FARAH PAHLAVI - A LETTER
TO THE U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES
H.E. Mr. Ruud Lubbers
The High Commissioner for Refugees
The United Nations
Case Postale 2500
1211 Geneva, Switzerland
April 7, 2003
Your Excellency,
It is a well-established fact that the observance of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran is unsatisfactory and falls far short of the norms of the United Nations.
Many of my compatriots, who flee Iran, and a sizable number of whom end up in Turkey and Pakistan, have a genuine fear of persecution. The majority is housed in refugee camps that can best be described appalling and ghastly.
The Iranian applicants find themselves entangled in a bureaucratic web resulting in stressful and agonizing situations. These people are under constant fear of being returned to Iran "immediate refoulement". Past behavior of the Islamic Republic of Iran justifies serious concern regarding the predicament of those forced to return.
Therefore, I respectfully appeal to Your Excellency to please consider in providing the following:
· Temporary residence to all asylum seekers;
· Issuance of exit visas to all refugees accepted for third-country resettlement.
· Monitoring police conduct; and, allowing the UNHCR to carry out its mandate and defer to UNHCR when that body recognizes a person as a refugee.
· Reviewing the five-day limit.
I am sure the above provisions would make a world of difference to these ill-fated people.
With best wishes,
Farah Pahlavi
Cc : H.E. Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello
High Commissioner for Human Rights