Iraq: Current Situation

Since the Samarra bombings of February 2006, the situation in Iraq has dramatically worsened. Predictions in 2003 of a humanitarian crisis are now a reality. According to UNHCR’s November 2006 update, “Iraq is hemorrhaging…the mass displacement has emerged quietly and without fanfare but the numbers affected are in excess of what many agencies had predicted in 2003.”

UNHCR estimates some 425,000 Iraqis have been displaced since the Samara bombings with some 2-3,000 Iraqis leaving per day   and the mass exodus shows no sign of abating. There are now at least 1.6 million Iraqi IDPs and another 1.6 – 1.8 million refugees in neighbouring states. This includes some 700,000 in Jordan, 5–600,000 in Syria, 100,000 in Egypt, 20-40,000 in Lebanon, 54,000 in Iran and tens of thousands more in the region and beyond.

UNHCR and other aid agencies have reported a rapid decline in the well-being of both IDPs and refugees in neighbouring states. Initial coping mechanisms of those displaced, and their host communities, are being rapidly depleted and displacement is taking on a permanent character. With deteriorating health and social infrastructure, mortality rates are sky-rocketing. Hundreds of thousands of other Iraqis, who have been on the verge of displacement, may soon be forced to leave.

With the conflict spreading, more and more Iraqi families are also being forced to move for a second or third time, mainly after fleeing Baghdad. In addition to the ethnic and sectarian re-engineering, recent inter-sectarian fighting in the south of Iraq means that even if Shi’ia and Sunnis move to homogeneous areas, they still risk secondary displacement.

The new waves of sectarian violence and the deteriorating humanitarian situation have equally affected the 50,000-strong refugee community inside Iraq. Some of them, such as the Palestinians, Syrians and Iranian refugees, have been deliberately targeted and attacked by local communities.

The needs of IDPs, returnees, refugees and their host communities are dire and largely unfulfilled. It is necessary, as part of a comprehensive protection framework, to ensure their immediate survival and emergency needs, while pursuing more vigorously durable solutions inside and outside of Iraq.

Unless addressed immediately, the impact of the escalating displacement will have a long-term impact on the ability of Iraq to recover when stability returns to the country. Since 2003, 40% of Iraq’s professional class has left the country and, since 2003, 2,500 physicians have also been murdered (the same number killed in the 2006 Israel – Lebanon conflict).  As doctors, teachers, computer technicians and even bakers are targeted, the attrition rate is increasing, leaving a severe shortage of skilled workers required to provide basic services.

First Asylum Countries Under Severe Strain

While neighbouring states have been relatively welcoming to the vast majority of Iraqis tolerance is growing thin and it is likely that regional governments will become increasingly restrictive with regard to entry, stay and access to social services. In the last month Jordan has made it more difficult for Iraqi children to access public schools due to their limited capacities (which has lead to a burden on private schools). UNHCR has also been informed that Syria might be contemplating reducing the entry permit from six to three months.

Access for refugee groups such as Palestinians, Iranians etc has been much more restrictive with hundreds trapped at the border between Iraq, Syria and Jordan – or located in camps just inside the border at Ruwayshid and El Hol.

Jordan

Since the Samarra bombings in February 2006, millions of Iraqis have been displaced, putting an unsustainable burden on Jordan, Syria, and other countries in the region. 1.8 million Iraqis have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, with the largest concentrations in Jordan and Syria. Moreover, with the expected ‘troop surge’ and then the expected increase in sectarian violence when troops are withdrawn, UNHCR predicts that the deteriorating situation will displace up to 3 million people. 

Jordan tends not to acknowledge the existence of Iraqis at all, and when it does it treats them as immigrants or temporary visitors rather than acknowledging their needs for assistance and protection, which would entail responsibility to attend to those needs.

During the first two years of the war, Jordan allowed Iraqis to enter the Kingdom on one or three-month visas issued at the border - as it had for about a quarter million Iraqis who left Iraq during the Saddam Hussein era to escape repression and the effects of economic sanctions. As they did before the war, Jordanian authorities looked the other way after April 2003 when Iraqis overstayed their visas, demonstrating considerable leniency in enforcing immigration laws on the understanding that the Iraqis would remain self sufficient and make no demands. 

Jordan’s hospitality, however, quickly eroded after three Iraqis bombed three large hotels in Amman in November 2005, killing 90 people. Since then, Jordanian officials have stepped up immigration enforcement: turning away large numbers of Iraqis at the border, making it harder for Iraqis inside Jordan to renew their visas and remain in legal status, and arresting Iraqis for working or residing illegally once they lose their legal right to remain in the country.

