International Coalition for the Rights of Iranian Refugees icri.refugees@gmail.com

A S Y L U M. P R O T E C T I O N. N O F O R C E D R E T U R N.

THESE ARE THE RIGHTS OF A REFUGEE ACCORDING TO THE UNITED NATIONS

…yet the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is violating the human rights of Iranian and other

refugees in Turkey, Iraq, Greece and elsewhere

In the crackdown by the Islamic Republic regime in Iran that took

place after the June 2009 elections and subsequent popular uprising,

thousands of people in Iran have been imprisoned, tortured, raped,

and many have been killed. Amnesty International estimates that

5,000 people were detained in the post-election crackdown between

June and December 2009.

As a result of this brutal crackdown – which continues in Iran to this

day – thousands of Iranians have fled, seeking refuge in other

countries. Many have fled to Turkey seeking refugee status so that

they could be given asylum in a third country. But instead of finding

refuge and protection from one of the most violent and repressive regimes in the world, they have

found abuse and intimidation in Turkey, from both the Turkish government, agents of the Islamic

Republic, and even UNHCR itself.

In violation of its own mandate, the UN Refugee Agency

(UNHCR), is guilty of massive human rights violations

against Iranian and other refugees in Turkey.

- Christian asylum-seekers are mocked for their beliefs

by UNHCR interviewers.

- Torture victims with visible and documented wounds

are being called liars by UNHCR interviewers.

- Battered woman are being turned away by UNHCR.

- Asylum applications take far too long to process, living

conditions for refugees are untenable, and many

refugees are denied official status without cause.

In dealing with Iranian refugees, the UNHCR refuses to follow its own mandate and chooses to ignore

its own definition of who is an asylee or refugee. The UNHCR remains silent while Iranian refugees are

abused by Turkish authorities that have illegally incarcerated them, that have bussed UNHCR-

recognized refugees back to the Iranian border and forced them to leave Turkey at gunpoint, and have

even murdered Iranians seeking sanctuary at the borders and buried them in mass graves.

International Coalition for the Rights of Iranian Refugees icri.refugees@gmail.com

The UNHCR’s unremitting violations of the human rights of Iranian refugees results either in their being

forced back into the grasp of the Islamic Republic regime, which wants to imprison, torture and even

execute them, or requires that the asylum-seeker and their family lives without rights of any kind in

Turkey for years awaiting their status. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

We are asking concerned citizens around the world to write to the UN Refugee Agency in Geneva and

Ankara to demand immediate intervention in the situation in Turkey for Iranians who have fled the

brutal and inhuman Islamic regime in Iran, and for all refugees whose human rights include a right to

asylum. A sample letter is provided, along with email addresses:

MAIL TO:

Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees: guterres@unhcr.org

Carol Batchelor, UNHCR Representative to Turkey: turan@unhcr.ch

This is a publication of the International Coalition for the Rights of Iranian Refugees (ICRIR). Members of

the ICRIR include the International Federation for Iranian Refugees, the Iranian Refugee Action

Network, the Iranian Refugee Amnesty Network, Mission Free Iran and TDCAU.

Mr. Guterres and Ms. Batchelor:

I am writing to you to express my grave concern over UNHCR’s violations of the fundamental

human rights of Iranian and other refugees in Turkey.

UNHCR takes far too long to process asylum applications, living conditions for refugees are

untenable, Iranian refugees in Turkey are subject to abuse and violence by Turkish police as well

as agents of the Islamic Republic, and many are denied official status without cause.

I do not accept such violations of the rights of Iranian refugees, and, in support of the demands

of Iranian refugees in Turkey, make the following demands:

1. UNHCR immediately recognize Iranians fleeing their country as prima facie refugees.

2. Until this first demand is implemented, I demand UNHCR takes immediate steps to ensure that

the status determination procedures are efficient, fair, and transparent, and that UNHCR and its

affiliated organizations are accountable to asylum-seekers and those who represent them.

Sincerely,

[your name]