IRAN COMPLAINS OF BURDEN OF AFGHAN IMMIGRANTS

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/19/2018
TAGS: IR PGOV PHUM PREF AF
SUBJECT: IRAN COMPLAINS OF BURDEN OF AFGHAN IMMIGRANTS

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CLASSIFIED BY: Jillian Burns, Director, Iran Regional Presence
Office, DoS.
REASON: 1.4 (d)

1.(S) Summary: Iranian officials frequently complain that the
influx of illegal Afghan immigrants into Iran since the U.S.-led
war in Afghanistan broke out in 2001 creates an economic burden
that Iran can no longer bear. At a conference on immigrants in
April, Iranian government officials said that Afghans make up
91% of the refugee population in Iran. Iranian officials
dispute UNHCR figures of Afghan immigrants at close to 1
million, claiming that Iran plays host to roughly 3 million
Afghans. It calculates the cost to the country at $2 day each,
or $6 million a day, and calls UNHCR's grant to Iran of a $1
million per annum grossly inadequate. An Iranian who until
recently worked for UNICEF in Iran said that illegal Afghan
immigrants, once deported, promptly return via Sistan va
Baluchestan province in southeastern Iran. Some provincial
officials have decided to take matters into their own hands. As
of June 21, Gilan province in northern Iran will reportedly ban
Afghan citizens from working and traveling in its borders. End
Summary.

UN recognition

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2.(U) January 2008 UNHCR figures put the Afghan population in
Iran at 894,000, second only to Pakistan as a host. Officials
from the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World
Food Program (WFP) praised Iran in June for its assistance to
Afghan refugees. IRNA reported June 17 that UNHCR
representative in Iran Carlos Zaccagnini as said, "We respect
the grave burden shouldered by the Iranian
government...Unfortunately, we could not fulfill our promises
but the international community is serious to render more aid to
Iran...Iran's actions in dealing with the issue of refugees,
especially the Afghans, are very admirable." Zaccagnini urged
UNHCR to give Iran more assistance. Separately, Fars News
reported June 16 that WFP Regional Director for the Middle East
and Central Asia Naila Sabra told Iranian press in Rome, "I
personally thank the Iranian government for accepting over one
million Afghan refugees into the country...We have long been
witnessing humanitarian efforts graciously made by Iran to help
its neighbors."

Real number of Afghans?

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3.(U) Iran's envoy to the Food and Agriculture Organization told
the WFP that more than 97% of Afghan refugees in Iran are not
covered by the WFP food assistance program because they live
outside official migrant camps where aid agencies can access
them, as reported by Fars News June 14. He said that out of the
more than 1 million Afghan refugees in Iran, fewer than 27,000
Afghan refugees live in camps. He noted that severe droughts
and rising global food prices have put refugees living outside
of camps throughout the world, including in Iran, in a
vulnerable position.

4.(U) Counting both legal and illegal Afghan residents in Iran,
then Iranian Interior Minister Pourmohammadi told an immigration
conference in April that more than 3 million Afghan nationals
live in Iran, some of whom have been in Iran three decades. He
said that "international organizations do not offer real help
for solving the problems of these immigrants in Iran."
Pourmohammadi claimed that of the $12 million allocated by the
UN to assist Afghan refugees in Iran annually, only $1 million
is given to the Iranian government and the remainder is used to
cover the cost of UN offices in Iran.

5.(U) Director-General of the Foreign Ministry's department for
foreign nationals and refugees affairs, Taqi Qaemi, was quoted
in press saying that UNHCR's $1 million assistance is grossly
inadequate, when one considers that at a very minimum, Iran
spends $2 per refugee, per day, times 3 million Afghans -
resulting in a daily $6 million dollar price tag.

6.(U) Qaemi said that 91% of refugees in Iran are from
Afghanistan. He claimed that the high influx of refugees has
resulted in a host of problems for Iran, in addition to the
economic burden, including: "illegal" marriages, orphaned
children, and the trafficking of drugs, humans, and weapons.


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Greater crackdowns

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7.(S) An Iranian who until recently worked for UNICEF to
establish "health posts" and literacy programs for Afghan
refugees claimed that Iran started cracking down on illegal
immigrants after it did not receive promised additional funding
from the UN. She said the refugee issue puts politicians in a
difficult position as immigrants are seen as "eating up" money
that could go to nationals. Another reason for greater
crackdowns and increased deportations, surmised the former UN
employee, could be Ahmadinejad himself. While serving as Tehran
mayor, she said, he took a harder stance on immigration --
firing Afghan refugees working as janitors in Tehran
municipality because he wanted the jobs to go to unemployed
Iranians.

8.(S) A June 17 report from Fars News claimed that 103 illegal
Afghans were rounded up in Sistan-va Baluchestan in 24 hours but
did not say whether they would be deported. The former UNICEF
employee said that once deported, illegal Afghan immigrants
often return to Iran via the border of the southeastern Sistan
va Baluchestan province.

9.(U) Gilan province (located on the Caspian Sea) has reportedly
decided to try to ban Afghans. According to Fars News, the
Director General of the Gilan province Bureau of Aliens and
Foreign Immigrant Affairs Hamidreza Mohebbi recently announced
that all residency permits and identity cards for Afghans in
Gilan will be invalid as of June 21. He added that Gilan "will
be one of the provinces in which Afghan citizens are barred from
living or traveling." (Note: We have seen nothing to indicate
whether such a rule can be implemented or whether other
provinces are following suit. Endnote). "Due to permanent
nature of the ban on the presence of Afghans in Gilan province,
all managers particularly, real estate agents, employers and
contractors should refrain from any dealings related to property
rentals and employment," said Mohebbi.

Better workers

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10.(S) Despite Ahmadinejad's desire to employ more Iranians, an
Iranian construction business owner in Tehran said he preferred
Afghan laborers because they are better workers. The
businessman dismissed as negligible the impact of rising labors
costs associated with the deportation of Afghan laborers in the
construction sector (reftel). While his labor costs have
increased by 20% due to the expulsions of Afghans, he said this
increase is minuscule compared to skyrocketing costs of
construction materials.

11.(S) The contractor, who only works in Tehran, was also
dismissive of enforcement of labor laws. He said the Ministry
of Labor is the only entity that has the jurisdiction to control
work permits while Afghans are physically on a construction
site. While the ministry sometimes will fine companies
employing illegal Afghans, they often accept bribes to overlook
illegal workers. The police, he added, can only "hassle"
illegal immigrants when they are not at work.

12.(C) Comment: As Iran's economy continues to decline, and oil
and food costs rise, the costs of supporting a large refugee
population will continue to climb, and Iran is likely to
continue to try to expel Afghan refugees. If Gilan province is
actually successful in driving out all Afghans, as impossible as
that sounds, it is possible that other provinces could follow
suit. It is noteworthy that Iranian officials included illegal
immigration as a top concern that they would like to discuss in
its recent proposed package to the P5+1 for constructive
negotiations.
BURNS