EU Parliament on Iraqi refugees
Iraq: more than four million refugees
12th July 2007
In a resolution on the worsening plight of refugees inside and outside Iraq, Parliament calls on the EU Member States and the international community to stop turning a blind eye to the situation. MEPs believe financial aid should be more readily available and asylum applications should be processed faster. Citing a wealth of statistics, the resolution says that violence, unemployment and poverty are causing many Iraqis to flee, primarily to Jordan and Syria but also to Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Iran. Asylum applications from Iraqis doubled in the first half of 2007. Four million people uprooted There are now over 2 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Iraq, some 42,000 non-Iraqi refugees in the country and around 2 million Iraqi refugees in neighbouring states, including 560.000 children unable to attend school. Minorities such as Jews, Mandeans and Christians face increasing discrimination, while the 15,000 Palestinians in Iraq are at particular risk. The EP criticises the attitude of the Iraqi authorities towards the Palestinians and also condemns threats by senior Iraqi officials against members of the Iranian opposition who have been political refugees in Iraq for 20 years and have legal protected status. On a positive note, the resolution "welcomes the solidarity shown by Iraq's neighbouring countries with Iraqi refugees and invites these countries to inform the international community about the support they need to cope with the situation". It goes on to call, "together with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for a sustained, comprehensive and coordinated international response to ease the plight of millions of people uprooted by the humanitarian crisis". Speedier processing of asylum applications However, Parliament argues that "the attitude of most Member States and the US to recognising protection needs of Iraqi refugees has been largely restrictive" and it is critical of the "great disparities in the way Iraqi asylum claims are being assessed in the Member States". It calls on the Member States to "overcome their position of non-action regarding the situation of the Iraqi refugees and to fulfil their obligations under international and Community law" so as to give Iraqis in Member States the opportunity to lodge asylum applications and have them processed with minimum delay. Iraqis who do not qualify for protected status but cannot be returned should at least be given some form of legal status. More aid needed quickly The European Commission is asked "to urgently explore further possibilities to bring humanitarian support to the IDPs in Iraq, exercising appropriate flexibility in interpreting the relevant rules, and to assist the neighbouring countries in their efforts to host the refugee population". The procedures of ECHO, the EC humanitarian aid office, are regarded as too lengthy, due to the special constraints of the country. Lastly, the resolution asks the Commission to inform Parliament's Budget Control Committee at its meeting of 16 July about the use of the funds allocated to Iraq, including how much of the EU funding for Iraq has been allocated to the refugee problem.
