Amnesty International's Concerns
In March 2008, Amnesty International sent a three-person fact finding mission to Syria to look into the situation of Iraqi refugees in the country. The mission was a follow-up to AI's earlier visit to Jordan. The delegation met with many Iraqi nationals--some of them asylum seekers--as well as representatives of national and international NGOs, and Syrian government officials. It was clear that the Syrian authorities and many local and international non-governmental groups are making significant efforts to respond to the refugees' needs, but that these are not sufficient in the face of a continuing large inflow of refugees and the likelihood that this will continue while the security situation in Iraq remains so dire.
In addition, Amnesty's research delegation had the opportunity to visit Al-Tanf refugee camp in the no-man's land on the Iraq-Syria border. The situation in Al-Tanf is a particularly troubling one that needs urgent attention from the international community.
Amnesty International is calling on the international community, in particular the United States (US), the European Union (EU), and other states that have the capacity to do so, to share responsibility by resettling Iraqis from Jordan and Syria, giving priority to the most vulnerable cases in accordance with UNHCR guidelines on the resettlement of Iraqi refugees. Such resettlement programs should go far beyond token numbers and should constitute a significant part of the solution to the current crisis. Further, these and other countries must not forcibly return rejected Iraqi asylum seekers to any part of Iraq presently because of the endemic violence in the country.
Countries should also provide financial, technical, and in-kind assistance to the governments of Jordan, Iraq and Syria, and to UNHCR, as well as to national and international humanitarian organizations, in order to provide vital services, including healthcare and education, to Iraqis in Jordan and Syria. Such assistance should be provided as part of an inclusive package that benefits Jordanian and Syrian as well as Iraqi communities to avoid resentment among the populations of Jordan and Syria.
While Amnesty International recognizes that the presence of more than 2 million Iraqis has placed great demands on Syria's and Jordan's resources, the organization urges the Jordanian and Syrian governments to halt all forcible deportations of Iraqis to Iraq, including those who have not registered with UNHCR, to keep open their borders with Iraq, and to desist from turning away any Iraqis fleeing the violence.
