Back اللاجئون الأفغان Arabic আফগান শরণার্থী Bengali/Bangla Refugiats afganesos Catalan Refugiados afganos Spanish پناهندگان افغانستانی Persian Réfugiés afghans French अफगान शरणार्थी राष्ट्र Hindi アフガン難民 Japanese افغان کډوال Pashto/Pushto Refugiados do Afeganistão Portuguese

Afghan refugees

Map showing the flow of Afghan refugees following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979
Afghan evacuees boarding American aircraft during Operation Allies Refuge in 2021

Afghan refugees are citizens of Afghanistan who were forced to flee from their country as a result the continuous wars that the country has suffered since the Afghan-Soviet war, the Afghan civil war, the Afghanistan war (2001–2021) or either political or religious persecution. The 1978 Saur Revolution, followed by the 1979 Soviet invasion, marked the first major wave of internal displacement and international migration to neighboring Iran and Pakistan; smaller numbers also went to India[1] or to countries of the former Soviet Union. Between 1979 and 1992, more than 20% of Afghanistan's population fled the country as refugees.[2] Following the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, many returned to Afghanistan,[3] however many Afghans were again forced to flee during the civil war in the 90s. Over 6 million Afghan refugees were residing in Iran and Pakistan by 2000.[4] Most refugees returned to Afghanistan following the 2001 United States invasion and overthrow of the Taliban regime.[5][6][7] Between 2002 and 2012, 5.7 million refugees returned to Afghanistan, increasing the country's population by 25%.[8]

Afghanistan is one of the largest refugee-producing countries in the world.[9] A total of 6.3 million Afghan refugees were allocated in Pakistan and Iran in 1990.[10] It is considered to be amongst the 4 nations with the highest number of refugees. There are more than 8 million Afghans who have been forced to flee their homes as a result of violence, potential persecution, and poverty, which has created a diasporic population of more than 8.2 million Afghans across a total of 103 separate countries.[11] Of these 8.2 million refugees, just under 6 million are deemed to have been displaced as a result of the United States' War in Afghanistan.[12] Along with this, approximately 3.2 millions Afghan nationals have been driven from their homes and into the status of internally displaced person (IDP).[11]

Some countries that were part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) established special programs to allow thousands of Afghans to resettle in North America or Europe.[13][14][15][16][17] As stateless refugees or asylum seekers, they are protected by the well-established non-refoulement principle and the U.N. Convention Against Torture. They receive the maximum government benefits and protections in countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[18][19] For example, those that receive green cards under 8 U.S.C. § 1159 can immediately become "non-citizen nationals of the United States" pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1452(b), without needing to meet the requirements of 8 U.S.C. § 1427(a).[20] This allows them to travel with distinct United States passports.[21] Australia provides a similar benefit to admitted refugees.

  1. ^ Amstutz, J. Bruce (1994). Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation. Diane Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7881-1111-2. OCLC 948347893.
  2. ^ "Refugees From Afghanistan: The world's largest single refugee group" (PDF). www.refworld.org. November 16, 1999. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  3. ^ "Afghanistan 10 years after Soviet pull-out". UNHCR. February 12, 1999. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  4. ^ "USCR Country Report Afghanistan: Statistics on refugees and other uprooted people". ReliefWeb. June 19, 2001. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference data2.unhcr.org was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Over 1.1m Afghans repatriated from Iran, Pakistan last year". Pajhwok Afghan News. January 3, 2022. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference IOM Afghanistan Highlights was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ UNHCR country operations profile – Afghanistan Archived 4 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine unhcr.org
  9. ^ "More than seven million refugees displaced in 2012". BBC News. June 19, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  10. ^ "Afghan households in Iran:Profile and impact" (PDF). UNHCR. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  11. ^ a b "Afghanistan Refugee Crisis Explained". www.unrefugees.org. 2023-07-18. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  12. ^ Vine, David; Coffman, Cala; Khoury, Kataline; Lovasz, Madison; Bush, Helen; Leduc, Rachael; Walkup, Jennifer (September 21, 2020). "Creating Refugees: Displacement Caused by the United States' Post-9/11 Wars" (PDF). Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  13. ^ "US Expands Eligibility for Afghan Refugee Resettlement". Voice of America. August 2, 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  14. ^ "US Announces New Refugee Program for Afghans". TOLOnews. August 2, 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  15. ^ "Afghan who aided U.S. arrive at Virginia base, but many others remain in peril". Los Angeles Times. July 30, 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
  16. ^ "Joe Biden approves $300 million for Afghan refugees". Khaama Press. July 24, 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  17. ^ "House votes to expand and speed up visa process for Afghans who helped the U.S. during war". CNBC. July 22, 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  18. ^ See generally
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mashiri was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference nationals but not citizens of the United States was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ 22 U.S.C. § 212 ("Persons entitled to passport")

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