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IOM Vision
IOM strives to save lives, alleviate suffering and maintain human dignity in the Islamic Republic of Iran by supporting safe and dignified conditions for people in situations of displacement due to disasters and conflict, with a vision that all migrants, including Afghan and other refugees, are protected and empowered. Recognizing that migrants, irrespective of their origin and immigration status, deserve protection and assistance, IOM works in support of and in collaboration with governmental and other key counterparts, to create an inclusive, resilient society where every migrant's human rights are upheld, their contribution is acknowledged, and their well-being is enhanced.
Context analysis
At the Intergovernmental Conference on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM), the Islamic Republic of Iran (hereinafter, Iran) emphasized its challenges in managing significant mixed migratory flows, which have substantial economic and social consequences for the country. Iran is a country of origin, transit, and destination for migrants, including internal migrants, due to its geopolitics, demographics and economic opportunities. Iran hosts one of the largest refugee and migrant populations in the world, the majority of whom (around 4.5 million individuals) come from Afghanistan. According to government sources, this number includes 750,000 Afghans holding registration cards (Amayesh cardholders, a temporary residence permit that serves as a refugee identification document and gives the cardholder the right to remain in the country and access certain services), 360,000 holding passports, 270,000 holding residence permits, and 2.6 million who registered through government-led headcount exercises - with an acknowledged presence of a significant but unspecified number of undocumented individuals. The headcount exercise was an initiative carried out by the Iranian Ministry of Interior and its Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs (BAFIA), aimed at identifying undocumented Afghan nationals within Iran and providing them with a temporary headcount slip. According to UNHCR, 99 per cent of Afghans are estimated to live in urban areas alongside the host community, while the remaining population resides among 20 government-operated settlements.
Iran has implemented policies that grant Afghan nationals access to a range of legal services. For instance, registered Afghans are able to enrol in the national public health insurance system by paying an annual premium fee. Since 2015, all Afghan school-aged children have been allowed to attend primary and secondary schools in Iran regardless of their documentation status. Nevertheless, these policies have led to a surge in the demand for public services, presenting several challenges for the Iranian government. Iran is grappling with the resurgence of communicable diseases due to population movements. Malaria cases are surging, notably from cross-border transmission with Pakistan, and tuberculosis rates are escalating, exacerbated by migrant influxes. Diseases previously eradicated or controlled, such as polio and measles, are threatening to re-emerge. Meeting this heightened demand for services such as health and education while still ensuring their quality and accessibility has become a major concern for the Iranian government. Drivers of Afghan migration are predominantly the consequence of decades-long armed conflict, insecurity, resultant chronic underdevelopment and increasing poverty. Individuals may leave their country to escape security incidents, access international protection, visit or join family members, attend religious events or pilgrimages, or access health services, employment, or education opportunities. The country is also faced with diverse types of irregular migration, with transit migration often associated with human trafficking and smuggling of migrants, with an unknown number of migrants originating from several African and Asian countries getting stranded in Iran, and some deportations from Türkiye.
In responding to the challenges posed by the large scale of migration from Afghanistan, for several years, the Iranian Parliament has been debating an organizational structure to oversee international migration. In 2023, BAFIA is being phased out and replaced by the newly established National Organization for Migration (NOM). The latter has been designated as the primary body to address issues related to migration. Beyond the Afghanistan crisis's impact, Iran faces its own challenges: it is ranked 28th out of 190 countries on the INFORM Risk Index. Iran is faced with the immediate repercussions of climate change, which are particularly profound in a semi-arid country with limited water resources. Adverse effects include changes in precipitation patterns, persistent drought, heat stress, air and water pollution, soil erosion and loss of biodiversity. Transboundary environmental issues such as sand and dust storms are becoming more prevalent and prompting considerable internal displacement and cross-border migration. In addition, Iran is at constant risk of catastrophic earthquakes because of the country's geological configuration. Such hazards have led to significant consequences for the lives and livelihoods of millions of people and have exacerbated vulnerabilities, notably those of women, children, older people, and persons living with a disability. In addition, migrants including refugees may not have the same level of access to early warning- and disaster-related information.
Poverty rates have been rising and the inflationary consequences of sanctions, with spiking prices in basic goods and services, as well as medicine and medical devices, have led to a substantial reduction in households' purchasing power. At the same time, job creation is insufficient to absorb the large pool of young and educated people into the labour market.