Deputy High Commissioner on Iraq mission
Briefing Notes, 21 July 2009
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 21 July 2009, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Deputy High Commissioner L. Craig Johnstone is in Iraq today as part of a five-day mission to review UNHCR's operations for returnees, refugees and internally displaced people and for a series of meetings with Iraqi officials. He arrived in Baghdad Sunday evening and had a day of meetings with government officials yesterday (Monday). Today, Mr. Johnstone is scheduled to visit settlements for internally displaced Iraqis around Baghdad.
His meetings yesterday included talks with Iraqi Vice President Tarek Al-Hashimi; the Minister of Human Rights; and the Minister for Migration and Displacement. Mr. Johnstone acknowledged the improvement in security inside Iraq and described the situation as much healthier compared to his last visit two years ago. He also urged the Iraqi government to engage more with Iraqi refugees outside of Iraq and to include them in national reconciliation efforts. While the government had quite naturally focused in the last few years on the situation inside the country, it was now time to increase contacts with refugee communities outside Iraq and to begin fostering a climate of confidence in the future in terms of security, political assurances and protection. This in turn would help pave the way for eventual voluntary return. But we are not there yet, Johnstone said, noting that there are still pockets of insecurity and continuing uncertainty among some refugee populations.
The Deputy High Commissioner also commended the Iraqi government for implementing a compensation package for returnees and internally displaced families. He stressed, however, that much more needs to be done as there will not be a solution to the Iraqi situation as a whole until the plight of displaced people and refugees has been resolved. The provision of land for returnees and more funds are essential, Johnstone said, noting that UNHCR had increased its funding for programs inside Iraq in 2009 to US $178 million.
Mr. Johnstone stressed the importance of providing shelter in order to prepare the ground for return of refugees and internally displaced. Since July 2008, UNHCR and its Iraqi partners have rehabilitated some 5,000 homes for returnees and internally displaced people, with another 20,000 planned by the end of 2009. The Deputy High Commissioner pledged that UNHCR will help in every way it can, particularly with respect to shelter because we accept the notion that people cannot return if they do not have safety and a home to return to. Protection and shelter are priorities for UNHCR.
Mr. Johnstone also praised the generosity of neighboring countries hosting Iraqi refugees, particularly Jordan and Syria. There are still well over 1.5 million Iraqis outside the country – mostly in Syria and Jordan – and another 2 million internally displaced.
The internally displaced of Iraq
Eight years after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, over 1.5 million people remain displaced throughout Iraq, including 500,000 who live in dire conditions in settlements or public buildings. For these very vulnerable people, daily life is a struggle with limited access to clean water, electricity, heath services or schools for their children. Many families who live illegally in informal settlements are at risk of eviction. Most of the internally displaced fled their homes because of sectarian violence which erupted in 2006 following the bombing of the Al-Askari shrine in Samarra. UNHCR works with the Government of Iraq on projects such as land allocation; shelter assistance and house reconstruction to try to find long term solutions for the displaced.
The internally displaced of Iraq
Al Tanf: Leaving No Man's Land
In February 2010, the last 60 Palestinian inhabitants of the squalid camp of Al Tanf on the Syria-Iraq border were ushered onto buses and taken to another camp in Syria.
Al Tanf camp was established in May 2006, when hundreds of Palestinians fleeing persecution in Iraq tried in vain to cross into Syria. With no country willing to accept them, they remained on a strip of desert sandwiched between a busy highway and a wall in the no-man's-land between Iraq and Syria.
Along with daily worries about their security, the residents of Al Tanf suffered from heat, dust, sandstorms, fire, flooding and even snow. The passing vehicles posed another danger. At its peak, Al Tanf hosted some 1,300 people.
UNHCR encouraged resettlement countries to open their doors to the Palestinians. Since 2008, more than 900 of them have been accepted by countries such as Belgium, Chile, Finland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The last group of Palestinians were transferred to Al Hol camp in Syria, where they face continuing restrictions and uncertainty.
Al Tanf: Leaving No Man's Land
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie meets Iraqi refugees in Syria
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie returned to the Syrian capital Damascus on 2 October, 2009 to meet Iraqi refugees two years after her last visit. The award-winning American actress, accompanied by her partner Brad Pitt, took the opportunity to urge the international community not to forget the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees who remain in exile despite a relative improvement in the security situation in their homeland. Jolie said most Iraqi refugees cannot return to Iraq in view of the severe trauma they experienced there, the uncertainty linked to the coming Iraqi elections, the security issues and the lack of basic services. They will need continued support from the international community, she said. The Goodwill Ambassador visited the homes of two vulnerable Iraqi families in the Jaramana district of southern Damascus. She was particularly moved during a meeting with a woman from a religious minority who told Jolie how she was physically abused and her son tortured after being abducted earlier this year in Iraq and held for days. They decided to flee to Syria, which has been a generous host to refugees.
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie meets Iraqi refugees in Syria
Iraq: Harsh Living
There are more than 350 settlements for internally displaced people in Iraq.The living conditions in most of them are dire.
Iraq: Brick by Brick
In Iraq, where more than 2 million people remain displaced, UNHCR has launched a home renovation project to assist returns.
Angelina Jolie in Iraq
During a day-long visit to Baghdad, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie visited a makeshift settlement for internally displaced people in the Chikook suburb of north-west Baghdad where she met with four families displaced from the district of Abu Ghraib and from the western suburbs of the Iraqi capital.
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