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Return of Iraqi refugees premature, warns charity
1 June 2003
One of the country’s leading refugee charities with specialist experience in advising refugees thinking about return to their country of origin has today cautioned the government not to forcibly return Iraqi asylum seekers. The warning comes as Home Secretary David Blunkett meets his French and German counterparts at Geneva airport today (Friday 30 May) to discuss repatriating Iraqis with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Refugee Action’s chief executive Sandy Buchan said:
“The forcible return of Iraqi asylum seekers at this time would be grossly premature. The Prime Minister’s visit to Basra threw into sharp relief just how much more needs to be done to win the peace across ravaged, war-torn Iraq.
“The government made the fundamental mistake of prematurely and forcibly returning Afghan refugees before the time was right. Voluntary assisted return schemes had barely got off the ground. Such an approach shatters trust amongst refugees who, through informed choice, might otherwise have chosen to return voluntarily.
“Return for Iraqi exiles is not now, but we’re not saying not ever. Many Iraqis here want, in time, to return but only when conditions for their sustainable return are right and their security assured. Others will choose to stay here. As well as consulting his counterparts from France and Germany, David Blunkett must talk to Iraqi refugees in the UK about how they can contribute to their country’s reconstruction, as well as about return. There is much they want to contribute, not least of all by sending remittances home, rebuilding trade, or participating in intellectual exchanges. Let’s not forget that many Iraqi exiles were eminent in Iraq’s scientific, educational and cultural fields. As happened with Bosnia, exiles should be allowed to vote for a new Iraqi government.
“Refugee Action urges the government to take the long-view on reconstructing Iraq, in consultation with Iraqi communities here, and not be sidetracked by the short-term numbers game that asylum has been reduced to of late.”
Home Secretary David Blunkett meets the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees with French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and German Interior Minister Otto Schily at Geneva Airport today (Friday 30 May) at 14:15hours.
For more information please call: 020 7654 7707 or 07810 757 752 (out of hours).
About Refugee Action
Refugee Action is an independent, national charity working to enable refugees to build new lives in the UK. We provide practical advice and assistance for newly arrived asylum seekers and long-term commitment to their settlement through community development work. As one of the country’s leading agencies in the field, Refugee Action has more than 21 years’ experience in pioneering innovative work in partnership with refugees.
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