Situation of Iranian Refugees Worldwide

Here is a collection of information on the situtaion of Iranian refugees worldwide. Our Documantation Center might be able to provide hard copies of material that are not accessible via the internet.

Statistics

UNHCR statistics: Iranian refugees by country or territory of asylum, end 1996
UNHCR statistics: New arrivals of Iranian refugees during 1996
UNHCR statistics: Iranian asylum applicants in selected asylum countries, 1996
UNHCR statistics: Convention status recognitions for Iranians by country of asylum, 1996
UNHCR statistics: Humanitarian status recognitions for Iranians by country of asylum, 1996
UNHCR statistics: Resettlement departures for Iranian Refugees in 1996
UNHCR statistics: Refugee status determination under UNHCR's mandate during 1996 or Iranians

News, Reports, and Articles

Asia

IRAQ: "Unsafe Haven:" The Situation of Kurdish Iranian Refugees in Northern Iraq, Iranian Refugees At-Risk, Spring & Fall 1997, Bulletin of Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Inc.
IRAQ: Iraq Country Information
IRAQ: Iranian Kurd refugees flee to northern Iraq, Agence France Presse, June 13, 1996
IRAQ: Two villages destroyed in attacks on Iranian Kurds: report, Agence France Presse, March 20, 1994
IRAQ: Two villages housing Iranian Kurds "virtually destroyed" by Iranian shelling, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts March 22, 1994
IRAQ: KURD REBELS SAY IRAN KILLS THEIR MAN IN BAGHDAD, Reuters World Service, August 4, 1994
IRAQ: Kurds accuse Iran of killing militant leader in Iraq, Agence France Presse, August 04, 1994
IRAQ: Iranian planes hit rebel base in Iraq, Reuters World Service November 9, 1994
IRAQ: Iranian jets hit Kurds, The Times November 10, 1994
IRAQ: Kurds claim Iranian air attack on Iraq caused deaths, injuries, Agence France Presse, November 09, 1994
IRAQ: Iranian Kurd party under pressure from Iraqi Kurds, Agence France Presse, May 11, 1995
IRAQ: IRAN GOES IN TO IRAQI KURDISTAN, The Guardian November 1, 1995
IRAQ: Iraq Kurds say 100 casualties in Iran shelling, Reuters World Service, August 21, 1996
IRAQ: U.N. human rights experts condemn Iran, attacks on Kurds, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, August 20, 1996
IRAQ: UNHCR starts to return Kurdish families to Iran border area, Agence France Presse, August 13, 1996
IRAQ: Statement reportedly from KDPI describes Iranian operation into northern Iraq, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, August 3, 1996
IRAQ: Iranian opposition radio says Iranian Kurdish refugees staging "sit-in", BC Summary of World Broadcasts, August 3, 1996
IRAQ: Kurdish radio says Iranian aircraft bombed areas near Arbil, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, July 31, 1996
IRAQ: Speaker of Iraqi Kurdistan parliament denounces Iranian attack, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, July 31, 1996
IRAQ: Iranian forces kill 20 Kurds based in Iraq - Iranian TV, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, July 31, 1996
IRAQ: Exodus of refugees stops with end of Iranian attack, Agence France Presse, July 30, 1996
IRAQ: Iranian troops withdraw from Kurdish camp: UN, Agence France Presse, July 30, 1996
IRAQ: Iranian offensive killed Kurdish refugees: UN, Agence France Presse, July 30, 1996
IRAQ: Thousands flee as Iran troops attack Kurds inside Iraq, The Times, July 30, 1996
IRAQ: IRAN RAID STRENGTHENS GRIP ON NORTHERN IRAQ, The Guardian, July 30, 1996
IRAQ: iran kills 20 rebel kurds, Xinhua News Agency, JULY 29, 1996
IRAQ: IRAN SHELLS IRAQI KURDISTAN, COMPASS Newswire, JULY 29, 1996
IRAQ: Iran's shelling scares off refugees in north Iraq, Reuters World Service, July 29, 1996
IRAQ: 2,000 Iranian troops launch incursion into northern Iraq: Kurds, Agence France Presse, July 28, 1996
IRAQ: Iran refugees in Iraq ask to go home - diplomat, Reuters World Service, July 25, 1996
IRAQ: Kurdish rebels say Iran kills four members in Iraq, Reuters World Service, March 18, 1996
IRAQ: Planes Raid Guerrilla Bases Inside Iraq, Facts on File World News Digest, June 10, 1993
IRAQ: Iraq Kurds say 100 casualties in Iran shelling, Reuters World Service, August 21, 1996
IRAQ: Iraq Kurds say 100 casualties in Iran shelling, Reuters World Service, August 21, 1996
IRAQ: Official on cases of poisoned Iranian Kurds, "dire need" for medicine, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, April 15, 1997
IRAQ: Iraq says Iran poisoned 85 Iranian Kurds, Reuters World Service, April 13, 1997
IRAQ: UNHCR urges Iran to take back its Iraq refugees, Reuters World Service, July 13, 1995
IRAQ: Iranian Kurds arrested by Islamist Iraqi Kurds reportedly handed over to Iran, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, November 5, 1996
IRAQ: KDP accuses Iran of "invasion" , appeals for help, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, October 24, 1996
IRAQ: DPK CLAIMS ITS POSITIONS WERE SHELLED FROM IRANIAN TERRITORY, TASS, September 20, 1996
IRAQ: Kurdish rebels say Iran kills five members in Iraq, Reuters World Service, January 3, 1996
IRAQ: IRAN: DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF KORDESTAN ISSUES STATEMENT ON ARREST OF TWO KURDS, Source: Reuter Textline, BBC Monitoring Service: Middle East, February 18, 1995
IRAQ: IRAQ: IRANIAN JETS HIT KURDS, Source: Reuter Textline, The Times, November 10, 1994
IRAQ: IRAN: KDPI ISSUES STATEMENT ON IRANIAN AIR RAIDS, Source: Reuter Textlin, BBC Monitoring Service: Middle East
IRAQ: IRAQ: TWO VILLAGES HOUSING IRANIAN KURDS "VIRTUALLY DESTROYED" BY IRANIAN SHELLING, Source: Reuter Textline, BBC Monitoring Service: Middle East, March 22, 1994
IRAQ: World Refugee Survey US Committee for Refugees, 1996.
IRAQ: Refugees blame UN for 16 years of broken promises, Agence France Presse, March 13, 1995
IRAQ: Fact Sheet, UNHCR Public Information, December 9, 1994
IRAQ: IRAQI Kurdistan, Fact Finding Mission on the Human Rights Situation, Federation Internationale Des Ligues Des Droits De L'Homme/Iranian refugees in Altash Camp/Iranian regime's attacks on kurdish villages, 1993.
IRAQ: UN ORGANISES REPATRIATION OF IRANIAN REFUGEES, Source: Reuter Textline, Middle East Economic Digest, October 11, 1991

