, a resettlement option for which we need a supporting letter from the UNHRC so that we can move to another country. Third, security from the Indian government and UNHRC. Most of us have skills and qualifications that are not recognised here and there is a major delay in conducting interviews,” he added.


The UNHCR office in New Delhi grants refugee status to Afghans and citizens from other war-torn nations and issues identification cards. Afghans account for around a third of the nearly 40,000 refugees registered in India, according to the UN refugee agency, but community members said the number could be much more as many of them are yet to be registered.

India is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, hence Afghans or any group of refugees do not enjoy the rights given to similar groups in countries like the UK or the US.