The Syrian authorities will not send Iraqi refugees back

By Hanna Rydén

Up to 2 million of Iraqis has left their country for seeking refuge in neighbouring states and many of them are facing a tough situation. Increasing reports of women forced to prostitution, growing child labour problems and Iraqis who has run out of money are just some examples.

The UN High Commissioner for Refuges, António Guterres, described it as a “humanitarian disaster” when he hold and press conference about the Iraqis refugees on Friday afternoon in Damascus.

He has been visiting Syria and Jordan to discuss the issue of Iraqi refugees in those two countries. Guterres admit that UNHCR has not realised how big the problem is.

“We have to wake up and do much more then we have been doing in the past. Jordan and Syrian have been left alone and this can not continue”.

UNHCR launched some days ago a 60 million dollar appeal over the next 12 months for assistance of Iraqis refugees in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey.

The number of Iraqi refugees estimates from 500 000 to 1 million in Syria and about 700 000 in Jordan. The authorities in Syria and Jordan say the number in their countries is more than they can cope with and are not able to provide basis services.

Therefore they have recently started to apply stricter visa regulations to Iraqis applying for asylum from Iraq. Jordan, which used to grant Iraqis a renewable three-month visa on arrival, has reduced it to one month. Syria is also about to start a limited-period visa instead of an open one.

Many Iraqis in Syria are afraid that the new rules are going to make it worse from them.

António Guterres has discussed the issue with Syrian authorities.

“I understand that they have to use certain measures to be able to control these numbers of people. But they have no intention at all to send the Iraqi refugees back to Iraq against their will, not under any circumstances.”

The new appeal also concludes the non-Iraqi refugees and the internally displaced people. António Guterres said that he is deeply concern about the 15 000 Palestinian refugees who still remain in Baghdad.

“They live in an extremely danger. Around 600 Palestinian have been killed. We do everything we can to support them.”