Web pages about "Iraq"

Iraq: World governments misleading and failing Iraqi refugees

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:45:59 +0100

The international community is evading its responsibility towards refugees from Iraq by promoting a false picture of the security situation in Iraq when the country is neither safe nor suitable for return, Amnesty International said today.

In its new report, Rhetoric and reality: the Iraqi refugee crisis, which is based on recent research and interviews with Iraqi refugees, the organization said that the world's richest states are failing to provide the necessary assistance to Iraqi refugees, most of whom are plunged in despair and hurtling towards destitution.

"Governments have done little or nothing to help Iraqi refugees, failing in their moral, political and legal duty to share responsibility for them," said Amnesty International. "Instead, apathy and rhetoric have been the overwhelming response to one of the worst refugee crises in the world."

Amnesty International said that the Government of Iraq and states involved in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, in particular the USA and the UK, highlight "improved" security or "voluntary" returns to Iraq out of political expedience, to demonstrate that their military involvement has been a success.

"Rhetoric cannot hide the reality that the wider human rights situation in Iraq remains dire," said Amnesty International.

"People are being killed every month by armed groups, the Multinational Force, Iraqi security forces and private military and security guards. Kidnappings, torture, ill-treatment and arbitrary detention pervade the daily lives of Iraqis. People continue to attempt to flee, something that is now very difficult with the recent imposition of visa restrictions on Iraqis by Jordan and Syria."

According to the latest estimates of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of Iraqis who have fled their homes has now reached 4.7 million, the highest since the US-led invasion of Iraq and the subsequent internal armed conflict.

While Syria and Jordan have shouldered most of the refugee influx, they have now resorted to drastic measures such as restricting entry and deporting people who may be at risk of persecution, partly due to the lack of support from the international community.

Having exhausted savings, many refugees are now living in complete destitution and facing new dangers, such as being forced into so-called "voluntary" return to Iraq and child labour -- many families have been forced to send their children to work in the streets in a desperate bid to help them survive.

For some refugees, the difficulties they are facing in the host country are prompting them to make the difficult and dangerous decision to return to Iraq, either temporarily to collect a pension or food ration or for other such reasons, or more permanently because of their desperate situation, not because they feel they are no longer at risk of human rights abuses in Iraq.

They are making this decision as they feel they have no other option.

A 62-year-old retired Shi’a army officer, Majid, a widower with seven adult children all living in Baghdad, told Amnesty International in February that after attempting to find protection in Syria, with only the 50 lira (US$1) in his pocket, he had to return to Iraq. Even though he was extremely scared, he had lost hope, saying "If I die, I die." Majid fled Iraq in February 2008 after two of his nephews, Mansour and Sami, aged 17 and 19, were beheaded by members of an armed group north of Baghdad. He exhausted his savings in Syria and was soon left with nothing. Weeping, he explained to Amnesty International that he had no alternative but to return to Iraq.

Many European countries are now attempting to deport Iraqis, sometimes to some of the most dangerous parts of Iraq such as the south and central regions. In addition to taking direct actions forcing Iraqis to return, they are using indirect methods such as cutting off basic assistance and services to rejected asylum-seekers in order to force them to “voluntarily” return to Iraq.

Sweden, which is host to the largest number of Iraqi refugees in Europe and once a positive example to its neighbours, has now changed its approach and is denying the vast majority of Iraqis protection and forcibly returning some to very dangerous areas.

Amnesty International is greatly concerned that the failure to respond to this crisis will worsen an already dire situation. Amongst other things, it is calling on the international community to:
• urgently and substantially raise sustainable financial assistance;
• end practices such as forcible returns that put lives at further risk;
• cease practices that result in coerced “voluntary” returns;
• allow individuals to seek paid employment; and
• extensively increase resettlement places for the most vulnerable refugees to start a new life in a third country.

Amnesty International is also calling on the governments of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt, as well as those of other countries in the region, to allow unrestricted access to people fleeing Iraq, cease all deportations to Iraq, and grant refugees access to the labour market.

"The international community must make a true commitment to assist Iraq's displaced people by substantially boosting sustainable financial assistance, ending forcible returns, stopping practices that result in coerced voluntary returns and offering increased numbers of resettlement places," said Amnesty International.

