{"id":9870,"date":"2022-10-13T10:00:20","date_gmt":"2022-10-13T08:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.maisoninteractive.com\/mixedmigrationcenter\/?p=9870"},"modified":"2022-11-16T23:27:33","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T22:27:33","slug":"unable-to-leave-afghans-stuck-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.maisoninteractive.com\/mixedmigrationcenter\/articles\/unable-to-leave-afghans-stuck-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Unable to Leave: The Afghans Stuck in Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"td-lead\">\n<h4><span style=\"color: #009999;\"><strong><em>The following op-ed was originally compiled for\u00a0<a style=\"color: #009999;\" href=\"https:\/\/thediplomat.com\/2022\/10\/unable-to-leave-the-afghans-stuck-in-afghanistan\/\">The Diplomat<\/a>\u00a0and has been reproduced here for wider access through this website\u2019s readership.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p>Thousands of at-risk Afghans need practical, accessible, and legal routes to international protection, and continued efforts to ensure support for those \u201cinvoluntarily immobile.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"td-meta\">\n<aside class=\"td-story-meta__img\"><\/aside>\n<div class=\"td-story-meta__main\">\n<p>Much has been written about Afghanistan over the past year. The speed of withdrawal by allied forces, the resurgence of non-inclusive governance, threats posed by al-Qaida and the Islamic State\u2019s local branch (ISK), and challenges in responding to humanitarian emergencies have all taken headline space. Less has been written about \u201cinvoluntarily immobile\u201d populations stuck in the country and the risks facing these groups. In order to holistically comprehend Afghanistan today, and prepare for the future, it is essential to understand the situation facing those left behind as Western forces withdrew.<\/p>\n<p>Afghans who could not board evacuation flights, cannot access foreign visas, or cannot make \u2013 for reasons of age, finance, risk, or many others \u2013 the dangerous and expensive overland journey out of the country are particularly perilously placed. These populations are vulnerable to considerable security risks, natural disasters, a collapsed economic and administrative infrastructure, and decreasing options for basic survival. They are the canaries in the coalmine, measuring our successes and failures as a broader human community.<\/p>\n<p>One year after the Taliban takeover, widespread hunger, destitution, and segregation \u2013 ethnic, religious, and gender-based \u2013 is increasing. According to the World Food Program,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/docs.wfp.org\/api\/documents\/WFP-0000140735\/download\/\">more than 90 percent of Afghans<\/a>\u00a0have been suffering from food insecurity since last August.\u00a0Over 1 million children under the age of 5 are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/reliefweb.int\/report\/afghanistan\/save-childrens-response-afghanistan-june-update-endarips\">suffering from prolonged acute malnutrition<\/a>. The economic collapse facing the country after the withdrawal of foreign support and freezing of assets has crippled the capacity of local actors to respond to these challenges.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, targeted violence and other armed conflict continue to displace and kill innocent people. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented <a href=\"https:\/\/unama.unmissions.org\/un-releases-report-human-rights-afghanistan-taliban-takeover\">2,106 civilian casualties<\/a>\u00a0between August 15, 2021, (the day the Taliban took over Kabul) and June 15, 2022. A total of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/data.unhcr.org\/en\/situations\/afghanistan\">3.4 million people<\/a>\u00a0are now internally displaced in Afghanistan. Afghanistan was ranked the most dangerous country in the world for four consecutive years, from 2019 to 2022 by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/reliefweb.int\/report\/world\/global-peace-index-2022\">Global Peace Index<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 an annual report that measures how dangerous a nation is based on 23 indicators including political terror, deaths from internal conflict, and murder rate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The most vulnerable people, those disproportionately affected by the risks and challenges, are often unable to find support or access protection. Hazaras remain the principal victims of catastrophic\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2021\/10\/25\/afghanistan-surge-islamic-state-attacks-shia\">ISK attacks<\/a>\u00a0and Taliban atrocities, and are regularly subjected to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2021\/10\/22\/afghanistan-taliban-forcibly-evict-minority-shia\">forced evictions<\/a>. Women and girls are also under siege, as the Taliban has created\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2022\/07\/afghanistan-talibans-suffocating-crackdown-destroying-lives-of-women-and-girls-new-report\/\">a