HRW: Turkey pushing Afghans back at Iran border
Turkey is routinely pushing tens of thousands of Afghans back at its land border with Iran or deporting them directly to Afghanistan with little or no examination of their claims for international protection, a leading human rights watchdog said Friday.
In its 73-page report, published under the title “No One Asked Me Why I Left Afghanistan,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticized Turkey for stepping up pushbacks and deportations to Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover there in August 2021. The New York-based organization also said that Afghans inside Turkey are being prevented from registering for international protection and that Afghans facing imminent deportation are often given no opportunity to make refugee claims.
“Although Turkey has rightly earned international acclaim and support for hosting the largest number of refugees of any country in the world, it is simultaneously pushing many Afghans back at its borders or deporting them to Afghanistan with little or no examination of their claims for international protection,” said Bill Frelick, refugee and migrant rights director at Human Rights Watch.
“Turkey should immediately halt these routine pushbacks of Afghans from its borders and give all Afghans facing removal the opportunity to make refugee claims,” he said.
Turkey hosts an estimated 3.9 million refugees, 3.6 million Syrians with temporary protection and 320,000 others, mostly Afghans.
HRW interviewed 68 Afghans, 38 of whom described 114 pushback incidents between January 2021 and April 2022.
