MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

First family of Afghan refugees arriving in Uruguay

Details regarding the refugees were handled with “extreme reserve” by the UNHCR and the IOM, Uruguay's Foreign Ministry explained

Uruguay is to welcome Thursday the first family of Afghan refugees, Así Nos Va from Montevideo's Radio Carve reported.

The group, consisting of a couple and a small child, is said to have a good command of Spanish, which would make things easier upon arrival, it was also informed.

The family will be under the protection of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Uruguay's Foreign Ministry explained.

The Foreign Ministry also said that further details regarding the refugees were handled with “extreme reserve” by the global agencies involved because these people “should have peace of mind at least for the first few days.”

In August 2021, two Uruguayan aid workers were successfully evacuated from Afghanistan when the Taliban were in the process of taking over the country. The following month, Uruguay's Foreign Ministry received a special request for 15 families from Afghanistan, under a Christian non-governmental organization, to be granted refugee status. These families were reported to be between four and ten members each, from the Hazara ethnic group living in the Persian-speaking central region of Afghanistan.

Behind the initiative was reported to be Environment Undersecretary Gerardo Amarilla of the Nationalist Party, who has contacts with the NGO Shai Foundation, as a result of his Christian connections. These refugees are yet to arrive, it was reported Wednesday in Montevideo.

After the Taliban takeover, the Uruguayan government issued a statement expressing its “deep concern” and rejection of “the situation of instability, insecurity and institutional deterioration that is being experienced in Afghanistan, particularly due to the evident lack of respect for the human rights of the Afghan population.”

Several foreign organizations have withdrawn from that Asian country after the Taliban banned women from working, which will make it “very difficult” to maintain humanitarian aid in the territory, according to a senior UN official.