World urged to help Jordan, Syria cope with Iraqi refugee influx
Friday, 27 July 2007
LONDON, July 26 (AFP): Global rights watchdog Amnesty International Thursday urged the international community to urgently help Jordan and Syria cope with an influx of Iraqi refugees.
London-based Amnesty issued the plea for countries to offer financial aid to Iraq's two Arab neigbors and for them to admit Iraqi refugees, as a meeting aimed at helping Iraqi refugees was to open Thursday in the Jordanian capital Amman.
"More than two million Iraqis have now fled the sectarian violence raging in their country and almost two million others are internally displaced," said Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa Programme.
"Most of the refugees have escaped to Syria and Jordan, placing great demands on these countries' resources and threatening a humanitarian crisis that could engulf the region unless concerted international action is taken now," he said in a statement.
Amnesty praised Syria for keeping its borders open to Iraqi refugees. An estimated 30,000 new Iraqi refugees arrive every month in Syria, which already hosts 1.5 million Iraqis.
Jordan has about 750,000 Iraqis, including people who had fled before the 2003 US-led invasion, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
"The Syrian authorities have responded very positively to the Iraqis' needs, but they and the Jordanian authorities should not be left to bear the weight of this crisis alone," Smart said.
"It is vital that states who pledged funds to help at a previous conference last April honour their commitments, which all too few have done to date," he added.
It said a promise of 25 million dollars (18.2 million euros) from the Iraqi government had yet to materialise.
Amnesty also urged the United States, Britain and other nations taking part in the multinational force in Iraq to follow the lead of Denmark, which is taking in Iraqis who worked as interpreters, drivers or in other military jobs.
"Those who have worked with foreign forces are not the only people at risk," Smart said.
"The US, UK, EU and other states that have the capacity should provide generous resettlement programmes for the refugees who are most vulnerable and at greatest risk, including survivors of torture and others who urgently need medical care."
Jordan has invited officials from Iraq, Syria, and Egypt to a conference on ways to help these states cope with hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees.
United Nations officials will attend, with Turkey, Iran, Russia and Japan also taking part as "observers."
London-based Amnesty issued the plea for countries to offer financial aid to Iraq's two Arab neigbors and for them to admit Iraqi refugees, as a meeting aimed at helping Iraqi refugees was to open Thursday in the Jordanian capital Amman.
"More than two million Iraqis have now fled the sectarian violence raging in their country and almost two million others are internally displaced," said Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa Programme.
"Most of the refugees have escaped to Syria and Jordan, placing great demands on these countries' resources and threatening a humanitarian crisis that could engulf the region unless concerted international action is taken now," he said in a statement.
Amnesty praised Syria for keeping its borders open to Iraqi refugees. An estimated 30,000 new Iraqi refugees arrive every month in Syria, which already hosts 1.5 million Iraqis.
Jordan has about 750,000 Iraqis, including people who had fled before the 2003 US-led invasion, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
"The Syrian authorities have responded very positively to the Iraqis' needs, but they and the Jordanian authorities should not be left to bear the weight of this crisis alone," Smart said.
"It is vital that states who pledged funds to help at a previous conference last April honour their commitments, which all too few have done to date," he added.
It said a promise of 25 million dollars (18.2 million euros) from the Iraqi government had yet to materialise.
Amnesty also urged the United States, Britain and other nations taking part in the multinational force in Iraq to follow the lead of Denmark, which is taking in Iraqis who worked as interpreters, drivers or in other military jobs.
"Those who have worked with foreign forces are not the only people at risk," Smart said.
"The US, UK, EU and other states that have the capacity should provide generous resettlement programmes for the refugees who are most vulnerable and at greatest risk, including survivors of torture and others who urgently need medical care."
Jordan has invited officials from Iraq, Syria, and Egypt to a conference on ways to help these states cope with hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees.
United Nations officials will attend, with Turkey, Iran, Russia and Japan also taking part as "observers."