Syria, United States exchange views on Iraqi refugees

The US State Department's top envoy on refugee issues met with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad in Damascus yesterday for what US officials described as a "useful exchange of views" on Iraqi refugees living in Syria.

During the approximately 45-minute discussion, Ellen Sauerbrey, assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration, called on Syria to work with the Iraqi government and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to "provide protection and assistance" for Iraqi refugees in Syria, according to State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey.

The Syrians "expressed their willingness to continue hosting displaced Iraqis, although noting the burden that this does place on them and on their system," he said.

The deputy spokesman described the meeting as a "useful exchange of views on Iraq refugee issues," and said Sauerbrey also met with representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Damascus, including the Syrian Red Crescent Society.

The assistant secretary also has met with Egyptian officials and will visit Jordan before returning to the United States March 15. During her trip, Sauerbrey is reviewing the efforts of international agencies and NGOs to meet the needs of Iraqi refugees and is meeting with host governments to discuss the status of refugee protection, assistance and resettlement in each country.

The United States is focused on "working with and through" the UNHCR to enable the organization to "provide appropriate support and assistance" to the Iraqi refugees, Casey said. The Bush administration also announced February 14 that over the coming months it will accept as many as 7,000 referrals from UNHCR for resettlement in the United States.

Worth noting that it is estimated that some 45,000 Iraqis are said to be leaving Iraq each month.

A senior State Department official said Sauerbrey's discussions with Syria's Meqdad was "exclusively on Iraq refugee issues," and that Sauerbrey reported afterward that they had held "a very straightforward conversation" on the issue.

The Bush administration recognizes there is "a serious problem" involving the refugees, with the need for more to be done to support and sustain them in countries like Syria and Jordan. The official said the United States also wants to make sure UNHCR can "move as effectively and quickly as possible to evaluate everyone there."