Iraqi refugees facing desperate situation

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:38:33 +0100

"Omar, a 69-year-old refugee from Baghdad, said he will die a 'slow death' if assistance is stopped. He and his family have depended on food and medical assistance since they fled to Syria in 2006." – UNHCR, May 2008.

Iraq remains one of the most dangerous places in the world. Its refugee crisis is worsening. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), since the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, an estimated 4.7 million have been displaced both within and outside Iraq and for many the situation is desperate.

A new report by Amnesty International, Rhetoric and reality: the Iraqi refugee crisis, says that the international community continues to fail to respond to the crisis in a meaningful way. Countries like Jordan and Syria host most of the refugees but are simply not equipped to meet the needs of all those arriving.

Syria alone may be hosting more than a million refugees. As of 2007, only 1 percent of the total Iraqi displaced population was estimated to be in the industrialized world.

To mark World Refugee Day, Amnesty International has called on the international community and, in particular, those states who participated in the US-led invasion of Iraq, to take real steps to alleviate the suffering of those displaced. The organization said these countries must urgently act on their responsibility to assist the host nations and humanitarian organizations operating in the region to support the large numbers of refugees.

"Many refugees are finding it difficult to survive," said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme. "They are banned from working and unable to pay rents, buy adequate food for themselves and their families, or obtain medical treatment. Those lucky enough to escape Iraq rely on savings which, for many, are rapidly running out."

Many families are destitute and facing impossible choices and new risks, like having to resort to child labour and the prospect of being forced through circumstances to undertake "voluntary" return to Iraq.

Humanitarian agencies cannot cope with growing demands as more refugees need help with the basics to survive. The UNHCR had planned that by the end of the year it would be distributing food to around 300,000 people in Syria alone. However, the agency recently announced that inadequate funding means that, by August 2008, it will not be able to "cover all basic health needs of Iraqis, and many serious and chronically ill Iraqis will not be able to receive their monthly medication."

Current food aid for 150,000 refugees in Syria and Jordan could be reduced, forcing many Iraqis "into further destitution and raise the likelihood of higher malnutrition rates and increased child labor."

Amnesty International believes it is imperative that the international community increase its contributions to humanitarian agencies such as UNHCR, as well as to the countries hosting Iraqi refugees. Furthermore, there must be a real and sustained effort to resettle vulnerable refugees, such as those with serious medical conditions, to countries where they will receive adequate care.

Manal (not her real name), a refugee living in Damascus, told Amnesty International in February 2008 that three of her children, aged between six and 15 years, work so the family can survive.

Her six-year-old boy sells chewing gum in the street, for about one US dollar a day; her 10-year-old daughter sells chewing gum about three days a week; her oldest son polishes shoes, for the equivalent of about US$2 a day. Her daughter is the only one who goes to school. The family fled to Syria in 2006 after their house in Baghdad was damaged by explosions.

Despite claims among the international community that an "improvement" in the security situation in Iraq has led to people "voluntarily" returning, in reality, most return because they have run out of money and can no longer survive. They return despite the real danger to their lives.

Apart from failing to provide adequate practical and financial support, some states are also rejecting the asylum claims of Iraqis at an alarming rate. More European states are deporting rejected asylum-seekers to Iraq, including countries like Sweden, once a positive example to its European neighbours. Some states are using indirect ways to return people to Iraq, for example cutting off assistance to rejected Iraqi asylum-seekers and therefore forcing them to return "voluntarily".

The failure to respond to the crisis is contributing to the severe deterioration of human rights protection for individuals forced to flee their homes in search of safety. Support is desperately needed so that host countries in the region can meet their own responsibilities in allowing access to all those fleeing violence and human rights abuses.

External Link:

Iraqis in Egypt: Time is running out (Video)

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Video: The Iraqi refugee crisis

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:41:16 +0100

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Amnesty International delegates visited Syria in February and March 2008 to look at the situation of refugees who had fled from Iraq living there. The footage they recorded there during meetings with the refugees illustrates the trauma experienced by people in Iraq and the day-to-day dangers of life there. It also shows the daily hardship and uncertainty of their lives in Syrian.

