The United Nations Refugee agency has accused Sri Lanka of violating international law by forcibly deporting asylum seekers who may face persecution on their return.
Sri Lanka currently houses 157 asylum seekers according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, mostly from Pakistan. Since August 1st over 88 refugees have been deported, despite warnings that they may face persecution in their home country.
Adrian Edwards, a spokesperson for the UNHCR, slammed the deportations saying,
Edwards went on to add,
See our earlier post: UNHCR “deeply concerned” at Sri Lanka’s deportation of Pakistani refugees (06 August 2014)
Sri Lanka currently houses 157 asylum seekers according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, mostly from Pakistan. Since August 1st over 88 refugees have been deported, despite warnings that they may face persecution in their home country.
Adrian Edwards, a spokesperson for the UNHCR, slammed the deportations saying,
"Fundamentally, this is a breach of the principle of no forced returns. That's a clear violation of international law."
Edwards went on to add,
“We are very concerned at the continued deportations that are happening. We want [them] stopped.... Some of the latest deportees had their passports and asylum-seeker certificates seized last week. They were told to go to Colombo airport, where they were placed on flights to Pakistan."His comments come after the UN agency stated it was “deeply concerned” about the deportations last week, urging Sri Lankan authorities to stop them.
See our earlier post: UNHCR “deeply concerned” at Sri Lanka’s deportation of Pakistani refugees (06 August 2014)