Living illegally in Jordan creates a pervasive climate of anxiety among the Iraqi population. Those who work illegally are prone to accepting exploitative or marginal employment. They are often over-qualified for these menial jobs, but earn less than Jordanians for the same work. Iraqi children living in Jordan also face substantial barriers to education. Iraqi children are not able to attend public schools, and Iraqi children without resident permits are not allowed to attend private schools either — the denial of the basic right of any child to free and compulsory primary education.

Since the Amman bombings, Jordan has more regularly deported Iraqis who overstay their visas and more often denied them entry to the country. Human Rights Watch have documented hundreds of cases of refoulement both of Iraqi asylum seekers holding UNHCR cards and of Iraqis who were not registered with UNHCR but who expressed to the authorities their fear of return.

The assistance needed to care for Iraqi refugees in the Middle East is a tiny fraction of what the US and Australia spend on the war – estimated at 2 Billion per week - but if it convinces Jordan, Syria and other neighboring states to keep their borders open to fleeing Iraqi refugees, and alleviates the current strain on their health and education services, then it will be money well spent, averting a humanitarian disaster and further movements in search of protection.

Onward Movement in Search of Protection

As Iraqis find it increasingly difficult to find protection and assistance from the daily cycle of violence and revenge killings within Iraq and in neighbouring states, they are increasingly looking further a field for protection. Sweden has already recorded a four-fold increase in Iraqi asylum applications in the past year.
As the challenge and difficulty of sheltering and protecting Iraqis in regional states increase, along with the social unrest already being experienced in neighbouring states, these increased movements to Europe and other parts of the world are likely to grow exponentially. It is therefore critical that Australia and the international community respond immediately to alleviate the social costs of the hundreds of thousands of increasingly vulnerable Iraqis in Iraq and the region.

The NCCA recommends that the Australian Government significantly increase its support for first asylum countries in the Middle East, in particular, Jordan and Syria, who have born the brunt of a refugee burden not of their own making. The NCCA also encourages Australia to work with UNHCR and other governments to ensure that assistance to Jordan and Syria is predicated on upholding refugee rights, entitlements and assistance, in particular, access to asylum, nonrefoulement, better recognition, the right to work, attend school and access health services.

UNHCR Funding

While the international community has pledged billions of dollars for recovery and development programs, most of which cannot be implemented due to security concerns, humanitarian programs inside Iraq and in neighbouring states remain seriously under-funded. Despite the deteriorating situation inside Iraq and in neighbouring countries, donor support has dropped significantly in recent years. UNHCR’s Iraq budget was not only down from USD 160 million in 2003 to USD 29 million last in 2006, but UNHCR only received USD 11 million in fresh contributions in 2006, leaving it without funds to cover even the most basic needs and forcing it to suspend a number of crucial activities in the last quarter of 2006. This directly increased the vulnerability and hardship of female headed households, the elderly, sick and other vulnerable groups. In 2007, UNHCR is appealing for $60 million to confront the Iraqi refugee crisis. The NCCA encourages the Australian Government to give generously to this appeal and ensure that it is fully funded.

Iraqi Refugees: Resettling the Most Vulnerable

Population of concern in Iraq: Refugees in Iraq (Palestinian, Syrian, Iranian, Turkish, Sudanese, etc.) 50,000; Returnees in Iraq (2003-2006) 300,000; IDPs in Iraq (# of new IDPs Oct’06) 1,600,000 (425,000); Stateless (Bidouns, etc.) 130,000. Iraqis in the region: Jordan 500–700,000; Syria 500,000; Lebanon 25–40,000; Iran 54,000; Egypt 100,000.

Since 2003, almost two million Iraqis have fled their country as a result of violence, and several hundred thousands more have been displaced within Iraq. Many have fled their homes after being personally targeted by armed militias because of their religion, profession, ethnicity or perceived affiliation with western organizations, the US government in particular. With the violence showing no signs of slowing down, solutions need to be found for those whose lives are in danger.

For the vast majority of the displaced, the immediate and medium-term solutions involve temporary protection in safer regions of Iraq, or in surrounding countries. But since Iraq is a strong familial and tribal society, many of the displaced feel that they will never be able to return home as revenge would be carried out against them and their families. For them and other vulnerable Iraqis, resettlement is the only available option.

Because of its limited resources, UNHCR has been unable to refer large number of cases for resettlement, and western countries, with the notable exception of Sweden, have largely been reluctant to be proactive in the matter. It is essential for donor countries to build the UNHCR resettlement unit’s capacity and to increase the number of Iraqis they are willing to resettle.

Palestinians In Iraq

Although the violence in Iraq is so extreme that all civilians are at risk regardless of their religion or ethnicity, certain groups are particularly vulnerable. Palestinians, who in an act of political solidarity were welcome during Saddam Hussein’s rule, are particularly at risk. Many have been in Iraq since 1948, have children and grandchildren born there, and consider that country their permanent home.

