UN human rights experts have called on the Pakistan government to stop their plans to forcibly remove Afghans from the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, nor to deport them to Afghanistan.

According to a statement issued on Friday, the UN experts (as listed below) called on Pakistan to continue its important role as a neighboring country with a long history of hosting Afghan refugees.

The deadline for their voluntary departure was set for 31 March, but Islamabad moved the deadline by a few days to take Eid-ul-Fitr into account.

“Millions of Afghans in Pakistan are at risk of being pushed back to Afghanistan without regard for their genuine protection concerns – including gender-based violence and the systematic dismantling of the rights of women and girls – in violation of international human rights law and refugee law, and disregarding UNHCR’s non-return advisory,” the experts said.

“We urge Pakistan to immediately stop mass internal relocations, deportations, arrests, evictions, intimidation and other pressures on Afghans to cross the border into Afghanistan, and to uphold the absolute and non-derogable principle of non-refoulement,” they said.

The experts expressed particular concern about the gendered and intersectional impact.

The UN experts have repeatedly spoken out against Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan of September 2023, which has already pressured hundreds of thousands of Afghans to uproot their lives and return to Afghanistan.

Ahead of the 31 March deadline, the UN documented a worrying increase in arrests of Afghans. Many desperate Afghans have contacted the experts, fearing persecution by the Taliban in Afghanistan if they are forced to return.

“The most vulnerable are Afghan women, girls, LGBTI persons, ethnic and religious minorities, former government officials and security personnel, human rights defenders, and media workers,” the experts said.

“Children, especially unaccompanied, are at heightened risk of trafficking, child marriage and abuse, while persons with disabilities and older persons are also particularly vulnerable. They should all be individually assessed.”

The experts expressed concern about returns of Afghans to Afghanistan from other countries, potentially contravening international human rights and refugee law.

The experts also acknowledged security risks, including terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan.

The experts noted that many Afghans who had left for Pakistan, having been given reasonable expectations of being resettled in a third country, had their dreams of a secure future shattered by the sudden halt of resettlement programmes.

They stressed that funding cuts will reduce the ability of the de facto authorities in Afghanistan, together with humanitarian agencies, to support a large influx of people from neighboring countries.

“Abrupt and drastic funding cuts by donors are already having a severe impact on much-needed humanitarian assistance to Afghans,” the experts said.

“Given the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan, durable solutions are needed for Afghans outside the country, with strong support from the broader international community.”

The experts are as follows:
Richard Bennett, Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan; Siobhán Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children; Laura Nyirinkindi (Chair), Claudia Flores (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Ivana Krstić, and Haina Lu, Working group on discrimination against women and girls; Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; and Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing.