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UN:
IRAQIS PREVENTED FROM ENTERING SYRIA BY NEW VISA RULES, UN REFUGEE AGENCY
SAYS: 12/9/2007 (MaximsNews.com, U.N.) |
UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com@
U.N./
- 12 September 2007 – Many
Iraqis fleeing violence in their home country have found their entry into Syria
cut off because of new visa restrictions which went into effect yesterday,
according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
With the
exception of certain professional categories – for commerce, science,
transport and education – Iraqi refugees must apply for visas at the Syrian
Embassy in Baghdad’s Al Mansour district, the scene of frequent sectarian
violence. UNHCR has been told by Iraqis that travelling to the district to apply
for visa poses great danger to them.
“The
regulations effectively mean there is no longer a safe place outside for Iraqis
fleeing persecutions and violence,” the agency’s spokesperson Ron Redmond
told reporters in Geneva. “An estimated 2,000 Iraqis flee their homes daily
inside the country, so we are increasingly concerned about their fate as their
options for safety are reduced.”
The
Government has not released the exact details of the new visa rules. Although
UNHCR is appealing for Iraqi refugees to be granted a visa on humanitarian
grounds, Mr. Redmond noted that it is too early to ascertain whether Syria is
making exceptions to the new policy for people escaping violence and
persecution.
The
spokesman acknowledged that Syria “of course has been extremely generous in
accepting some 1.4 million Iraqis with only limited international support,”
adding that UNHCR has received assurances from Government sources that the
country will not deport Iraqi refugees residing in Syria.
According
to the agency, over 4.2 Iraqis have fled their homes, with 2 million in
neighbouring countries and 2.2 million displaced within Iraq.
Meanwhile,
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and Egyptian film star Adel Imam arrived today for a
two-day mission in Syria to see first-hand the difficulties faced by the
hundreds of thousands of Iraqi families uprooted by conflict.
He is
scheduled to hold meetings today with the Syrian First Lady, Government
officials and the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Mr. Imam will also meet
with Iraqi refugees at the UNHCR registration in Douma and at health clinics.
The
Goodwill Ambassador’s visit is taking place just as the school year is kicking
off in Syria, where the Government recently announced that it will allow Iraqi
children to enrol in public schools.
In
another development, UNHCR today welcomed Chile’s decision to receive 100
Palestinian refugees living in destitute conditions on Iraq’s border with
Syria and Jordan for several years.
The
agency has repeatedly called for a human solution for Palestinian refugees –
some received preferential treatment under Saddam Hussein and have become
targets for attack since his overthrow in 2003 – who fled to Iraq after the
creation of Israel in 1948. Nearly 20,000 of them have already fled but an
estimated 15,000 still remain in the country, mostly in Baghdad.
In July,
Brazil announced it would resettle 117 Palestinian refugees, and this process
will begin shortly. Nearly two dozen Latin American nations signed an agreement
to resettle refugees, and the Palestinians are the first from outside the region
to benefit from the programme.
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
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