Japan: IRANIAN APPEALS FOR HUSBAND'S RELEASE, Japan Economic Newswire, DECEMBER 3, 1988( NEXIS)

PAKISTAN: World Refugee Survey US Committee for Refugees, 1995
PAKISTAN: PAKISTAN TO EXPEL IRANIAN DISSIDENT, Reuter News Service - India, December 29, 1994
PAKISTAN: Fact Sheet, UNHCR Public Information, LAST UPDATED: 14 January 1994
PAKISTAN: An Independant Report on Iranian Refugees in Pakistan, prepared by the Ad Hoc Committee for Research on Refugee Rights, Montreal, August 1991

PHILIPPINES: RSPI Newsletter v. 1, Feb. 1995, REFUGEE SERVICES PHILIPPINES INC. (RSPI).
PHILIPPINES: Proceedings of the National Conference on refugee issues and prospects, 1995, the Philippine Experience, 24 Nov. 1994, Manila, REFUGEE SERVICES PHILIPPINES INC. (RSPI), 59p.

Europe

DENMARK:Refugee women in Denmark: towards a new identity?, Boesen, Inger ; Pedersen, Kim, Dansk Flygtningehj'lp, 1989

GREECE: Fact Sheet, UNHCR Public Information, May 15, 1995.
GREECE: Livelihood and vulnerability of foreign refugees in Greece, BLACK, Richard, 28p July 1992.

