Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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68. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade whether he will call on Pakistan to halt the forced deportation of 1.7 million Afghan refugees; and to detail the work being conducted by his Department on the issue. [49921/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The return of large numbers of Afghan refugees from Pakistan is placing a considerable strain on what is already a very fragile humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and is placing many vulnerable persons, including women and girls, in a precarious situation.

Pakistan has long been a global example of refugee protection stewardship and Ireland calls on it to preserve this decades-long commitment to Afghan refugees. While Pakistan has a right to regulate and manage its own borders, any return of refugees must be conducted in accordance with international law.

The UNHCR has offered its support to put in place measures to develop a system of registration for undocumented Afghans in Pakistan. The EU has indicated that it also stands ready to assist Pakistan, including with screening processes which would offer protection in particular for vulnerable groups and existing holders of Pakistan residency cards.

Last week the EU released an additional €61 million to support the people of Afghanistan and Afghan refugees within Pakistan. Ireland supports the EU’s response to the crisis in Afghanistan including the allocation of more than €1 billion for humanitarian assistance and basic needs.

Since 2021 Ireland has provided €12.7 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. In addition, as part of our response to the Pakistani floods, earlier this year we provided €5 million to fund the operations of UNHCR which is supporting Afghan refugees and their host communities in Pakistan. Ireland also contributes to global funds and key agencies active in Afghanistan, including the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which has allocated more than 145 million USD to Afghanistan since the beginning of 2021

My department has raised this issue with the Ambassador of Pakistan to Ireland and we are actively engaging with EU partners on this matter. The Irish Embassy in Türkiye, which is accredited to Pakistan, continues to monitor the situation.