Petra News Agency
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Conference of Host States of Iraqis Starts in Amman
Conference of Host States of Iraqis opened in Amman today in a bid to crystallize a vision to help these states, mainly
Jordan and Syria, to cope with burdens resulting from hosting Iraqis.
The several-hour conference is attended by experts from Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Iran, the United States, the European
Union, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the Arab League as well as representatives from UN organizations operating in
Jordan and Iraq.
Head of Jordan's delegation to the conference Mokhaimar Abu Jamous said in opening remarks that a solution to this issue
will be achieved through bringing about security and stability in Iraq, adding the deteriorating security situation in Iraq
forced large number of Iraqis to flee their country.
According to the UN Refugees Agency, (UNHCR) about 50,000 Iraqis flee their country on a monthly basis due to the security
situation with most of them arriving in Jordan and Syria.
Unofficial Estimates also show that there are 750,000 Iraqis in Jordan and another 1 million in Syria.
Abu Jamous urged participants to support efforts of the Iraqi government to improve security, humanitarian and living
conditions in Iraq and remove obstacles facing the movement of Iraqis inside their country.
He reviewed Jordan's efforts to host Iraqis in terms of providing educational and health services to them, pointing to the
directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II to accept Iraqis at Jordanian schools.
The rise of the number of Iraqis in Jordan, he said, would increase security challenges facing Jordan, urging the international
Community and UN agencies to double their efforts to provide direct financial and economic support to Jordanian ministries and
institutions that provide services to Iraqis.
Jordan estimates the annual cost of hosting Iraqis at $1 billion.
Head of the Iraqi delegation to the conference Mohammad Al Haj Hmoud highlighted the need to address what he called a real
humanitarian crisis, take measures to prevent its deterioration and prevent politicizing the issue.