Tajikistan-UN cooperation in the field of protection of refugees and migrants

Cooperation of the Republic of Tajikistan with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) began in 1993 at the invitation of the Government to assist in returning the Tajik refugees and internally displaced persons to their places of origin.

The Republic of Tajikistan was the first country in Central Asia to accede to the Convention of the 1951 and Protocol of the 1967 relating to the Status of Refugees, starting to develop a national asylum system. In this connection, from the first days of its activity in Tajikistan, UNHCR cooperates with the Government to create a reliable asylum system as well as provide protection and assistance to refugees and asylum seekers in Tajikistan.

UNHCR activities in Tajikistan are carried out on the basis of the Agreement on Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and UNHCR, signed in May 2002.

In March 2022, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Mr. Filippo Grandi visited Tajikistan, during which he held a series of meetings with high-level officials of the country.

Established in 1951 as an intergovernmental organization in the field of migration, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) works in close cooperation with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partner organizations. The organization helps in humane and orderly management of migration, supports needy migrants, and also helps in finding a practical solution to problems in this area.

In 1994 Tajikistan became a member state of the IOM, and in the same year the Agreement on Cooperation between the Government of the country and this UN agency was signed.