回應阿富汗的逃離危機,臺灣勿違反不遣返原則

塔利班(Taliban)在重新掌控阿富汗政權後,於8月17日召開第一場記者會;會上發言人強調將會在伊斯蘭法律框架下保障婦女權利,並且不會對任何人報復。然而此舉並未緩解全球疑慮,大量阿富汗人仍絕望地向外逃離至他國。

在2021年6月18日前,聯合國難民署統計有兩百六十萬阿富汗人登記為難民,有四百八十萬人在境內流離失所(聯合國難民署,2021)。但從塔利班在7月陸續控制阿富汗外圍城市後,每天就有約五千人逃往伊朗(聯合國難民署,2021)。同樣與阿富汗接壤的巴基斯坦,在這波危機前已經收容三百萬名阿富汗難民,表示已經無力再收留更多人。在外尋求庇護碰壁,但留下來的情況也險惡,尤其是欠缺管道離開、只能低調生活的的女性、人權工作者、學者、文藝工作者、記者、前政府公務員、種族和宗教少數。

塔利班在1996到2001年統治期間,嚴厲地懲罰違反伊斯蘭法律(Sharia)的行為,其中大量針對女性的措施,被聯合國特別報告員指為性別隔離(Gender aparthield)(Bennoune,2021)。例如女性無法接受教育、只有極少數人能夠工作,女性外出需男性監護人陪同,外出必須著全身遮罩只留眼睛的布卡(burka),更數度發生性別倡議者遭綁架。許多國際人權組織擔憂,原本對人權和媒體工作者已經相當嚴苛的環境,恐怕會升溫成暴力和迫害(國際人權聯盟,2021)。因此,即便塔利班在記者會上似乎釋出善意,在過去幾天,仍有大量阿富汗女性為了自保,必須燒毀工作證、文憑、銀行卡、照片,其中不乏國家女子足球隊隊長(Axon,2021)。

目前世界主要大國都正在協調提高庇護阿富汗人的數量,其中包含英國20,000人、德國10,000人、加拿大20,000人,烏干達2,000人。諾貝爾和平獎共同得主馬拉拉(Malala Yousafzai)日前(8/18)受訪時,也請求西方國家提供庇護給阿富汗女性和人權運動者。

然而,臺灣目前沒有難民法規,就過去經驗,政府無法提供任何外國難民保護。現在也因疫情境管,沒有居留證或特殊簽證的外國人無法入境。但我們仍呼籲海關人員應保持警覺,即便阿富汗人或其他外國人較少抵達/轉機臺灣,仍不應將試圖尋求庇護之人視為單純的非法入境,將其移送外國人收容所,乃至驅逐出境。

此外,根據內政部移民署截至2021年6月30日統計,現持有效居留證在臺灣境內的阿富汗人有4位。台權會呼籲,臺灣政府應留意他們在臺居留期限,提供必要之協助。針對因護照期限將屆,但因阿富汗政權更替、局勢動盪而無法經由線上或鄰近使館更新護照者,屬非可歸責於當事人之事由,仍應許可更新簽證和/或居留。對非法入境、逾期居留或逾期停留之阿富汗人,應即刻暫緩強制出境或強制遣返。在未經查驗當事人的身份即在國界阻擋其進入,或未評估當事人在接收地的人身風險前就將當事人遣送將違反不遣返原則。不遣返原則(Principle of Non-Refoulement)為國際習慣法,同時是2009年通過的《公民與政治權利國際公約施行法》第七條的國家義務。

新聞聯絡人:林姝函|難民議題專員  s.lin@tahr.org.tw

 

TAHR Statement on Afghanistan Refugee Crisis: Taiwan Must Not Violate the Principle of Non-refoulement

On August 17, the Taliban held its first press conference since returning to power. The Taliban spokesperson maintained that, within the framework of Islamic law, women’s rights would be guaranteed and that no reprisals would be made against any persons. However, this statement has done little to assuage international concerns that large numbers of desperate Afghans will nevertheless flee abroad to escape Taliban rule.

As of July 18, 2021, statistics from the United Nations Refugee Agency registered 2.6 million refugees from Afghanistan, with over 4.8 million internally displaced (UNHCR, 2021). However, since July, as the Taliban has increased control over Afghanistan’s cities, around 5,000 Afghans have fled to Iran per day. Prior to the current crisis, neighboring Pakistan had already accepted over 3 million Afghan refugees, indicating that the country has exhausted its capacity to take in more. While those seeking asylum abroad face one obstacle after another, remaining in the country is even more risky, especially for those women, human rights workers, ​​academics, artists, journalists, people who have worked in the former government, and members of ethnic and religious minorities who have limited means of exiting the country, whose only option is to remain and seek to maintain a low-profile.

During Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, those who were deemed to have violated sharia law were severely punished, including large numbers of women and girls, amounting to what the UN Special Rapporteur called “gender apartheid” (Bennoune, 2021). This included measures that prohibited women from receiving education or only allowing a small number to be employed. Women could only go outside with a male guardian and only when wearing a burka; activists of the LGBTQ+ community faced kidnapping. Many human rights organizations fear that the already constricted environment for human rights workers and journalists will be dialed up even further, leading to violence and persecution (FIDH, 2021). Even though the Taliban has made friendly statements in press conferences, in the past few days, large numbers of women have had to burn work permits, diplomas, bank cards, and photos in order to protect themselves, among these is the captain of Afghan national women's soccer team (Axon, 2021).

Currently, many countries are in the process of adjusting their policy to accept greater numbers of Afghan refugees, including 20,000 for the United Kingdom, 20,000 for Canada, and 2,000 for Uganda. Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai, in an August 18th interview, urged Western countries to provide asylum to Afghan women and human rights activists.

We continue to urge the Taiwanese government to enact a refugee law or provide a humanitarian visa path to refugees. Without a refugee law in place, as past experience has shown, the government will have difficulty in providing any type of protection to international refugees. While foreigners without residence permits or special visas cannot enter the country with pandemic border restrictions in place, we urge National Immigration Agency to be on alert. Even though the number of Afghans or other foreigners arriving or transferring in Taiwan remains low, customs officials still should not see those seeking asylum as simply as illegal actors, placing them in foreigner detention centers or even expelling them from the country.

In addition, according to June 30, 2021 statistics from the National Immigration Agency, there are currently four Afghans within Taiwan’s borders who hold an effective residence permit. TAHR urges the Taiwan government to remain aware of their visa conditions and provide help to those Afghans as needed. Those whose passports are expiring, yet cannot renew their passports due to the political turbulence, should still be permitted to renew their visas or residence permits. For those Afghans that illegally enter Taiwan or whose residence permits have expired, the government should suspend forced deportations immediately. It amounts to a violation of the non-refoulement principle to deny entry at borders to concerned individuals without screening or to repatriate refugees without assessment of the risks of persecution upon return. The principle of non-refoulement is customary international law and is a legal obligation under Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which has had the force of domestic law since 2009.

Translated by

Nathanael C