Iraqi Refugees: What Needs to Happen and What is Being Done

Julia is head of her family. A widow and mother, she fled Iraq shortly after her daughter was sexually assaulted in their home by an armed militia.

The family was once considered affluent, but without any employment and the exhaustion of their savings, this mother and daughter have no means of survival in Damascus, Syria, where they live today.

“Each person, like Julia, represents a compelling story,” said Bob Carey of International Rescue Committee and Refugee Council USA at Rutgers School of Law, where students, activists and academics gathered three weeks ago for Iraq at the Crossroads: Protecting Refugees, Rescuing our Allies, and Empowering Iraqi Law.

Julia and her daughter, like so many millions of Iraqis, find themselves with grave shortages and threats in Iraq’s neighbor countries of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan. “As urban refugees, many services can’t reach them,” continued Carey. “And there is a lack of images [of Iraqi refugees] as a catalyst to action.”

Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria are not signatories to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, which would require them to allow refugees to work, travel and go to school. As non-signers, they may also forcibly expel refugees back into Iraq, even if refugees’ homes remain unsafe.

Joining Bob Carey at the Rutgers conference was Hillary Ingraham of the U.S. State Department.

“While many Iraqis were initially able to sustain themselves, this is no longer possible,” said Ingraham.

She added that while registration for aid is available and encouraged, many Iraqi refugees do not approach the UNHCR and aid agencies. There is a prevailing stigma of registration for fear that they will be forcibly returned to Iraq. Registration, however, allows the UN and agencies to monitor the conditions of life and whereabouts of refugees, assist with housing, work and education, and provide heating fuel, food, and clothing.

The panel finished with Emily Gish of Mercy Corps, whose organization provides much-needed, immediate relief to Iraqi refugees outside of Iraq, as well as Iraq's internally displaced persons (IDPs) and vulnerable populations still within Iraq's borders. Mercy Corps' response to Iraqi displacement is strengthened through partnerships with the U.S. State Department, World Food Programme, Middle East Council of Churches, and a host of other organizations and agencies, enabling Iraqis both inside and outside of the country to receive much needed aid.

“Access to the health services, health education for pregnant women, mobile clinic, immunizations, water services, school supplies, warm clothes, and non-perishable foods,” she said, are some of the many services and goods provided. Mercy Corps also seeks to address the unique needs of Iraqi refugees who are victims of psychological, gender-based violence.

As the panel came to a close, Carey said any solution to the humanitarian crisis must be led by a UN ministerial conference. He added that the United States should fund 50% of what is requested by the UN, and called for a multi-year, multi-lateral, civilian-led resolution as the best way forward in Iraq.

Caption: (top) Panel speakers from right: Sana Hardina of Refugee Council USA, Hillary Ingraham of the U.S. Dept. of State, Emily Gish of Mercy Corps, and Bob Carey of International Rescue Committee/Refugee Council USA. By EPIC.

Caption: (left) Emily Gish of Mercy Corps. By EPIC.

Rajiv Chandrasekaran: How Early US Failures Created the Iraq of Today

It is Friday morning and Rajiv Chandrasekaran takes the stage. He pulls the microphone a little closer to his lips and welcomes the coffee-sipping audience of students, writers, activists.

“Iraqis believed they should have been free to determine their own destiny,” he said. “They were not a vanquished nation in need of overhaul at foreign hands.”

Chandrasekaran’s powerful address opened Iraq at the Crossroads: Protecting Refugees, Rescuing Our Allies, and Empowering Iraqi Law, hosted at Rutgers School of Law last Friday.

Chandrasekaran, author of Imperial Life in the Emerald City and National Editor for The Washington Post, served as the newspaper’s bureau chief in Baghdad from April 2003 to October 2004. From the Green Zone—or “neoconservative terrarium” as he has called it—Chandrasekaran reported on what he soon recognized as a dismal US failure to implement an effective strategy for post-Saddam Iraq:

I was appalled by how we Americans were squandering our window of opportunity to build stability in Iraq. Instead of focusing principally on creating jobs, the economic advisers inside the Green Zone set about rewriting Iraq's tax code. They spent countless hours drafting laws to protect genetically modified seeds, copyrighted movies and even the designs of microchips, instead of devoting the necessary resources to increase electricity production or repair hospitals.

Chandrasekaran explained how the absence of sound, structured policy and misplaced priorities can be understood in three pieces:

First, PEOPLE. The U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), which came to Baghdad after Saddam’s government fell, “sent the loyal and the willing.” When interviewed for positions by Pentagon officials, CPA hopefuls were asked questions like: “Are you a member of the Republican Party?” “What is your position on capital punishment?” and “How do you feel about Roe v. Wade?”

While fervent support of the Administration and a set of conservative, partisan values appeared necessary for employment with the CPA, international experience and knowledge of the Middle East were not— “More than half the CPA staff got their first passports to go to Iraq.”

