Joint Statement on the Occasion of World Refugee Day – 20 June 2025
6/20/20253 min read
Joint Statement on the Occasion of World Refugee Day – 20 June 2025
On the occasion of World Refugee Day, more than 80 Afghan civil society organizations, human rights groups, protest movements, advocacy networks, and independent institutions have come together to sign an open letter expressing their profound concern over the worsening humanitarian and human rights situation facing Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, particularly in Iran and Pakistan.
Today, millions of Afghan women, men, and children are living under conditions of extreme insecurity, displacement, statelessness, and deprivation of their most fundamental rights. Many have been forced to flee Afghanistan because of persecution, political repression, conflict, poverty, gender-based discrimination, threats to their lives, and the systematic denial of basic freedoms.
For countless Afghan refugees, displacement has not brought safety or stability. Instead, many continue to face forced deportations, arbitrary detention, racial and ethnic discrimination, economic exploitation, structural poverty, restrictions on freedom of movement, and limited or no access to essential services such as education, healthcare, legal assistance, and decent employment.
Women and girls are among those facing the greatest risks. Many Afghan women who fled their country in search of safety are now confronted with uncertainty, poverty, harassment, and the constant fear of detention or deportation. Children are also paying a devastating price, with many being deprived of schooling, adequate healthcare, psychological support, and the opportunity to build a secure future.
The ongoing deportation and forced return of Afghan refugees is particularly alarming at a time when Afghanistan continues to face a grave human rights and humanitarian crisis. Returning vulnerable individuals and families without adequate protection, legal safeguards, or consideration of the dangers they may face places countless lives at serious risk.
In our open letter, addressed to international organizations, United Nations agencies, UNHCR member and partner states, human rights institutions, humanitarian organizations, and independent media around the world, we call upon the international community to break its silence and take meaningful responsibility for the protection of Afghan refugees.
We urge governments and international institutions to take immediate and practical measures to prevent forced deportations, protect refugees from arbitrary arrest and abuse, expand access to asylum procedures and legal protection, and ensure that Afghan refugees can access education, healthcare, housing, employment, and other essential services without discrimination.
We further call on UNHCR and the wider international community to strengthen monitoring and protection mechanisms in countries hosting large numbers of Afghan refugees, particularly Iran and Pakistan. Refugees and asylum seekers who face heightened risks—including women human rights defenders, journalists, activists, former public servants, ethnic and religious minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and others facing persecution—must receive urgent protection and access to safe pathways, including humanitarian visas, family reunification, and resettlement opportunities.
The international community must also recognize that the Afghan refugee crisis cannot be treated merely as a migration-management issue. It is fundamentally a human rights crisis. Policies based solely on deportation, deterrence, detention, or border control will only deepen the suffering of people who have already endured years of conflict, displacement, persecution, and uncertainty.
We therefore call upon governments, international organizations, civil society institutions, and the global media to stand in solidarity with Afghan refugees and to ensure that their voices, experiences, and demands are not ignored.
World Refugee Day must be more than a symbolic occasion. It should serve as a reminder that every refugee is a human being with rights, dignity, hopes, and a future. No person should be subjected to humiliation, violence, discrimination, or forced return simply because they were compelled to seek safety beyond the borders of their homeland.
We call on the international community to move beyond expressions of concern and toward concrete action. The protection of Afghan refugees requires political will, international cooperation, accountability, humanitarian assistance, and long-term solutions that place human dignity and fundamental rights at the center of all policies.
At this critical moment, silence is not neutrality. Indifference carries consequences.
We therefore urge the world to stand with Afghan refugees, defend their rights, protect their dignity, and ensure that no Afghan woman, man, or child is left without protection, without a voice, or without hope.