TEHRAN – Iran’s generous and exceptional services for refugees despite unfair economic sanctions has exceeded expectations and international responsibilities, an official with the National Organization for Migration has said.

Behzad Moradipour made the remarks in the meeting of the Almaty Process Experts Group which was held on Wednesday, November 29, in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Representatives from eight states were participating in the event.

Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan are currently members of the Almaty process. Iran and Pakistan attended the meeting as observers.

Moradipour, who represented Iran in this meeting, highlighted that the country has been directly affected by the consequences of the massive influx of millions of refugees and foreigners for more than four decades.

The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has made a very generous effort to provide services to millions of refugees and foreign nationals despite difficult living conditions and oppressive economic sanctions imposed on the country, he said.

He emphasized the need for providing accurate information and data governance in the management of refugees and immigrants.

During the meeting, the eight officials discussed issues related to immigrants in the host countries, enhancing regional cooperation, and coordinating activities in the field of migration, as well as sharing experiences on managing and improving the quality of data.

Almaty Process

The Almaty Process is a regional consultative process on refugee protection and international migration to, from, and within Central Asia.

The Almaty Process aims to address the multiple challenges resulting from mixed migration dynamics and to enhance regional cooperation and coordination on mixed migration.

It aims to promote dialogue on international migration and refugee protection, and the implementation of a coherent, integrated, and differentiated policy on people on the move and develop mechanisms for monitoring and resolving issues related to irregular migration.

It seeks to develop an action plan within the framework of the project aimed at strengthening the capacity of States to manage migration and ensure the protection of refugees.

IOM to share Iran’s experience with other nations

On November 26, the chairman of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), Pir-Hossein Kolivand, said IRCS is ready to cooperate with other nations and share its experiences in providing services to refugees and immigrants.

He made the remarks in a meeting with Lalini Veerassamy, the Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the Islamic Republic of Iran, IRNA reported.

Kolivand stressed that all these are done without any expectations, merely out of a humanitarian perspective. While other countries, receiving substantial funds from international organizations to help refugees, fail to provide the same services.

Appreciating the services provided to Afghan refugees, Veerassamy stated Iran hosts millions of immigrants and refugees.

Although managing and organizing these foreign nationals is very difficult, the immigrants are well-treated in Iran.

She added that the International Organization of Migration will help the IRCS because of common objectives. “We will try to alleviate the sufferings and hardships of the refugees through favorable cooperation.”

“We will make efforts to introduce Iran's exceptional services to refugees to the world and introduce Iran as a leading and successful country in managing immigrants,” Veerassamy concluded.

Official statistics say around five million Afghan nationals live in Iran, about one million of them live in Khorasan Razavi province, mostly in the capital city of Mashhad.

For over four decades, Iran has been hosting one of the largest and most protracted refugee situations in the world and has provided asylum to refugees, mostly from Afghanistan.

The recent fast-paced turn of events in Afghanistan has the potential to create additional population movements; internally displacing families and potentially driving them to neighboring countries to seek refuge.

MT/MG