15.06.2008 - Source: Amnesty International

Report on Iraqi refugees; including situation in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt (overview, situation of refugees, "voluntary" returns, forced returns and resettlement) ("Iraq: Rhetoric and reality: the Iraqi refugee crisis [MDE 14/011/2008]") [ID 24156]

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Measures for protecting refugees ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23935]

"The law does not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the government did not establish by year's end an effective system for providing protection to refugees. In practice the government provided protection against "refoulement," the return of persons to a country where there was reason to believe they feared persecution.

The government cooperated with UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations to provide protection and assistance to both 23,000 Palestinian and to 2,500 Syrian refugees through rental subsidies, other forms of material assistance, and legal representation. The government also implicitly recognized 14,000 Turks and 5,500 Iranians as refugees.

In 2006 the government reestablished an interministerial committee charged with making refugee determinations. The committee did not review any cases during the year. In 2006 the central government and the KRG agreed to integrate approximately 3,000 Kurdish Iranian refugees in northern Iraq. The government also continued to facilitate the reintegration of hundreds of Iraqi Faili (Shi'a) Kurds returning from Iran. During the year no further information on the integration process was available.

Since 2005 approximately 150 Sudanese refugees remained stranded at a camp in Anbar Province near the Jordanian border."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Attacks against refugees ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23936]

"Refugees were periodically targeted in attacks carried out by insurgents, militias, and criminals. Protection for Palestinian refugees remained poor. There were credible reports that police targeted Palestinians for arbitrary arrest, detention, house raids, and extortion. According to the UN, hundreds of Palestinian refugees left Baghdad to seek refuge in Jordan and Syria during the year. According to Amnesty International, at the beginning of August Syrian authorities allowed four seriously ill young Palestinians from the al-Waleed camp near the border to enter Syria for urgent medical treatment. On November 30, UNHCR reported that three Palestinians, including two children, died of illnesses at al-Waleed while awaiting resettlement.

Groups not affiliated with the government also reportedly threatened the physical safety of refugees belonging to groups favored or perceived to be favored by the previous regime (Palestinians, Syrian Ba'thists, and Iranian Arabs)."

Document(s): Open document

16.01.2007 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Thousands of Syrian refugees and residents in country face increasing violence and lack of assistance from local NGOs ("Violence against Syrian refugees increasing") [ID 18641]

Document(s): Open document

17.12.2006 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Palestinian refugees living in the country say there is increasing fear in their community after a recent attack on a predominantly Palestinian Baghdad neighbourhood left 9 people dead and several injured, including children ("Palestinian refugees fear for their lives after recent attack") [ID 18165]

Document(s): Open document

08.12.2006 - Source: Refugees International

Needs of Iraqi refugees in neighbouring countries remain unmet (housing assistance; access to education for children; no official status; medical needs; access to mental health services) ("Iraqi Refugees: Critical Needs Remain Unmet") [ID 18051]

Document(s): Open document

07.12.2006 - Source: Guardian

Violence in Iraq has created what is becoming the world's biggest refugee crisis, US group says ("Warning over spiralling Iraq refugee crisis") [ID 18203]

Document(s): Open document

05.12.2006 - Source: Refugees International

With the violence in Iraq showing no sign of slowing down, civilians increasingly suffer; more than 2 million Iraqi civilians fled their homes, and the exodus accelerates; by November 2006, an estimated 1.8 million Iraqi civilians had already sought shelter in neighboring countries; Syrian, Lebanese and Jordanian response ("Iraqi Refugee Crisis: International Response Urgently Needed") [ID 18052]

Document(s): Open document

14.11.2006 - Source: ReliefWeb

Syria started refusing entry to Palestinians from Iraq; Palestinians particularly at risk of persecution in Iraq ("Syria: An urgent appeal for Palestinians fleeing Iraq"), Autor: InterAction [ID 19240]

"The situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate quickly. It has become so untenable that over 1.5 million Iraqis of all ethnic and religious backgrounds have fled to seek refuge in neighboring countries. Palestinians, who in an act of political solidarity were welcome during Saddam Hussein's rule, are particularly at risk.

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.

Palestinians in Iraq are perceived by many Iraqis to have been favored by the Saddam Hussein regime. 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."

Document(s): Open document

13.11.2006 - Source: Refugees International

Palestinians in Iraq forced to flee persecution; with exception of Syria, Arab countries have closed their borders to Iraqi refugees ("An Urgent Appeal for Palestinians Fleeing Iraq") [ID 18044]

Document(s): Open document

09.12.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Iranian Kurdish refugees accepted by Sweden for resettlement ("original document") [ID 10432]

"A new group of 185 Iranian Kurdish refugees left the Jordanian capital, Amman, on Thursday for Sweden, after spending more than a year and a half in "no man's land" which straddles the Iraqi border with Jordan. They are part of a group of 387 Iranian Kurdish refugees that Sweden accepted for resettlement. The remaining 202 were taken to the Scandinavian country in late November. (...) However, although the refugees were happy to leave, they expressed concerns over the fate of the 650 Iranian Kurds who are still stuck on the Jordanian-Iraqi border."

Document(s): original document

15.10.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Turkey pressuring Kurdish refugees to return to Iraq ("original document") [ID 10433]

"TURKEY REPORTEDLY PRESSURING KURDISH REFUGEES TO RETURN HOME. The Turkish government is reportedly pressuring Iraqi Kurdish refugees to return home to Iraq, ozgurpolitika.org reported on 10 October. Some 10,000 Kurds that fled Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War remain in Turkey, and Ankara says they are no longer welcome. Another 30,000 Kurds that sought shelter in Turkey during the war have since returned to Iraq, the website reported. Ankara has reportedly raised the issue with Iraq's Kurdish leaders, including Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) head Mas'ud Barzani during his visit to Ankara last week. (Kathleen Ridolfo)"

Document(s): original document

11.10.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Jordan: Focus on Iraqi refugees ("original document") [ID 10434]

Document(s): original document

06.10.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Baghdad: Syrian refugees face difficulties in troubled capital ("original document") [ID 10435]

Document(s): original document

13.07.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

IRAQ: Iranian refugees moving to north ("original document") [ID 10436]

Document(s): original document

19.05.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Special report on Iranian refugees from Iraq in Turkey ("original document") [ID 10437]

1,200 Iranians previously living in northern Iraq are now living in Van, Turkey.

Document(s): original document

29.05.2003 - Source: US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants

Annual report on conditions affecting refugees and asylum seekers in 2002 ("World Refugee Survey 2003") [#12982],  [ID 10438]

Document(s): Open document
Iran-Jordan, and Occupied Palestinian Territory Kuwait-Yemen