Refugees and Asylum Seekers

authorities harassed and starved him in detention. Deported
Afghans living in Afghanistan’s Nimruz Province reported
130 cases of physical violence by Iranian security forces
against them.
Authorities generally did not permit UNHCR or
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to monitor detention
centers. In one case, however, in order to counter
allegations of abuse perpetrated by law enforcement officers
during mass deportations, the Government granted
UNHCR access to Sefid-Sang deportation center in Mashad
to observe how authorities identified refugee cardholders
for eventual release. The move came after Iran received
international criticism for returning Afghans without ensuring
that adequate reception facilities were in place in
Afghanistan.
The Government did not share its database of
registered Afghan refugees with UNHCR until July. Authorities
said they planned to determine the status of
the remaining Afghans with cards. The database held
records for some 920,200 registered refugees who held
three-month renewable cards from September 2006. In
January 2008, the Government initiated a re-registration
exercise of all Afghan refugees and simultaneously
required men between the ages of 16 and 60 to apply for
work permits.
Iran issued Special Identity Cards (SIDs) that provided
greater privileges to Afghan refugees who were religious
students, disabled in war, relatives of martyrs, or married
to Iranians. Upon reaching school age, children received
refugee cards.
Although authorities and police recognized refugee
identification cards, they frequently arrested their holders
because BAFIA extended the cards’ validity by issuing memoranda
to law enforcement officers rather than modifying
the actual cards. In some cases, BAFIA intervened to release
refugees. In others, courts ordered deportations for lack
of proper documentation, as they did not accept BAFIA’s
memoranda.
UNHCR recognized most Arabs and Shi’as from
central and southern Iraq as refugees prima facie and those
from northern Iraq as asylum seekers. The Government,
however, accorded them no legal status and did not allow
UNHCR to issue them any documents. The 54,000 longstanding
Iraqi refugees held refugee identity documents
known as white cards. Authorities re-registered them in late
2007, but did not release new figures.
The 1963 Regulations read, “A refugee has the right
to refer to Iranian Courts to demand justice,” but delays and
costs deterred most refugees. UNHCR offered attorneys at
no cost to registered refugees, but they did not use them in
detention cases.
UNHCR and BAFIA had established Dispute
Settlement Committees (DSCs) in 2004 and 2005 to mediate
outstanding legal issues that might hinder repatriation
such as nonpayment of salary and landlords’ refusal to
return deposits. In June, however, the DSCs ceased to function,
as BAFIA thought they promoted refugees’ stay.
Freedom of Movement
and Residence In the second
half of 2007, the Government
heightened enforcement of its 2006
“no-go area” policy, which partially
or entirely restricted foreigners, particularly
refugees, from entering 23
provinces. Authorities ordered some 120,000 registered
Afghan and Iraqi refugees living in specific regions to either
move to designated areas—mostly camps—or repatriate.
In Sistan-Baluchestan Province bordering Afghanistan, the
policy required over 80,000 refugees to relocate to Torbat-e-
Jam, Semnan, and Saveh camps in Khorasan Razavi, Semnan,
and Markazi Provinces. By May 2008, the Government had
restricted 25 provinces and required 180,000 to move. The
penalty for non-compliance was deportation.
While authorities and UN agencies did not restrict
aid or assistance to camp-based refugees, they assisted only
refugees with valid residency and identity papers. To travel
within the country, registered refugees required a temporary
laissez-passer available through local authorities in the
province where they had registered as refugees. Refugees
had to leave their refugee cards with the local authorities
until they returned. Iran maintained its reservation to the
1951 Convention’s provision for freedom of movement and
the 1963 Regulations allowed the Government to restrict
refugees’ residence.
Refugees could not get international travel documents
unless they had received refugee status before the
1979 Revolution and held a refugee booklet. There were
no reports that the Government issued any.
Right to Earn a Livelihood
Work permits were restricted
to particular sectors and
cost 700,000 Rials (around $75)
but few refugees applied for them
because employers did not wish to
hire employees formally and pay
for required insurance and related taxes. The Government
fined both employers and refugees heavily and refugees
ran the risk of arrest and deportation if found working
without a permit. Authorities restricted Iraqi refugees
less in employment than it did Afghans.
Iran maintained a reser vation to the 1951
Convention’s provisions regarding the right to work.
The 1963 Regulations allowed recognized refugees “employment
in the fields authorized for foreign nationals
and those fields deemed appropriate,” including animal
husbandry and brick making. The 1990 Labor Law mandated
the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to issue,
extend, and renew work permits to refugees, subject to
Jobs
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