UNHCR calls on European countries to stop deportations of Iraqi refugees

By Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Just days after the official withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, the United Nation’s High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has called on European countries to halt the return of Iraqi refugees to the country.   UNHCR’s appeal came in response to the forced return of 61 Iraqi refugees from four countries last week.   The Commissioner expressed concern about continuing violence within Iraq.  UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists that the Commissioner “strongly urge[s] European governments to provide Iraqis with protection until the situation in their areas of origin in Iraq allows for safe and voluntary returns.”

European countries deporting Iraqi refugees (Photo courtesy of the New York Times)
European countries deporting Iraqi refugees (Photo courtesy of the New York Times)

The latest round of forced deportations is the third in a series of efforts to send Iraqi refugees back to the war torn nation.  UNHCR issued guidelines to European governments hosting refugees recommending that they not be sent home until violence subsides.  The Commissioner reiterated that European nations ought to facilitate development efforts within Iraq.  Although 50,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq to train and support Iraq’s army and police forces, President Obama announced that all U.S. troops will leave the country by the end of 2011.

According to UNHCR, five provinces, including Baghdad, are sites of continued violence and human rights violations.  The Commissioner has encouraged European nations to offer Iraqi asylum seekers protective status as per the 1951 Refugee Convention.  UNHCR noted that the forced return of refugees may send a message to Middle Eastern countries harboring Iraqi refugees that protection of refugees is no longer necessary.  Currently 1.6 million Iraqi refugees reside in Jordan and Syria and another 50,000 in Lebanon.  

Although President Obama reported that “security incidents have been near the lowest on record since the war began,” UNHCR fears that refugees returning to Iraq will become victims of instability and violence.  Car bombings, kidnappings, and mortar attacks remain a daily occurrence within Iraq.  The Commissioner explained that all nations hosting refugees have a continuing obligation to protect those who have sought asylum until conditions within Iraq improve.

For more information, please see;

Agence France Presse – UNHCR Urges Halt to Unsafe Iraqi Refugee Returns – 3 Sept. 2010

Reuters Africa – U.N. Refugee Agency Blasts Europe for Deporting Iraqis – 3 Sept. 2010

New York Times – Iraq: U.N. Asks Europe to Halt Deportations – 3 Sept. 2010

Washington Times – Deportation of Iraqis from Europe Worries U.N. Agency – 3 Sept. 2010

Author: Impunity Watch Archive