UK inquiry into torture and death of Iraqi in UK custody must be independent

Fri, 16 May 2008 16:01:04 +0100

Amnesty International has welcomed the public inquiry into the case of an Iraqi hotel receptionist who died after being tortured over a period of 36 hours while detained by UK troops in Basra.

Baha Mousa, a 26-year-old father of two, died in September 2003. A post-mortem examination revealed 93 separate injuries on his body.

Amnesty International said: "This recognition by the UK authorities of the need for a full public inquiry into the case is long-overdue. The family of Baha Mousa and their legal representatives, along with NGOs, including Amnesty International, have spent years campaigning for such an inquiry.

"It should not have taken so long for the UK authorities to acknowledge that an inquiry was needed, given the shocking facts of this case and the obvious inadequacies of the initial investigations," the organization said.

“What is now needed – at the very least – is a genuinely full, independent, impartial and thorough investigation into all of the circumstances of the torture and death of Baha Mousa, and the torture of a number of other Iraqi nationals detained at around the same time as him,” said Amnesty International.

Amnesty International has called for the inquiry to be given a broad enough remit to allow it to fully investigate how, when, where, why and by whom the advice was given that it was lawful for members of the UK armed forces to ‘condition’ detainees by the use of techniques such as hooding, sleep deprivation and placing in stress positions.

These techniques have long been outlawed in the UK, but had become, in the words of the judge presiding over the court martial arising from the case in 2007, “standard operating procedure” among the troops responsible for detaining Baha Mousa. The judge hearing the court martial described it as “a serious failing in the chain of command all the way up to Brigade and beyond”.

The terms of reference of the inquiry in this case are yet to be announced, but it has been confirmed that the intention is to hold it under the controversial Inquiries Act 2005. Amnesty International believes that this would damage the inquiry’s independence, impartiality and thoroughness. An inquiry under the Inquiries Act would allow the Secretary of State for Defence – the minister with responsibility for the armed forces, whose conduct will be the subject of the inquiry – significant and wide-ranging powers to impose restrictions on the inquiry if he thinks it is necessary “in the public interest” to do so.

These include the power to set the terms of reference for the inquiry, and to change them during the inquiry; to appoint the chair of the inquiry and, in consultation with the chair, to appoint all the members of the inquiry panel; to bring the inquiry to an end at any point; to impose restrictions on public access to the inquiry hearings, and public disclosure of the evidence considered in the inquiry; and to withhold any material from the final published report of the inquiry.

Amnesty International is worried that any inquiry held under this legislation into an allegation of serious human rights violations may not be independent enough from the government to meet the standards required by international human rights law.

Refugee camp trauma continues for Palestinians

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:27:48 +0100

More than 3,000 Palestinian refugees are currently cut off from the rest of the world in dire conditions without access to adequate humanitarian assistance.

In March 2008, Amnesty International delegates met with Palestinian refugees stranded in al-Tanf camp in no-man’s land between the borders of Iraq and Syria.

Al-Tanf camp, a narrow strip of land wedged between a concrete wall and the main transit road from Baghdad to Damascus, is dry and dusty. Temperatures soar to 50ºC in summer and plunge to below freezing in winter.

The camp accommodates hundreds of Palestinian refugees seeking to flee from Iraq, where they were formerly long term residents. Palestinians have been among those particularly targeted for sectarian killings and violence.

Overcrowded tents are the only protection from the heat, the snow and the blinding sandstorms. Danger is everywhere, especially for the children. The land is infested with scorpions and snakes.

The school tents are unprotected from the busy highway, which has already claimed the life of a boy knocked down by a truck.

According to residents who spoke to Amnesty International delegates visiting the camp in March 2008, heating and cooking systems in the tents regularly cause fires that destroy tents – 42 tents in all so far.

Despite the unsafe and harsh conditions at al-Tanf, the number of Palestinian refugees from Iraq in the camp is growing as Palestinians who entered Syria on false passports are identified and deported to the camp. Many camp residents described to Amnesty International the horrific events that prompted them to flee Iraq and have left them traumatized.

