Govt asked to take Afghan refugees
The Government has been asked to take in refugees from Afghanistan displaced by the current conflict in their country and the effects of drought.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees request was reported in Dublin today by junior Foreign Minister Liz O’Donnell, who signalled her personal support for the move.
Ms O’Donnell, who has special responsibility for overseas development assistance and human rights, declared: ‘‘We have been approached to assist some Afghan refugees who have found themselves unwanted in the south seas.
‘‘As we know, Australia has refused to take them and we are considering the humanitarian request to accept some of the refugees.
‘‘That is being considered by the Government at the moment but I would be fully supportive of it.’’
The minister made her comments after launching the annual report of the Government’s Refugee Agency.
The report was the last to be issued by the agency under its current structure as it is to be re-titled the Reception and Integration Agency.
Ms O’Donnell said that since the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States the global community had become more truly interdependent than ever.
She added: ‘‘So supporting refugees abroad, through the UNHCR, or the welcoming of refugees into our country are concrete and substantial reflections of this interdependence.
‘‘Ireland is now a major contributor to UNHCR and being a non-aligned member of the international community can play a key role in assisting humanitarian endeavours, peacekeeping, refugee support and development assistance.’’
The minister said the number of Afghan refugees was close to four million, or nearly a third of the total global refugee population.
She believed the Irish people had in the main been generous in response to the refugee problem - ‘‘and that would be consistent with our own history and experience of mass economic migration ourselves’’.
Ms O’Donnell also accepted, though, that in the recent past there had been ‘‘unfortunate’’ incidents involving the treatment of refugees ‘‘which shame us all’’.
