Massive number of Iraqis leaving each month
Iraq-USA, Politics, 1/20/2007

The State Department's highest ranking official for refugee issues says the problem of Iraqi refugees and displaced persons is a top priority.

Ellen Sauerbrey, assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration, told the Senate Judiciary Committee January 16 that the plight of Iraqis forced to flee by the sharp increase in sectarian violence in 2006 "is a very top priority for my bureau." The Bush administration, she said, shares the senators' concern about Iraqi refugees "and is committed to helping improve conditions for them in countries of first asylum."

Sauerbrey told the committee that since 2003, the United States provided more than $800 million to support the World Food Programme, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Organization for Migration, plus several nongovernmental organizations that provide direct assistance to returning Iraqi refugees, internally displaced persons and third-country national refugees inside Iraq, as well as Iraqi refugees outside Iraq, to help them meet basic needs and to support reintegration programs.

In addition, she said, US government support to the Iraqi government has increased the capacity of its ministries that work with refugees and the internally displaced, provided training for nongovernmental organizations serving refugees and assisted numerous victims of conflict. Sauerbrey said these programs successfully reintegrated many of the 300,000 Iraqi refugees and the 500,000 internally displaced in Iraq in the 2003-2006 period. Beginning in early 2006, though, the situation has changed, she said, "and at present more Iraqis are fleeing their homes to other areas of Iraq and to neighboring countries than are returning."

A number of senators at the hearing pointed out many Iraqis who had performed special service for the United States face persecution or death threats to them or their families.

Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said he was "particularly concerned" about the lack of a legal authority that would enable Iraqis who have aided US efforts there to be admitted to the United States.

"A lot of these are people we called upon to help us, and now we're not there to help them," Leahy said.

Similarly, Senator Edward Kennedy said the United States has "a special obligation to keep faith with the Iraqis who have bravely worked for us and often paid a terrible price for it, by providing them with safe refuge in the United States." He also asked whether refugees could be processed inside Iraq.

Processing refugees within Iraq, Sauerbrey said, is "a complicated issue" because of the heavy security Iraqis must pass through to enter the Green Zone (a fortified sector of central Baghdad) and reach the US Embassy. "We are, however, looking at ways that we can find to do processing inside of Iraq," Sauerbrey said.

Lack of funding is also an obstacle to bringing more Iraqi refugees to the United States, according to Sauerbrey. But she added: "We have no quota on the number of Iraqis who can be resettled to the United States as refugees."

Sauerbrey did point out that entry requirements to the United States have become more stringent since 2003. At that time, an enhanced security review was required, and that has made it very difficult for Iraqi refugees referred by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to pass through the screening mechanism. That, in turn, has led the UN agency to stop making referrals to the United States.

"The longer this conflict goes on, the more difficult it becomes for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced and the communities that are trying to help them – both inside and outside Iraq," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. "The burden on host communities and governments in the region is enormous. It is essential that the international community support humanitarian efforts to help the most vulnerable people."

The UN agency said "UNHCR and its partners estimate that out of a total population of 26 million, some 1.7 million Iraqis are displaced internally and up to 2 million have fled to nearby countries. While many were displaced before 2003, increasing numbers of Iraqis are now fleeing escalating sectarian, ethnic and generalised violence. In 2006 alone, UNHCR estimates that nearly 500,000 Iraqis fled to other areas inside the country and that 40,000 to 50,000 continue to flee their homes every month. UNHCR's planning figures under the latest appeal are for up to 2.3 million internally displaced people within Iraq by the end of this year."

It added "The UNHCR appeal notes that a significant proportion of both the internally and externally displaced Iraqis has run out of resources or will soon do so, leaving them and their host communities increasingly vulnerable. There are increasing reports of women forced to resort to prostitution, as well as growing child labor problems. The appeal includes programs to identify and register the most vulnerable among the displaced so they can get the support they need."

The report said "A main objective of the revised UNHCR program will be ensuring effective protection and assistance for up to 200,000 of the most vulnerable Iraqis in nearby countries, nearly all of them in urban areas such as Amman and Damascus. Estimates of Iraqis displaced in neighboring states include from 500,000 to 1 million in Syria; up to 700,000 in Jordan; up to 80,000 in Egypt; and up to 40,000 in Lebanon. Turkey has an unknown number of Iraqis. Many of those in nearby countries also fled before 2003, but tens of thousands continue to flee monthly, particularly to Syria and Jordan."

The report said "Host governments are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with large numbers of displaced Iraqis and some are unable to provide basic services. In Syria, some 30 percent of Iraqi children are not attending school; 4 percent of all Iraqis are disabled; and over 10 percent of Iraqi families are headed by women."

Previous Stories:
  Gates in Iraq: results to secure Baghdad to be clear by summer   (1/20/2007)
  34,000 Iraqi civilians killed in 2006: report   (1/20/2007)
  Bush's new policy for more forces in Iraq   (1/13/2007)
  Iraq for best relations with Syria, Iran, US   (1/13/2007)

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