UN urges Britain to take in more Iraqis
Iraq-UK, Politics, 10/16/2007

The UN refugee agency yesterday called on Britain to do more to help Iraqis resettle away from areas where their lives could be in danger.

The agency welcomed Prime Minister Gordon Brown's promise last week to give asylum to a limited number of Iraqis who worked for British forces in Basra, but expressed concern that the move could send mixed signals to thousands of other Iraqis waiting to move.

"The UNHCR is grateful for any new quota, but we hope the UK will look at the resettlement needs of Iraqis in general, and not just focus on one group," Margo Rayment, the resettlement officer in Amman for the UN high commission for refugees, told the Guardian.

The call comes after the UN office in Jordan this year gave Britain the names of 123 people whom it considers in need of resettlement, but has found that so far only 17 have been accept.

In June, former Prime Minister Tony Blair's Special Envoy on Human Rights in Iraq also castigated the British government for its 'meanness' in taking refugees fleeing from the humanitarian crisis in Iraq.

"If one looks at the list of countries into which Iraqis have been allowed, this is one of the meanest," said Ann Clwyd, who also chairs the All-Party Iraq Group.

Official provisional figures have shown that Britain last year granted asylum to less than 5 per cent of Iraqi applicants, with 640 out of 730 decisions reject.

The British government has also come under criticism for trying to continue with its controversial program of the forced repatriation of Iraqi refugees.

Previous Stories:
  US report will not change UK withdrawal from Iraq   (9/14/2007)
  British torture in Iraq claims challenged   (9/14/2007)
  UK official says US needs to engage with Iran   (9/14/2007)
  Small number of Iraqi refugees enter the US   (7/9/2007)
  On the Iran-US meeting for Iraq's security   (5/28/2007)

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