Jordan Times
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
UN considering emergency Iraqi
refugee camps
About two million Iraqis are living under difficult conditions in Syria,
Jordan and other countries in the region
GENEVA (AP) — Emergency camps to host Iraqis fleeing their country could be
built if their numbers increase beyond the point where neighbouring nations can
cope, the UN refugee agency said on Monday.
Already about two million Iraqis are living under difficult conditions in Syria,
Jordan and other countries in the region, where they are placing a heavy burden
on their hosts, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees director for the Middle
East and North Africa said.
“If the situation continues to deteriorate inside Iraq, and if new and major
waves of Iraqis start leaving, we might face a situation whereby borders all
around Iraq are closed,” Radhouane Nouicer told reporters after returning from a
visit to the region.
To avoid the closing of borders, UNHCR would set up camps in Jordan, Syria,
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, effectively separating the refugees from the local
population and economy, he said.
Nouicer did not say how much of an increase in the number of refugees would
spark construction of the camps. Thousands are leaving Iraq daily.
“The countries neighbouring Iraq would prefer that we establish what they call
‘safety zones’ inside Iraq,” he said.
“We do not see any area inside Iraq which is completely safe, so we prefer to
drop that option.”
UNHCR Spokesman Ron Redmond said he did not know how detailed the discussions
were about establishing safety zones, but that “some of the government officials
met by UNHCR have raised this possibility.”
According to the agency, Syria has taken in some 1.2 million Iraqis, and Jordan
is hosting between 500,000 and 750,000. Egypt has 120,000 refugees, and another
200,000 Iraqis have found shelter in the countries of the Persian Gulf. Even
Lebanon, which had its own refugee crisis during the conflict with Israel last
summer, is home to at least
20,000 Iraqi refugees.
The exodus has been described by UNHCR as the largest long-term population
movement in the Middle East since the displacement of Palestinians following the
creation of Israel in 1948.
Nouicer warned that Syria and Jordan are bearing most of the burden and urged
the international community to do more to respond to the refugee crisis.
UNHCR is organising a conference in Geneva on April 17-18 to highlight the
plight of Iraq’s refugees and solicit assistance from the rest of the world.
“I don’t want to imagine the scenario whereby Syria and Jordan would close their
borders, because that would be really a humanitarian tragedy,” Nouicer said.
Neither country currently acknowledges the Iraqis as refugees, preferring
instead to refer to them as “brothers” or “guests,” he said.
“Some governments prefer to keep people as guests, or brothers, or visitors, so
as to avoid the firm and solid obligations stemming from the refugee status,”
Nouicer said, adding that UNHCR did not object to the choice of term as long as
the Iraqis were treated with dignity and not forcibly deported.
He also said reports of Iraqis in Syria being snatched off the streets were not
accurate.
“There are no reports of Iraqis being deported from Syria today,” Nouicer said.