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UNHCR urges reinforced EU commitment to protection of Iraqi refugees

Briefing Notes, 23 September 2008

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 23 September 2008, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

UNHCR urges the European Union Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs, at their meeting in Brussels on 25 September, to reaffirm their commitment to the protection of Iraqi refugees and to agree on the establishment of an EU resettlement programme.

In 2007, a total of 38,500 Iraqis applied for asylum in the 27 EU member states. The number of applications during the first seven months of 2008 was approximately 16,000. The main receiving countries during those seven months were Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Elsewhere in Europe, Turkey and Norway received significant numbers. An estimated 2 million uprooted Iraqis remain in Syria, Jordan and other countries in the region.

On September 8-9 in Paris, High Commissioner António Guterres told a Conference on Asylum convened by the French EU Presidency that UNHCR hopes that the majority of Iraqi refugees will be able to return home in safety once the necessary conditions of stability and security are established. However, these conditions are not yet present. The security environment remains precarious, particularly in Central and Southern Iraq, where issues relating to shelter and property restitution or compensation have yet to be solved. In addition, access by returnees to public distribution systems and other services remains limited. UNHCR therefore appeals to asylum countries to extend protection to Iraqis who originate from Central and Southern Iraq and to refrain from forcible returns to these regions at this time.

UNHCR still needs resettlement places for particularly vulnerable refugees from Iraq, as well as for Palestinian refugees who fled Iraq. We hope that the Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs will commit the European Union to participation in organised resettlement efforts. At present, only a minority of the 27 EU member states have implemented resettlement programmes.

Between April 2007 and mid-September 2008, UNHCR resettled 14,600 Iraqi refugees from Syria, Jordan and other countries in the region. The United States admitted over 60 percent of them, with just 10 percent taken in by EU countries.

In addition, UNHCR is appealing for resettlement places for some 3,000 Palestinian refugees who have fled Iraq and remain stranded in very difficult conditions. This group includes a large number of women and children. Just over 300 of these refugees have been resettled to date – 47 of them to EU member states.

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UNHCR and its partners estimate that out of a total population of 26 million, some 1.9 million Iraqis are currently displaced internally and more than 2 million others have fled to nearby countries. While many people were displaced before 2003, increasing numbers of Iraqis are now fleeing escalating sectarian, ethnic and general violence. Since January 2006, UNHCR estimates that more than 800,000 Iraqis have been uprooted and that 40,000 to 50,000 continue to flee their homes every month. UNHCR anticipates there will be approximately 2.3 million internally displaced people within Iraq by the end of 2007. The refugee agency and its partners have provided emergency assistance, shelter and legal aid to displaced Iraqis where security has allowed.

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