Iran is forcibly deporting Afghan refugees in breach of humanitarian principles and international law, the International Federation of Human Rights Defenders in Exile said Tuesday.

In a statement issued 1 July, the federation accused Iranian authorities of “force, humiliation and violent behaviour” toward Afghan asylum seekers, saying such actions “seriously violate human dignity.”

“The situation in Afghanistan remains critical and insecure, and the power structure that drove people to flee has not changed,” the group said. “The forced deportation of thousands of Afghan migrants without examining their asylum claims, humanitarian needs, health conditions or the life-threatening dangers awaiting them is a clear breach of the principle of non-refoulement, a cornerstone of international refugee law.”

The organisation urged the United Nations and other international bodies to condemn what it called Iran’s “systematic” human-rights violations and to take effective action to halt further expulsions.