We welcome this important discussion on migration between the U.S. and Kyrgyz Republic. But please don’t forget those stuck in limbo for decades. We are 115 UNHCR-recognized Afghan refugees in Kyrgyzstan — still stateless, still excluded, still with no legal status or future.

📌 As migration talks continue between the U.S. and Kyrgyzstan, we gently remind Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency: We are 115 Afghan refugees — recognized by UNHCR — trapped in Kyrgyzstan for over 25 years. 🛑 No legal status 🛑 No right to work 🛑 No path to resettlement 🛑 Our

🔷 We fled the same war. We survived the same exile. We carry the same dreams of safety and dignity. “But only one family — after a high-level meeting with the UN Secretary-General in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, in 2024 — was quietly resettled.” The rest of us, over 100 Afghan

One hundred fifteen‌ UNHCR-recognized Afghan refugees in Kyrgyzstan have lived undocumented and at risk for over 25 years. We welcome efforts to end statelessness in the region, but urge UNHCR Central Asia to include all recognized refugees in durable solutions. No one should be

After more than 25 years without protection, Afghan refugees recognised by UNHCR in #Kyrgyzstan remain undocumented, excluded, and at constant risk of detention and deportation. Local integration is no longer an option — it has failed, legally and practically. Resettlement is

📌 In #Kyrgyzstan, the Ombudsman’s Office restores documents for vulnerable citizens — including those with Soviet passports — in just 2 days. No UNHCR help needed. It works because state protection exists. Meanwhile, UNHCR UNHCR Central Asia remains absent where it’s most needed:

This Afghan girl dreams of becoming a doctor. So do our daughters — Afghan refugee girls in #Kyrgyzstan, born and raised without rights. They may go to school, but without legal status, there’s no university, no job, no citizenship — no future. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR Central Asia

We are not integrated — we are blocked at every step. We are long-term refugees — living in #Kyrgyzstan for over two decades. We are Afghan families recognized by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency — but excluded by the Kyrgyz state. 🔹 The State Migration Service denied us refugee status. 🔹 They

We are Afghan UNHCR mandate refugees still living in legal limbo in #Kyrgyzstan. We have been in exile for more than two decades. We were never invited to speak. Never asked. Never seen. In 2024, UNHCR selected one refugee — just like us — to meet the UN Secretary-General in

🔁 We welcome the upcoming visit of António Guterres to Central Asia. In 2024, an Afghan mandate refugee, Maryam, was brought by UNHCR Central Asia staff to meet him in #Kyrgyzstan. Weeks later, her family was quietly resettled to California. But over 100 Afghan UNHCR-recognized

📌 In UNHCR’s own April 2025 report, we — 115 Afghan mandate refugees — are clearly listed as a separate group in 🇰🇬 #Kyrgyzstan. We are counted, categorized, and included — but never protected. We receive no aid. No invitations. No access to programs. When we were detained for

🔷 We are UNHCR-recognized mandate refugees in #Kyrgyzstan. We meet every UNHCR resettlement criterion — but our cases are still not submitted. Some of us have waited over 25 years. Our children are growing up without rights, legal status, or a future. UNHCR has quietly

🔴 In 2024, an Afghan UNHCR refugee named Maryam met Secretary-General António Guterres in Cholpon-Ata, 🇰🇬 #Kyrgyzstan. She was brought to that closed meeting by staff of UNHCR Central Asia. She spoke not only for herself — but for all of us: Afghan refugees living in legal limbo

António Guterres United Nations 🔷 While you meet landlocked leaders, please don’t forget the refugees locked in limbo. Mr. António Guterres, you once met an Afghan girl in 🇰🇬 #Kyrgyzstan. Shortly after, her family was quietly resettled. But over 100 of us — UNHCR-recognized — are still here, still excluded.

🔹 What future awaits our children — if even newborn refugees are denied legal refugee identity? We are Afghan refugees in 🇰🇬 #Kyrgyzstan, recognized by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency under UNHCR mandate. But our children are growing up invisible. 📍 No refugee cards. 📍 No legal status. 📍 No

UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency While the world watches forced returns from #Pakistan — no one sees us: 115 Afghan UNHCR-recognized refugees still trapped in #Kyrgyzstan. We have no legal documents, only UNHCR refugee cards that are not accepted. Stuck in legal limbo for over 25 years. No rights. No protection.

We are not “emergency arrivals.” We are not “irregular migrants.” We are UNHCR-recognized mandate refugees who have lived in #Kyrgyzstan for over 25 years — longer than some UNHCR staff have worked in humanitarian aid. Yet we have no legal status, no documents, no right to work

UNHCR keeps celebrating restored Soviet-era citizenships. But what about us — Afghan UNHCR-recognized mandate refugees, trapped in 🇰🇬 #Kyrgyzstan for 25+ years, still stateless, excluded, and invisible? You can’t end statelessness while ignoring those still erased. 🟡 These

As Antje Grawe meets Kyrgyz officials, we kindly remind the UN system of an unresolved issue: 🔹 115 Afghan mandate refugees 🔹 25+ years in #Kyrgyzstan 🔹 Still stateless. Still excluded from resettlement. In 2024, Antje Grawe accompanied an Afghan refugee girl, Maryam, to

🔷 #UNHCR Central Asia keeps publishing stories of restored Soviet-era citizenship — again and again. But these cases are already handled by Kyrgyzstan’s Ombudsman — who restores documents in 2 days. These people are not refugees. They are not at risk of deportation. They simply