The people in al-Tanf are also traumatized by the harsh conditions in the camp and the fear that they may be stuck there for many more years. One resident pleaded with Amnesty International delegates to "save us from this hell."

In addition, some 2000 Palestinian refugees are at al-Waleed camp in the Iraqi desert, facing even greater hardship as access by aid organizations and the UN Refugee Agency is extremely difficult. Their living conditions are dire and the only solution to their plight is resettlement to a third country.

As of February 2008, almost 300 other Palestinians were in al-Hol camp at al-Hassakah, north-east Syria; most were moved there from the Iraq-Jordan border in May 2006.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) believes resettlement in third countries is the only possible durable solution for the Palestinians from Iraq at the present time. While hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled from Iraq to Syria and Jordan, both countries have generally barred the entry of Palestinian refugees from Iraq.

The Chilean government has offered to resettle an initial group of 116 Palestinians from al-Tanf. So far some 64 have arrived in Chile with the remaining group due to follow shortly.

A number of other governments outside the Middle East are reported to have said that they will resettle some of al-Tanf’s residents, but the refugees’ plight is desperate and resettlement to a safe third country cannot come quickly enough.

Amnesty International has launched a global campaign to draw attention to the plight of Palestinian refugees from Iraq highlighting the need for immediate action.

The organization has asked its members and supporters to call for urgent international help in resettling these Palestinians and other particularly vulnerable refugees from Iraq.

Download interviews with some of the refugees in the camp:

Interview with a Palestinian women from the camp

Interview with a doctor from the camp

interview with Muhammad from the camp

Iraq: 28 people executed after what seems to be hasty and unfair trials

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:40:50 +0100

The execution of 28 people this week following what appears to be hasty and unfair trials makes it urgent for the Iraqi authorities to establish a moratorium on the death penalty, Amnesty International said today.

“Those executed were arrested in clashes that took place in the past three weeks. For them to be arrested, sentenced and executed within such a short period raises serious concerns about the trial process,” said Amnesty International. “The Iraqi authorities must disclose all relevant information about these trials, including whether those executed had access to legal representation or not.”

Amnesty International has repeatedly expressed its concerns about the trials conducted by criminal courts in Iraq, and whose procedures fall short of international standards for fair trials.

“The Iraqi government argued in 2004 that reinstating capital punishment would curb the widespread violence in the country,” said Amnesty International. “The reality, however, is that violence has continued unabated and the death penalty has not been a deterrent.”

The death penalty has been used extensively since its reintroduction in 2004 and hundreds of people have been sentenced to death after grossly unfair trials. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a violation of the right to life and as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

Iraq executions follow apparently unfair trials

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:25:43 +0100

Twenty-eight people have been executed in Iraq this week following what appear to have been hasty and unfair trials. Those executed were arrested in clashes that took place in the past three weeks.

Amnesty International has said that, for them to be arrested, sentenced and executed within such a short period raises serious concerns about the trial process. The organization has called on the Iraqi authorities to disclose all relevant information about these trials, including whether those executed had access to legal representation or not.

"The circumstances of these executions make it urgent for the Iraqi authorities to establish a moratorium on the death penalty," Amnesty International said today.

Amnesty International has repeatedly expressed its concerns about the trials conducted by criminal courts in Iraq, and whose procedures fall short of international standards for fair trials.

"The Iraqi government argues that reinstating capital punishment would curb the widespread violence in the country," said Amnesty International. "The reality, however, is that violence has continued unabated and the death penalty has not been a deterrent."

The death penalty is being used extensively since its reintroduction in 2004 and hundreds of people have been sentenced to death after grossly unfair trials. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a violation of the right to life and as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

Truce reduces fighting in Iraq

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:24:11 +0100

Fighting in Basra between government forces and the Mahdi Army is reported to have ended following Moqtada al-Sadr's orders to his followers on Sunday to stop fighting Iraqi security forces. The Shi'a cleric also called on the government to stop arresting his followers and to release all those who have been recently detained.

The government is reported to have agreed to stop arresting followers of the cleric and to allow Mahdi Army members to keep their weapons. While armed clashes were said to have continued overnight in Basra, the city is now reported to be quiet.