During Saddam Hussein’s rule, Palestinians received special privileges such as subsidized housing (often to the detriment of Iraqis who were evicted or forced to rent their property to Palestinians free of charge). Perceived as loyal to Saddam Hussein and the Baath party, Palestinians are now targeted by all factions in Iraq. As a result, they have been and continue to be major victims of the war. Iraqi Palestinians are recipients of a collective “fatwa” (or death sentence) issued by several militia or sectarian groups, and their ethnicity - displayed on all their identification papers - is tantamount to committing a capital crime.  Many have been kidnapped, tortured and killed. Thousands more have been evicted over the last few months and Palestinian media sources report 655 attacks with 165 Palestinians killed. 

Their vulnerability is increased by the fact that they are stateless and have nowhere to go. Some have tried to flee the country and are now living in a no-man’s land in between Syrian and Iraqi borders.

UNHCR has not been able to negotiate their admission into an Arab country or resettle them. Despite the sensitivities linked to the resettlement of Palestinians outside a comprehensive peace agreement with Israel, there is no other immediate solution for the Palestinians from Iraq.

With the exception of Syria, Arab countries have now closed their borders to Iraqi refugees. Despite Syria’s policy of giving Iraqis safe haven, it has started refusing entry to Palestinians from Iraq. With an estimated 700,000 Iraqi refugees (and 2,000 to 3,000 more arriving every day) adding to the 450,000 Palestinian refugees already living in Syria, the country is quickly reaching its limits.

Of the approximately 30,000 Palestinians in Iraq registered in 2003 by UNHCR, the UN and other organizations now estimate that there are only 5-6,000 left in Iraq. The remaining Palestinians have either been killed or fled the country. With all borders now closed to them, Palestinians forced back to Iraq will face an almost certain death.

Al Tanf border crossing

372 Palestinians from Iraq are now living near the Al Tanf border crossing between Iraq and Syria in a makeshift refugee camp located in the no man’s land in between both borders. They have been denied entry by the Syrian government and they refuse to return to Iraq. As a result, they have been living in increasingly desperate circumstances and uncertainty for the past six months.

Many of the Palestinians living at the Al Tanf border crossing have been there for months, hoping to be let into Syria or resettled to a third country. None of them are willing to consider the possibility of ever returning to Iraq. They receive little assistance, as UNHCR resources are scarce, and efforts by UNHCR and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to resettle them remain unsuccessful. Arab countries refuse to take them in, arguing that they cannot host all Palestinians from Iraq, even though fewer than 6,000 of them remain. Arab countries are also adamant these Palestinians should not be resettled in third countries, as they believe they have a right to return to historic Palestine. But with Israel refusing to allow them into the Palestinian territories and Western countries showing little interest in their fate, these Palestinians have no one left to turn to.

Al-Ruweisheid camp

An additional 97 Palestinians are currently stranded at the Al-Ruweisheid camp at the border between Jordan and Iraq. They have been there for over three years. They are completely dependent on UNHCR for survival, and are in similarly inhospitable terrain as the Al Tanf camp. This group is also in desperate need of resettlement. In 2006, thanks to the governments of Canada, Denmark, Ireland and Sweden, over 300 refugees were resettled from Ruwayshed camp.

Especially vulnerable Iraqis

Vulnerability is extremely difficult to assess. Most of the Iraqis fleeing their country are in a dire situation. As their resources run out, they find themselves deprived of any legal status in their countries of asylum, with no right to work. Resettlement, however, can only be an option in extreme cases of vulnerability, as it is impossible --- both for lack of resources and political will --- to resettle all civilians fleeing
UNHCR is currently in the process of establishing categories to help assess vulnerability. Such a list would include but is not limited to the following: victims of severe trauma or violence; religious or ethnic minorities who are targeted; unaccompanied children; medical cases; stateless persons; Iraqis connected to governmental or international organizations; and Iraqis at immediate risk of refoulement.

The development of such criteria is welcome, as it will help UNHCR prioritize needs and assist the most vulnerable first. These criteria should also serve as a basis for resettlement countries undertaking their own assessments, and for NGOs and others to facilitate referrals to UNHCR and embassies.

Iraqis associated with the US government or organizations

This UNHCR category is of particular relevance to the United States. As anti-American and anti-western sentiments grow in Iraq, many Iraqis are being targeted for their affiliation with Coalition forces, US government, US NGOs or other western organizations.

Because of its role in Iraq, the US has a moral obligation to assist all refugees. To date, however, the only step taken by the US to assist Iraqis targeted because of their affiliation to the US is to allow the Pentagon to resettle 50 translators per year. This is insufficient, as many more are at immediate risk of violence or have already been attacked.

Resettlement Figures