devastating women\u2019s rights crisis<\/a>. Women and girls are banned from access to education, employment, health care, and political representation. The Taliban have targeted female activists with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/07\/29\/urgent-debate-situation-human-rights-women-and-girls-afghanistan\">harassment and abuse<\/a>, arbitrary arrest and detention, enforced disappearance, and physical and psychological torture. This treatment has also been applied to people allied with the former regime, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/unama.unmissions.org\/un-releases-report-human-rights-afghanistan-taliban-takeover\">at least 160 former government and security officials<\/a>\u00a0have been executed since the Taliban takeover, according to UNAMA.<\/p>\n<p>For these groups, migration is an essential protection lifeline \u2013 however, it is increasingly inaccessible. A lack of safe, legal, and accessible pathways for migration means many who need to leave are not able. According to the data collected by the Mixed Migration Centre, Afghans can only obtain visas for a few neighboring countries, and the process is complicated and costly. Former officials and security forces stuck in the country are further challenged as their biometric data is registered in the Population Registry database, which is now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/report\/2021\/11\/30\/no-forgiveness-people-you\/executions-and-enforced-disappearances-afghanistan\">managed by the Taliban<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven if I get a Pakistan visa, how can I cross the border?\u201d said a 47-year-old Afghan interviewed by the Mixed Migration Centre. \u201cThe moment they put my passport in the machine at the border, my biometric information will pop up and they will know that I was a military man in the previous government and then, God knows what will happen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alternate and illicit migration routes are therefore often the preferred \u2013 or only \u2013 option for many looking to leave. However, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.maisoninteractive.com\/mixedmigrationcenter\/articles\/afghanistan-when-migration-is-the-only-lifeline-available-all-efforts-must-be-ensured-to-provide-safe-passage\/\">growing cost of smuggling services<\/a>, a direct consequence of increased demand, makes these routes inaccessible for many. Those simply too poor, frail, or ill to be able to afford the risk and hardship of an attempt to flee. These Afghans are a trapped population.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Involuntary Immobility While in Transit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Even those that have been able to flee Afghanistan find themselves similarly \u201cinvoluntarily immobile\u201d in neighboring Iran and Pakistan. As a result of the closure of most Western embassies in Kabul last year, Afghans who had the means to do it have travelled abroad to pursue immigration cases with foreign embassies.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/afghan-migration-program-plagued-by-rejections-\/6612687.html\">More than 14,000 people<\/a>\u00a0have moved to Germany via Pakistan through\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/world-must-tell-taliban-its-going-wrong-direction-says-german-foreign-minister-2022-06-07\/\">a special streamlined system for Afghan refugees<\/a>. Canada\u2019s High Commission in Islamabad is also processing visa applications from Afghans wishing to immigrate. However, hundreds of thousands of others have spent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ibanet.org\/Afghanistan-lifeline-for-refugees-as-world-becomes-%E2%80%98numb-to-the-human-crisis%E2%80%99#:~:text=The%20humanitarian%20crisis%20continues%20to,managed%20to%20escape%20the%20Taliban.\">months in limbo<\/a>\u00a0waiting for visa progression, and risks are high.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/afghan-migration-program-plagued-by-rejections-\/6612687.html\">Ninety-four percent of the U.S. Special Immigrant Visa applicants<\/a>\u00a0in Pakistan recently reported economic hardships.<\/p>\n<p>Many of these Afghans are trapped in legal precarity \u2013 overstaying or not holding a visa, and therefore subject to state action, unable to move onward, and unwilling to return for fear of death. Thousands of at-risk\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2022\/08\/iran-turkey-fleeing-afghans-unlawfully-returned-after-coming-under-fire-at-borders\/\">Afghans have been forcibly returned to Afghanistan<\/a>, while others have endured\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.maisoninteractive.com\/mixedmigrationcenter\/articles\/unwelcome-refugees-afghans-continue-to-face-pushback-and-deportation\/\">xenophobic violence, exploitation, and homelessness.