UN Refugee Convention 1951 and Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Speakers at a roundtable conference April urged to develop a comprehensive and durable solution to the protracted issue of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. The conference was jointly organised by the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The speakers discussed the 1951 Refugees Convention and expressed their desire to promote accession to the convention as well as for Pakistan to adopt its national legislation on refugees. The convention is the key legal document that would help the government of Pakistan to deal with issues related to asylum in a structured manner and enable it to enact its own national law of asylum, the speakers added.

UNHCR representatives said that with support from the government of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the international community, a successful implementation of this strategy will help resolve the situation of the refugees by offering them alternative options and paving the way for lasting solutions.

Joint Secretary Ministry of SAFRON acknowledges that Pakistan needs a permanent legislation through accession of the UN convention on Refugee 1951.

Also present on the occasion, former ambassadors, judges, human rights activists, academics and journalists belonging to the Eminent Persons Group, welcomed government's initiative for addressing the issues of Afghan refugees. They offered to provide advisory services to institutions in finding durable solution to deal with the problem.

The federal cabinet in March last year approved a strategy on the management and repatriation of Afghans in Pakistan. The strategy examined optional legal stay for the registered Afghans, while simultaneously dealing with undocumented migrants.

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