Brussels - An internal European Union report on the state of
Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria raises the pressure on the bloc to
take in more of them ahead of a key ministerial meeting Thursday.
The report, seen by Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, concludes that
'there is a clear need for resettlement' of Iraqi refugees from the
two countries, and that an 'increased engagement on the part of the
EU countries on resettlement could send a positive signal to the
governments of the hosting countries.'
And while it stops short of calling outright on the bloc to take
in more Iraqi refugees on a permanent basis, it points out that the
United States took in over 11,000 in 2007 and 2008, while the EU's 27
members combined took in just one-tenth of that figure.
The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, says that 'there is a
clear need for additional European quota,' the report points out.
In early November, the EU despatched a group of 17 experts from
the bloc's executive, the European Commission, and member states such
as Germany, Finland, Poland, Britain and Cyprus, to refugee camps in
Syria and Jordan.
And the mission's report, which EU Justice Commissioner Jacques
Barrot is set to present to EU interior ministers at a working lunch
on Thursday, paints a grim picture of life for the estimated 1.5
million Iraqi refugees currently living in Syria and Jordan.
The situation for the refugees is 'deteriorating ... (with) many
clear and easily identifiable cases of vulnerability, in particular
persons with medical needs, victims of trauma and severe torture,
women-headed households and religious minorities,' it says.
Moreover, local integration is 'not a realistic option' for the
great majority, and the governments of Syria and Jordan 'cannot meet
all the needs,' despite a 'high degree of generosity,' it says.
Above all, the EU must do more to help Palestinian refugees who
had originally settled in Iraq and have now been forced to flee to
camps in the no-man's-land between Syria and Iraq, it says.
Some 2,500 Palestinians are currently housed in the camps at Al
Waleed, Al Hol and Al Tanf, and their situation is 'extremely bad,
and is compounded by the hopelessness of their situation, given that
they cannot return to Iraq and are not allowed to enter Syria.'
'These refugees are urgently in need of protection. As protection
is not available in Syria, resettlement is the only option,' the
report says.
Ministers are expected to respond to the report by urging one
another to increase the number of vulnerable Iraqi refugees they
accept, but to stress that the great majority of refugees should
rather be helped to return home, diplomats in Brussels said.
Debate is still ongoing on the question of whether the ministers
should set a numerical target, with the French government, which
currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, calling for a target
'which could be on the order of a total of several thousand.'
USA
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