The government says that more than 200 people have been killed in Basra since fighting between the Iraqi security forces and the Mahdi Army erupted on 25 March. It is still not known how many civilians have been killed and injured as a result of the fighting.

In Baghdad, a three day curfew was lifted in the early hours of Monday, but there were further rocket attacks on the Green Zone apparently carried out by members of the Mahdi Army.

Non-governmental organizations appealed to the Iraqi government on Sunday to facilitate their distribution of humanitarian assistance to civilians in both Basra and Baghdad. The fighting and the curfew have seriously affected the delivery of such assistance.

Many people are in desperate need of food and water and many hospitals have run out of vital medicines.

"All sides must immediately allow food, water and other humanitarian assistance to be provided to the civilian population in the areas affected by the violence," said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme.

Fighting intensifies in Basra

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:45:54 +0000

The US military launched air strikes in Basra on Friday for the first time since the Iraqi authorities began their crackdown on the Mahdi Army, followers of the Shi’a cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The intensification of fighting comes as aid agencies warn that the military offensive is stopping food and medical relief efforts and putting civilians at risk.

They said the situation in Basra and in al-Sadr City in Baghdad was "critical." UNICEF spokeswoman Veronique Taveau said that "the situation concerning drinking water is particularly critical. We estimate the population has enough for two days."

The International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, said they were unable to reach hospitals in Basra with urgent medical supplies.

The Iraqi ground commander in Basra, Major-General Ali Zaidan, told the Reuters news agency that his forces had killed 120 "enemy" fighters and wounded around 450 since the campaign began.

However, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's forces have failed to drive the fighters off the streets of Basra. The authorities initiated a strict curfew in Baghdad, but that has failed to halt rocket attacks and clashes in the capital.

The Iraqi parliament called an emergency meeting to end the impasse, but only 54 members out of 275 managed to get inside the fortified "Green Zone" compound, which was bombarded by rockets as they gathered.

One missile hit the Green Zone office of Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, killing a security guard. The US embassy ordered its staff in the zone to stay under cover when possible and wear body armour and helmets when in the open.

Prime Minister al-Maliki, who had given the Basra militants 72 hours to surrender, extended his deadline, giving them until April 8 to turn in their weapons for cash.

The government says it is fighting "outlaws", but followers of al-Sadr are reported to have accused political parties in the Shi'’a-led government of using military force to marginalise their rivals ahead of local elections due by October.

Amnesty International has warned that the continued fighting puts civilians at risk. On Wednesday, the organisation urged all parties to refrain from indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks.

"The continued fighting is creating a deepening crisis for civilians,” said Malcolm Smart on Friday. "Communities that formerly lived in relative harmony are being further torn apart by the desperate conflict that continues to grip Iraq."

Iraq fighting puts civilians at risk

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:42:24 +0000

At least 12 people are reported to have been killed in fighting between Iraqi government forces and armed militia in Basra.

Fighting erupted between Iraqi forces and members of the Mahdi Army - followers of Shi'a Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr - on Tuesday. As fighting spread, curfews were imposed by the Iraqi authorities in Basra and other southern cities, including al-Nassirya, Kut, al-Hilla and Samawa. It is not known if civilians are among the dead.

Amnesty International has warned that the violence is creating a grave risk to civilians and urged all parties to refrain from indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks.

"Civilians have borne the heaviest brunt during the past five years of conflict in Iraq," said Amnesty International. “This new upsurge of fighting is certain to add to that terrible toll."

The Mahdi Army declared a ceasefire at the end of August 2007 and announced at the end of February 2008 that the truce would be renewed for a further six months. It has been vying with other Shi’a militia groups for political control of Basra and has had frequent armed clashes with the Badr Organization, the armed wing of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. The latest fighting appears to have broken out in response to an attempt by Iraqi security forces to clamp down on the armed militias.

Amnesty International has called on the Iraqi government to ensure that its security forces comply with Iraq’s obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law. In particular, the organization has called for the civilian population and civilian objects to be protected at all times.

Amnesty International has also called on armed groups in Basra and other cities to comply with the rules of international law and to respect civilian life.