The UN Refugee Agency has criticised Sri Lanka for deporting 36 Pakistani asylum seekers last week, urging the government to stop the deportations and granting the UNHCR access to the remaining refugees.
“UNHCR urges the authorities to stop the deportations and grant us access to refugees and asylum-seekers still detained in Colombo,” spokesperson Ariane Rummery told media in Geneva.
Rummery said that the UN appealed to Sri Lanka “to respect the principle of non-refoulement by not sending people back to a place where their lives could be in danger without the opportunity to assess their needs for international protection.”
205 Pakistani, Afghan and Iranian refugees and asylum-seekers remain in detention in Sri Lanka and the UNHCR said it continued to seek access to them.