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Refugees International Urges Concrete Action at International Conference on Iraqi Refugees

04/18/2007

Contact: Megan Fowler,
202-828-0110, megan@refugeesinternational.org

Refugees International Urges Concrete Action at International Conference on Iraqi Refugees

Conference is a First Step Towards Acknowledging and Responding to Regional Crisis

Geneva, Switzerland – Refugees International welcomed this week’s international conference on the humanitarian crisis facing millions of Iraqis uprooted by the conflict in their country and urged all participating governments and agencies to follow through with their commitments. The organization urged the governments of western nations, Iraq and its neighbors to do more to share the burden of responding to the needs of nearly 4 million displaced Iraqis.

“Millions of people forced from their homes have been neglected for years, in some cases, and it is a relief to see some small steps being taken.” said Kristele Younes, Refugees International’s primary analyst of the Iraqi refugee crisis. “Neighboring countries like Syria and Jordan had largely been left to fend for themselves while hundreds of thousands of people streamed into their countries. The governments of the West, particularly the U.S., and of the Middle East have a responsibility to work together to address this regional crisis.”

Refugees International praised the government of Iraq for committing financial assistance to neighboring countries and for promising to establish more programs for internally displaced people. In addition, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released a strong plan for increasing humanitarian action in Iraq that will ensure the UN plays a greater role inside the country. Refugees International also commended neighboring countries, especially Syria, for continuing to bear the influx of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.

Despite this progress, Refugees International urged the following additional steps:

Convene a regional meeting of local governments and UN agencies to identify steps to share the burden of responding to refugees’ needs.
Donor countries provide bilateral assistance directly to countries hosting refugees, in addition to additional funding for the UN.
Continue to allow Iraqis to seek asylum, especially in Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon where there have been increasing restrictions on Iraqis. Borders must remain open and deportations must cease.
All UN agencies, including WFP, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization, increase humanitarian assistance programs inside Iraq and throughout the region, to ensure that Iraqis forced from their homes still have access to adequate housing, education and health care.

“We may not know how to bring a lasting peace to the Middle East, but the international community does know how to help refugees,” Ms. Younes continued. “Key steps can alleviate this problem, including direct assistance to neighboring countries and greater involvement by western governments and UN agencies.”

The UN estimates that nearly 2 million Iraqis have fled to nearby countries. An estimated 1.9 million are also displaced inside their country, including 1 million forced from their homes before 2003.

Refugees International is a Washington, DC-based organization that uses advocacy to generate lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection for displaced people around the world and works to end the conditions that create displacement. Since November 2006, the organization has traveled to Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt to identify the problems facing Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people and advocate for solutions to those problems. Read our most recent recommendations at www.refugeesinternational.org/iraqmission.

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