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Iraqi parliament considers using oil
revenue to help refugees
20.6.2007
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June
20, 2007
BAGHDAD, -- The Iraqi parliament is
considering a package of measures to meet the needs
of the growing number of Iraqis who have fled to
neighbouring countries, a lawmaker said on 19 June.
"Our proposals include allocating three percent of
Iraq's oil export revenues to help them meet their
needs," Abdul-Khaliq Zankana, a Kurdish lawmaker and
head of the parliamentary committee for displacement
and immigrants, told IRIN in Baghdad.
The committee made the proposals in late May after
visiting and interviewing Iraqis in neighbouring
countries earlier this year.
"Other proposals include distributing food rations
to the refugees, giving them social protection
network funding and allocating funds from the
education and health ministries' budgets to help
those who cannot afford education and health
services, especially for their children," Zankana
added.
"They are living in harsh conditions as their
situation is deteriorating," Zankana said, without
specifying when parliament would consider the bill.
"We realise that even if we were to set aside US$500
million, this would not be enough, but as a
parliament and government we are committed to
helping to alleviate their suffering because they
left Iraq against their will due to escalating
violence," he added.
Iraq exports about 1.6 million barrels per day and
last year oil exports brought in $31.2 billion.
UNHCR report
In its 2006 Global Trends report released on 19
June, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that people
fleeing Iraq had swelled the ranks of the world's
refugees, reversing a five-year decline, and causing
an increase in the number of those driven from their
homes for the first time since 2002.
As of the end of 2006, the world had 9.9 million
refugees, a 14 percent increase on the 8.7 million
refugees recorded in 2005, the UNHCR report said.
The current total is the highest since 2002, when
there were 10.6 million refugees.
Iraqi refugees
The report said the increase was largely due to the
situation in Iraq, where by the end of 2006 1.5
million had fled the country to seek refuge in other
countries, particularly Syria and Jordan.
Host countries have complained of shouldering the
burden while Iraq spirals further into turmoil.
Iraqi refugees say they are struggling to legalise
their residence and find work in host countries.
"The situation in Iraq continues to worsen, with
more than 2 million Iraqis now believed to be
displaced inside Iraq and another 2.2 million
sheltering in neighbouring states," the UNHCR
statement said.
According to government figures, some 1.4 million
Iraqis are now in Syria, up to 750,000 in Jordan,
80,000 in Egypt and some 200,000 in the Gulf region.
Syria alone receives a minimum of 30,000 Iraqis a
month.
"The number of Iraqis fleeing to neighbouring
countries remains high," the UN agency said. "Calls
for increased international support for governments
in the region have so far had few results."
irinnews org
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