Minister of Interior Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli noted that 480000 Afghan children have been registered at Iran's governmental schools in 2018 and 2019, "following the Supreme Leader's order."
The Islamic Republic of Iran is host to one of the largest and most protracted urban refugee populations worldwide, with approximately 3 million Afghans living in the country according to UNHCR.
"One million IDs have been issued for refugees and educational programs for them have caused their rate of literacy to rise from six per cent to 60 per cent."
"Free health care services including vaccinations and health assistance for pregnant women and children have been offered to refugees since they entered the country," Fazil added in his speech made in a conference held on National Refugee Day. "All refugees have enjoyed health insurance for free in cooperation with the Office of High Commissioner Representation in Iran."
The minister of state also said that almost for four decades Iran has been carrying the burden of refugees on its shoulders and all the international aid in this regard has been less than seven per cent and all the aid provided by other countries and international organizations to Afghanistan has not improved the living conditions in there and has not stopped the illegal emigration process.
The office of the UNHCR was established by the UN General Assembly in 1950.
According to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, the agency is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees.
"...The cruel sanctions and the American economic war against the Iranian people have created many obstacles to the implementation of the humanitarian programs of the Islamic Republic of Iran and disrupted the services for refugees, on the one hand, and have will have a negative impact on the process of combating drug trafficking, human trafficking, and preventing the flood of migration to other countries, especially Europe," Rahmani Fazli added.