SPAIN: IRAN IN BRIEF; Spain offers asylum to Iranian women sentenced to death, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, November 2, 1989
SPAIN: Spain offered political asylum to 24 women facing execution in Iran on Tuesday, but a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman admitted their case seemed hopeless, Reuters, October 31, 1989

TURKEY/IRAQ: CALLFOR ACTION ON BEHALF OF KURDISH IRANIAN REFUGEES, Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Nov. 26, 1997,
TURKEY/IRAQ: LETTER TO HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES, RE: Policy of Returning Kurdish Iranian Refugees Back to Northern, Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Nov. 26, 1997,
TURKEY: COMMENTS BY UNHCR ANKARA ON ASYLUM ISSUES RAISED BY NGOs , UNHCR - Ankara, April 1997
TURKEY: Turkey Country Information
TURKEY: ACTION ALERT: Hundreds more of Iranian asylum seekers in Turkey are at risk of imminent expulsion, Iranian Refugees' Alliance, April 10, 1997.
TURKEY: OPEN LETTER TO TURKEY'S MINISTER OF INTERIOR, Iranian Refugees' Alliance, April 7, 1997.
TURKEY: URGENT ACTION: Imminent deportation of a large group of Iranian refugees in Turkey, Iranian Refugees' Alliance, March 6, 1997.
TURKEY: URGENT ACTION: Imminent Deportation of Four Iranian Refugees in Turkey, Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Feb. 26, 1997.
TURKEY: Turkey detains 41 illegal refugees trying to cross into Greece, Agence France Presse, May 08, 1997
TURKEY: Iran's deputy FM in Turkey for border security talks, Agence France Presse, July 18, 1996
TURKEY: Iranian opposition Kurds deported from Turkey, The Daily Telegraph, April 19, 1997
TURKEY: Iran, Turkey working together on opposition groups, Reuters, October 22, 1996 (NEXIS)
TURKEY: Action Alert: Summary Expulsion of 21 Iranian asylum seekers in Turkey, Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Sept. 6, 1996.
TURKEY: Action Alert: Summary Expulsion of 21 Iranian asylum seekers in Turkey, Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Sept. 6, 1996.
TURKEY: Action Alert: Summary Expulsion of 21 Iranian asylum seekers in Turkey, Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Sept. 6, 1996.
TURKEY: Barriers to Protection: Turkey's Asylum Regulations, Bill Frelick, US Committee for Refugees, July 1996,
TURKEY: Iranian Refugees At-Risk, Summer & Spring 1996, Quarterly News letter of Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Inc.
TURKEY: Urgent Action Alert, Fear of Deportation of more than 80 Iranian Asylum Seekers in Turkey, Iranian Refugees' Alliance, June 28, 1996.
TURKEY: Urgent Action: Forcible return/Fear of safety/Fear of Torture/ill-treatment, Mehrdad Kavousi, aged 36, Iranian asylum seeker, Amnesty International, MDE 13/21/96, 26 June 1996
TURKEY: Turkish government should stop forcible expulsion of refugees and asylum-seekers, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, 17 May 1996, (EUR 44/70/96)
TURKEY: Urgent Action: Forcible return/Fear for safety and new concern: Fear of Torture/ill-treatment, Mehrdad Kavousi, aged 36, Iranian asylum seeker, Amnesty International, MDE 13/06/96, 15 May 1996
TURKEY: Urgent Action: Forcible return/Fear for safety, Mehrdad Kavousi, aged 36, Iranianm asylum seeker, MDE 13/14/96, 30 April 1996
TURKEY: UNHCR criticizes Turkey over asylum practice, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, April 26, 1996
TURKEY: Turkey deports Iran dissident despite U.N. fears, Reuters World Service, April 26, 1996
TURKEY: GREECE SAYS PATROLBOAT FIRED WARNING SHOTS AT TURKS, The Reuter, European Community Report, April 22, 1996
TURKEY: Turkish police detain Iranian protestors, Reuters World Service, April 1, 1996
TURKEY: Iranian refugees protest against Tehran regime, Agence France Presse, March 29, 1996
TURKEY: Dissidents accuse Iran envoy of killing exiles, Reuters, February 29, 1996 (NEXIS)
TURKEY: Turkey urged not to repatriate Iranian asylum-seekers, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, January 10, 1996
TURKEY: unhcr refuses to review case of iranian asylum-seekers in
TURKEY: World Refugee Survey US Committee for Refugees, 1996.
TURKEY: unhcr refuses to review case of iranian asylum-seekers in turkey, Xinhua News Agency, NOVEMBER 17, 1995
TURKEY: Turkey says not obliged to accept Iranian refugees, Reuters World Service, October 25, 1995
TURKEY: UN urges Turkey to stop expelling Iranian refugees, Reuters World Service, October 24, 1995
TURKEY: IRAN: OPPOSITION GROUPS' STATEMENT SAYS REFUGEES IN TURKEY UNDER THREAT OF EXPULSION, Source: Reuter Textline, BBC Monitoring Service: Middle East, February 22, 1995
TURKEY: Iranian Refugees At-Risk, Fall 1995 & Winter 1996, Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Inc.
TURKEY: Evading scrutiny: Does UNHCRs refugee determination procedure measure up to international standards?, (assessment of the practices of UNHCR branch office in Turkey- Prelim assessment of new Turkish Govt & UNHCR ref processing system, May 1995, Iranian Refugees' Allaince, USA.
TURKEY: Iranian Refugees At-Risk, Spring 95, Quarterly Newsletter of Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Inc.
TURKEY: Iranian Refugees At-Risk, Summer 95, Quarterly Newsletter of Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Inc.
TURKEY: IRAN WELCOMES JOINT SECURITY ACTION WITH TURKEY, Reuters World Service, July 22, 1994
TURKEY: Discrimination puts non-European asylum-seekers at-risk, Amnesty International, EUR 44/WU 09/1994, 30 March 1994
TURKEY: FOUR OPPOSITION GROUPS ISSUE STATEMENT ON REFUGEES IN TURKEY, Source: Reuter Textline, BBC Monitoring Service: Middle East, August 16, 1994
TURKEY: IRAN: KURDISH OPPOSITION RADIO COMMENTS ON IRANIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS AND BESHARATI'S VISIT, Source: Reuter Textline, BBC Monitoring Service: Middle East, June 29, 1994
TURKEY: Turkey : selective protection : discriminatory treatment of non-European refugees and asylum-seekers, Amnesty International, EUR 44/16/94, March 1994.
TURKEY: AI Fears for the Safety of Iranian and Iraqi Refugees and Asulum-seekers, Amnesty International, EUR 44/WU 03/1994, 21 January 1994
TURKEY: IRANIAN KURD DISSIDENT SHOT DEAD IN TURKEY, Reuters, January 7, 1994 (NEXIS)
TURKEY: Turkey, Iran join forces against Kurd separatists, Agence France Presse, December 20, 1993
TURKEY: IRAN AGREES TO HELP TURKEY AGAINST KURDS, The Reuter Library Report, December 19, 1993
TURKEY: TURKEY AND IRAN HOLD SECURITY TALKS, he Reuter Library Report, November 30, 1993
TURKEY: The Legal Status of Asylum Seekers in Turkey: Problems and Prospects, Kemal Kirisci, Internatioanl Jouranal of Refugee Law Vol. 3 No. 3, 1991
TURKEY: Nine Iranians summarily returned to Iran from Turkey, (A1 index: EUR 44/104/88), AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, 9 Dec. 1988.
TURKEY: The situation of Iranian refugees in Turkey, Preliminary draft report, Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography, COUNCIL OF EUROPE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY ; Mrs. LUUK ; Mr. ALTUG, 8p 5 Dec. 1988.
TURKEY: Turkey : an unsafe country of waiting for Iranian refugees, Amnesty International, 7p, AI Index: EUR 44/56/88, July 1988.
TURKEY: Nine Iranians summarily returned to Iran from Turkey, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, 9 Dec. 1988, (A1 index: EUR 44/104/88).
TURKEY: Iranian refugees in Turkey, translation of a report of a German delegation to Turkey, WEISSINGER, Friedrich; DIAKONISCHES WERK OF HESSEN AND NASSAU, 9p, 22 March 1987, Diakonisches Werk of Hessen and Nassau [D].

