The members of Somali Refugee Community held a protest demonstration outside the Islamabad Press Club on Thursday against UNHCR and its attached NGOs for violation of the fundamental human rights of the Somali refugees in Pakistan.
A large number of refuges including women and children participated in the demonstration which lasted for four hours. The protesters raised slogans against UNHCR and its attached NGOs allegedly for not providing them assistance obligatory to them. They alleged UNHCR for not granting financial aid to many of them due to it was hard to meet both ends in Pakistan. They also appealed to the UN high ups to take notice of their concerns.
Abdul Rehman Haji, the organizer of the protest accused that UNHCR chooses not to uphold the rights of these refugees, and refugees to comply with its own mandate. Asylum applications take far too long to process, living condition for asylum-seekers are untenable, Somali refugees in Pakistan are subject to abuse and violence by gang groups, and many refugees are denied official status without any reason. They said Somali Refugees are one of the most long-state refugees in Pakistan since 1991 till now.
He said there were so many single wives whose spouse were died in violence in Somalia in 1991, were facing many problems such as accommodation, financial, health and social etc. He said due to security concerns UN has closed down all of its offices in Pakistan while UNHCR has given the refugee projects living in Pakistan to an NGO which he alleged discriminate with them and treat them unprofessionally. "Refugees from many countries are living in Pakistan who are being properly assisted by UNHCR but Somali community is neglected because we are 'Black'", he pointed out.
Somali refugees appealed to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon and other international observers to take serious notice of their plight and direct the UNHCR to help Somali refugees in Pakistan to either provide assistance to them according to the international laws or help them getting political asylum of any other country.
Source: The News International - www.thenews.com.pk
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