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Iranian-Kurd border refugees reject new
proposals
12.12.2006
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AMMAN, Jordan,
December 12, -- Iranian Kurds stuck on the
Iraq-Jordan border for nearly two years say they
will not leave their make-shift camp until they are
resettled to a third country. Some 200 Iranian
Kurdish refugees living in deteriorating conditions
categorically rejected recent proposals by US-based
NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) to resolve their
problem.
One of HRW's proposals was to organise 'go and see
visits' to Kawa refugee camp in northern Iraq, where
other Iranian Kurdish refugees are currently living
- the intention being that the border refugees would
move to this officially recognised camp and then
have the chance to legitimately seek third-country
resettlement.
"There is no need to go visit Kawa refugee camp in
Arbil just to see if we like it. Refugees already
living there have told us the camp is not what they
hoped for, so there is no use for us to go there,"
Khabat Mohammadi, acting as spokesman of the group,
said.
HRW's proposals, included in its latest report on
the condition of Iraqi refugees living in Jordan,
were aimed at helping the United Nations Refugee
Agency (UNHCR) and the refugees get out of the
impasse in which both parties have been stuck since
the group was denied entrance to Jordan after its
arrival at the border.
In its recommendations to UNHCR, HRW suggested to
explore "more creative solutions" to resolve the
situation of the Iranian Kurds, who live in tents
set up by UNHCR and an Iraqi NGO in an area referred
to as No Man's Land (NML) on the Iraqi side of the
Iraq-Jordan border.
UNHCR welcomed HRW's proposals as they were in line
with what they have also been proposing.
In addition to the 'go and see' visits to the Kawa
refugee camp, HRW proposed that UNHCR "explore the
possibility of establishing a program of eligibility
for NML Iranian Kurds with family links or ongoing
protection problems in that area to seek
resettlement opportunities to Sweden, New Zealand
and Ireland after their return to Kurdistan
(northern Iraq)".
The three countries mentioned by HWR have already
resettled hundreds of Iranian Kurds from another
group of refugees who started fleeing Iraq after the
US-led invasion of the country in late 2003 and were
allowed to stay at al-Ruweished camp in Jordan,
around 70km from the Iraqi border.
The Iranian Kurds at NML refuse to move to northern
Iraq arguing that if there is a chance for them to
be resettled in a third country from Kawa, then the
same chance should apply to where they are now.
Having repeatedly explained that resettlement in a
third country is not a "right", UNHCR senior
officials say that most of the potential countries
for resettlement are of the opinion that since there
is a possibility for the group to locally integrate
in Iraqi Kurdistan, there is no justification for
considering the resettlement of all of its members.
"Moving to Kawa is the only available option for the
Iranian Kurd refugees in NML. Only protection cases
or close family reunification cases would be
considered in case the refugees agree to move to
Kurdistan," Janvier De Riedmatten, UNCHR
Representative for Iraq, said.
Meanwhile, living conditions for the border refugees
are deteriorating with temperatures at night falling
to zero degrees. The group currently comprises 57
men, 38 women, 81 children and 18 babies.
The group depends fully on the charity of truck
drivers who cross the border on a daily basis,
bringing them food, water and petrol to run
generators. The refugees say they only have a
limited amount of electricity available to run their
heaters as the winter gets colder.
The Iranian Kurd refugees arrived at the border
between Iraq and Jordan after fleeing al-Tash
refugee camp in Iraq's western Anbar governorate,
following clashes there between insurgents and US
forces in January 2005.
For more than two decades, the al-Tash camp was home
to over 12,000 Iranian-Kurdish refugees who fled
Iran in the 1980s when Tehran and Baghdad were at
war.
After being denied entry to Jordan, they remained on
the Iraqi side of the border, an area which is
difficult to access for UNHCR and its partners due
to security concerns. Now, they refuse to move again
unless they are resettled in a third country.
irinnews org
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