NETHERLANDS: Fasting Iranians Demand Green Cards, The Associated Press, Thursday, August 14, 1997
NETHERLANDS: SOS to Concerned Parties and Activists, Iranian hunger striker in detention faces death, Aug, 27, 1996.
NETHERLANDS: PROTESTS FAIL TO HALT DEPORTATION OF IRANIAN ASYLUM SEEKER, ANP English News Bulletin, July 19, 1996
NETHERLANDS: IHRWG appeals to the Dutch authorities on behalf of Iranian refugees in Holland, (released: June 25th , 1996)
NETHERLANDS: GOVT TO CONTINUE REPATRIATING FAILED IRANIAN ASYLUM SEEKERS, ANP English News Bulletin, May 29, 1996
NETHERLANDS: HUMANITARIAN PLEA FOR IRANIANS REFUSED ASYLUM IN NL, ANP English News Bulletin, November 20, 1995
NETHERLANDS: IRANIAN ASYLUM SEEKERS PROTEST COURT RULING, ANP English News Bulletin, November 7, 1995
NETHERLANDS: Iranian asylum seekers protest Dutch court ruling, Reuters World Service, November 5, 1995
NETHERLANDS: Dutch court rejects Iranian asylum request, Reuters World Service, November 2, 1995
NETHERLANDS: Psychological problems of young Iranian refugees, VAN DER VEER, Guus, 1987, 11p, Social Psychiatric Service for Refugees Amsterdam, Netherland.