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The prospect of resettling a large number of at-risk Afghans is remote in the current global context, even if it is the most effective and viable means of protection available \u2013 and the hope of many displaced Afghans. Two alternatives exist: to invest in and facilitate the integration of Afghans in the region, especially in Pakistan and Iran, and to create so-called \u201ccomplementary pathways\u201d for Afghans to Western countries through education and labor mobility schemes. Neither appears likely at present.<\/p>\n<p>As for integration in countries of first displacement, Pakistan and Iran increasingly disavow responsibility under international law to ensure refugee rights through their continued non-signatory status to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. As a result, efforts to facilitate \u2013 or even discuss \u2013 refugee access to labor rights, education, medical care, and other basic services founder before they have begun.<\/p>\n<p>While complementary pathways may serve as a short-term approach to relocate Afghans temporarily, they are not a permanent solution, either, given the lack of mandated international protection for at-risk people. Not to mention, the number of these opportunities are minuscule in comparison to need, and often require pre-requisites many refugees do not have, such as access to a passport or certification of previous formal education.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Right to Seek Asylum<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The right to seek asylum is articulated in a number of international covenants, with Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights being the most well-known: \u201cEveryone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.\u201d In order to enjoy this right, however, a person must be able to cross an international border to seek protection. Involuntary immobility obscures access to the fundamental right that is essential to the enjoyment of all other rights: recognition of legal status.<\/p>\n<p>As time passes and global attention turns elsewhere, Afghans are increasing blocked from moving and are being forgotten. Those left behind and those waiting in neighboring countries need, now more than ever, legal and accessible options to seek asylum and be provided the basic rights to which they are entitled.<\/p>\n<p>The options are not out of reach. We must progress durable relocation and protection schemes targeting these immobile populations. Western countries need to step up efforts to fulfill their pledges of relocating at-risk Afghans, with continuous facilitation for Afghans waiting in limbo. Complementary pathways, while providing an alternative to relocate, need to take into account structural barriers specific to refugees or asylum seekers such as lack of formal certification or documentation, and to provide a clearer avenue toward protection and permanent status in a third country.<\/p>\n<p>Most of all, we need to engage the perspectives and experiences of these populations \u2013 not only to keep them visible and supported, but also to ensure any action is targeted and responsive to their needs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The following op-ed was originally compiled for\u00a0The Diplomat\u00a0and has been reproduced here for wider access through this website\u2019s readership. Thousands of at-risk Afghans need practical, accessible, and legal routes to international protection, and continued efforts to ensure support for those \u201cinvoluntarily immobile.\u201d Much has been written about Afghanistan over the past year. The speed of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9874,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63,252,89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asylum-seekers","category-legal-protection","category-refugees","region-asia","country-afghanistan","country-iran","country-pakistan","writer-hanh-nguyen","writer-hui-yin-chuah","writer-themba-lewis"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.maisoninteractive.com\/mixedmigrationcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.maisoninteractive.com\/mixedmigrationcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.maisoninteractive.com\/mixedmigrationcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.maisoninteractive.com\/mixedmigrationcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.maisoninteractive.com\/mixedmigrationcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9870"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/staging.maisoninteractive.com\/mixedmigrationcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9875,"href":"https:\/\/staging.maisoninteractive.com\/mixedmigrationcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9870\/revisions\/9875"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.maisoninteractive.com\/mixedmigrationcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.maisoninteractive.com\/mixedmigrationcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.maisoninteractive.com\/mixedmigrationcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.maisoninteractive.com\/mixedmigrationcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}