By IRIN, October 4, 2010
The refugee and displacement problem is one of the most complex humanitarian issues facing the Middle East, aid workers say. Elizabeth Campbell, senior advocate at US NGO Refugees International, believes it is likely the Middle East hosts the highest number of refugees and asylum-seekers in the world. She underlined the need to find lasting solutions: "Any time that people remain uprooted and have not been afforded basic rights or pathways to durable solutions, it is a humanitarian crisis." IRIN takes a look at the number of refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region, and the main issues they face.
Iraq
Iraq is not a state party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.
Iraqis are the second-largest refugee group in the world.
As of August 2010, there were 207,639 UNHCR-documented Iraqi refugees living beyond their country's borders.
The estimated number of IDPs exceeds 1.55 million.
Most Iraqi refugees (45 percent of the total) are living in Syria; other large communities are in Jordan and Lebanon.
As of October 2007, when Syria became the last neighbouring country to impose a stricter visa regime on Iraqis, mobility for Iraqis seeking to flee persecution in their country has become very difficult.
A growing number of refugees are returning home for lack of employment and education opportunities in neighbouring host countries.
In June 2010, UNHCR announced that 100,000 Iraqis had been referred for resettlement to third countries. Of that number, just over half had been resettled.
Religious and other minorities face a grave risk of persecution in Iraq, according to various reports.
An estimated 500,000 Christians remain in Iraq out of a population of 1.0-1.4 million before 2003.
UNHCR estimates that of the 34,000 Palestinians in Iraq in May 2006, only 11,544 remain. UNHCR has expressed concern over instances of the forced return of Iraqi citizens from Western European countries, including those who had been residing in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the United Kingdom.
UNHCR’s guidelines for Iraq ask governments not to forcibly return people originating from the governorates of Baghdad, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninewa and Salah Al-din, in view of the serious human rights violations and continuing security incidents in these areas.
UNHCR’s position is that Iraqi asylum applicants originating from these five governorates should benefit from international protection as per the 1951 Refugee Convention or an alternative form of protection.
UNHCR recorded 426,090 Iraqi refugee and IDP returnees in 2008 and 2009. However, only 15 percent of these were refugees.
The estimated 1.5 million IDPs in Iraq include 500,000 in settlements or camp-like situations in extremely poor conditions who are considered a priority for protection and emergency assistance. (Sources: UNHCR, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre and Brookings Institution)