SRILANKA DEPORTS 170 ILLEGALS Nearly 170 Pakistani and Afghan asylum-seekers have been deported from Sri Lanka thus far, with more due to be deported in the coming days, the Department of Immigration and Emigration revealed. Controller (Administration and Policy) of the Department, H.M.P. Bandara told The Nation that 150 Pakistani and 19 Afghan nationals had been sent back to their countries as of Friday (September 5). Air tickets of ten other Afghan nationals have been finalized and they too will be sent back within the next several days, he further said. Bandara said the asylum-seekers were not being sent back simply because they have overstayed their tourist visas. “Some of them have been engaged in robberies, credit card fraud, and other illegal activities”. He insisted officials would continue to deport these individuals as and when they are found. Authorities resumed deporting the asylum-seekers last week after the Court of Appeal on Monday (September 1) withdrew an interim order issued on August 15 temporarily halting the deportations. The decision to deport the asylum-seekers has drawn strong criticism, both locally and internationally. The office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had earlier stated that while not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, Sri Lanka was bound to observe and respect the principle of non-refoluement (no forced returns) under international law, which prohibits sending asylum-seekers or refugees to places where their lives and freedoms would be in danger. nation.lk/edition/news-online/item/33077-nearly-170-asylum-seekers-deported.html
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 12:45:04 +0000