NORWAY: Iranian immigrants and refugees in Norway, KAMALKHANI, Zahra, 214p, 1988, Department of Social Anthropology, University of Bergen.

SWEDEN: Iranian Gay Man Faces Expulsion from Sweden, Federation for Gay and Lesbian Rights (RFSL)
SWEDEN: Asylum protection for unaccompanied Eritrean and Iranian children in the Federal Republic of Germany and in Sweden, Unaccompanied refugee children in Europe / International Social Service pp. 49 - 57 1990, ISS German Branch.

United Kingdom: STRASBOURG BAR TO DEPORTATION, The Guardian, January 18, 1997
United Kingdom: Euro-court takes up Iranian vs Britain case, Reuters World Service, January 17, 1997
United Kingdom: The European Convention on Human Rights and the Absoluteness of its Article 3- M.A.R. v. United Kingdom, Iranian Refugees At-Risk, Spring & Fall 1997, Bulletin of Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Inc.

United States

Mother of exiles : refugees imprisoned in America., Lawyers Committee for Human Rights : Helsinki Watch, c1986.
Anti Woman Bias, Basis for Asylum, Clyde Farnsworth, New York Times, Feb. 2, 1993

Canada

REFUGEE WAS JAILED FOR MAKEUP, The Toronto Sun, July 12, 1996
IRANIAN REFUGEE ORDERED DEPORTED FOR STORE HEISTS, The Toronto Sun, July 20, 1995
Iranian woman who whipped allowed to stay, Toronto star, Oct. 23, 1991
Iranian refugees in Canada, a preliminary research proposal Sept.1989-Aug.1990, Vakil-zad, Cyrus A., 16p, 1989.

Australia

Iranian seeking asylum in Australia claims he could be killed, Agence France Presse, January 21, 1997
Australia dumps Iranian refugee: report, Agence France Presse, May 05, 1995
Ex-Iranian stranded here - Australia refuses reentry, The Jerusalem Post, May 5, 1995
AUSTRALIA: IRANIAN MAKES REFUGEE APPEAL, Source: Reuter Textline Sunday Age (Melbourne), July 3, 1994
AUSTRALIA: TORTURE IN IRAN LED TO EMBASSY RAID, COURT TOLD, Source: Reuter Textlin, The Age (Melbourne), November 30, 1993

General

BACKGROUND PAPER ON REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS FROM IRAN, UNHCR Centre for Documentation and Research Geneva, October 1995
Iranian Exiles and Sexual Politics: Issues of Gender Relations and Identity, Hammed Shahidian, Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1 1996.
Iranian refugees and exiles since Khomeini, FATHI, Asghar (ed.), 1991, Mazda Publishers/ EUROPE / USA / CANADA.
Iranian Refugees: The Many Faces of Persecution, Allen K. Jones, U.S. Committee for Refugees, 1984.

This page is under permanent construction

Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Inc.
Cooper Station P.O. Box 316 NewYork, NY 10276-0316 USA
phone/fax: 212. 260 7460 email:irainc@irainc.org
URL: http://www.irainc.org
Revised: Nov.1997