Treatment by the authorities of Iranians who work for the UNHCR in Kermanshah; whether treatment is different for UNHCR employees who are Kurdish (1998 - February 2001) [IRN36383.E]

No information on the treatment by the authorities of Iranians who work for the UNHCR in Kermanshah could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

On 30 June 2000 the UNHCR office in Kermanshah was closed (IRNA 28 June 2000;AFP 2 July 2000; UNHCR n.d.). The UNHCR reported that "the return of some 18,000 Iraqi refugees of Kurdish origin in 1999 allowed UNHCR to close its office in Kermanshah on 30 June" (ibid.). Sources reported a UNHCR spokesperson as saying the office was no longer needed (AFP 2 July 2000; IRNA 28 June 2000).

''For UNHCR, the closure of an office is an indicator of success,'' commented Carrol Faubert, Chief of Mission of UNHCR in Iran. ''It shows that most of the refugees in that region have now been able to return home safely.''
Over the years, the UNHCR Kermanshah office has cooperated with local authorities in providing support to refugees in camps, in organizing the voluntary repatriation of refugees and giving direct medical and other assistance to the most needy among those outside camps.
According to the press release, from now on, remaining assistance and protection activities in the three provinces will be covered from Orumiyeh, the single UNHCR office still open out of the three established in 1991 in that part of the country. The central UNHCR office for Iran is in Tehran, with branches in Mashhad (Dogharoun), Zahedan (Milak), Ahvaz and Orumiyeh (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References


Agence France Presse (AFP). 2 July 2000. "UN Refugee Agency Closes Iranian Office for Iraqi Kurds." http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:www.iranmania.com/news/jul00/020700l.asp+kermanshah+unhcr&hl=en [Accessed 13 Mar. 2001]

IRNA 28 June 2000. "UNHCR to Close its Kermanshah Office Soon." http://www.kurdishmedia.com/news/news28_06.htm [Accessed 13 Mar. 2001]

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). n.d. UNHCR Mid-Year Report 2000. "Country Operation: Islamic Republic of Iran." http://www.unhcr.ch/fdrs/my2000/irn.pdf [Accessed 13 Mar. 20001]

Additional Sources Consulted


IRB databases

LEXIS-NEXIS

REFWORLD

World News Connection (WNC)

Internet sites including:

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices -2000

Human Rights Watch

Immigration and Nationality Directorate, UK

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR)

U.S. Department of State

Search engines including:

Google