Second, PLACE. Centered in Iraq’s Green Zone, members of the CPA had little or no immediate understanding of the chaos and ruin that was quickly befalling Iraq. Outside the Baghdad walls there was no clean or running water, looting and lawlessness erupted in the absence of government police forces, waste filled the streets, and Iraqi families took refuge in their homes waiting for the speedy delivery of democracy promised by President Bush.

Third, POLICY. Tax code reform took the top agenda seat while “New Deal-like policies” that would employ Iraqis to sweep the streets, maintain clean water systems, and restore electricity were not considered. Following the March 2003 intervention, looting, lawlessness, and traffic jams paralyzed the city as drivers sat in jammed intersections below Baghdad’s lifeless traffic lights. While the CPA was walled up in Baghdad’s Green Zone rewriting copyright laws, Iraqi civilians worried about the safety of their children and wondered how to educate their children at home now that schools were closing. Copyright infringement was probably not in the forefront of Iraqis’ minds.

Mr. Chandrasekaran explained that an understanding of post-invasion Iraq is crucial for understanding Iraq today. Without a plan for the months after Saddam was removed from power, the US government created many of the problems that have plagued the country after five years at war. Instead of working with pre-existing infrastructures of Iraq’s government, such as the city police forces and the military, the CPA and Washington elite insisted upon a complete overhaul. With unqualified leadership in Iraq, complete isolation within the fortifications of Baghdad’s Green Zone, and policies that failed to address the most critical and immediate concerns of the Iraqi people, the United States was signed up for a disorganized, violent and lengthy involvement from the very beginning.

In January Iraq will host provincial elections, an opportunity to elect new, more representative leaders, making Baghdad more directly accountable to Iraqi constituents. Unlike the last provincial elections in 2005, all of Iraq’s communities are expected to turn out in force, and Iraqi voters will have the opportunity to vote for individual candidates rather than faceless “party lists.”

Chandrasekaran suggested that as Baghdad’s government becomes one of the people, there will be more room to address the needs of Iraqis. Thanking the Rutgers students and community for addressing the urgent Iraqi humanitarian crisis, he said that peace and security can only be built with great focus on the needs of the Iraqi people.

*Hey there! If you have not yet joined the 14,000 Americans who have signed The Humanitarian Pledge, please do so today! Help us put the humanitarian needs of vulnerable Iraqis at the center of the U.S. policy debate on Iraq. You can also help us raise public awareness by sharing this one-page backgrounder about the crisis with your community.

EPIC to Join Groups Working to Alleviate Crisis at Friday's National Symposium

THIS FRIDAY at Rutgers School of Law in Newark, NJ, EPIC supporters will join Iraq War veteran Kevin Murphy for IRAQ AT THE CROSSROADS. Coming less than two weeks before the Presidential election, this important national gathering will explore one of the greatest humanitarian challenges to be faced by the next President of the United States.

IRAQ AT THE CROSSROADS: Protecting Refugees, Rescuing Our Allies, and Empowering Iraqi Law
A National Symposium at Rutgers School of Law, Newark, NJ
October 24th, 2008 (Friday) 8:30 am – 5:30 pm
Register online via http://www.lawrecord.com

EPIC is proud to announce that National Editor of The Washington Post, Rajiv Chandrasekaran, will deliver the opening keynote address. Speakers will also include Emily Gish of Mercy Corps, Bob Carey of International Rescue Committee, Sam Parker of the U.S. Institute of Peace, Rep. Bill Pascrell, Hilary Ingraham of the U.S. State Department, and others.

EPIC to Join Groups Working to Alleviate Crisis at Oct. 24th National Symposium

At this year's Iraq Action Days, EPIC supporters like you came to Washington DC to urge the Bush administration and Congress to do more to help innocent Iraqis affected by the war. Among the hundreds who participated was Kevin Murphy, an Iraq War veteran and Rutgers law student who has been a passionate advocate for Iraqi refugees since his return home.

Following Iraq Action Day, Kevin Murphy went back to his campus and got to work. Today, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Kevin and his colleagues at Rutgers, we are proud to announce the next step in bringing the urgent humanitarian crisis to the center of our national discourse on Iraq:

IRAQ AT THE CROSSROADS: Protecting Refugees,
Rescuing Our Allies, and Empowering Iraqi Law
A National Symposium at Rutgers School of Law, Newark, NJ
October 24th, 2008 (Friday), 8:30 am - 5:30 pm
http://lawrecord.typepad.com/

This important conference will explore the plight of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons, the unique dangers faced by Iraqis who helped the U.S., and how existing Iraqi law can be empowered to create peace in the country. Learn from and network with fellow activists, knowledgeable experts, and organizations taking humanitarian action for peace in Iraq.

Gathering two weeks before the Presidential election, featured speakers include Iraqi Judge Ra'id Juhi of the Saddam Hussein trial, Emily Gish of Mercy Corps, Bob Carey of International Rescue Committee, Zahir Janmohamed of Amnesty International, Sam Parker of the U.S. Institute of Peace, Kirk Johnson of The List Project, Congressman Bill Pascrell, and Hilary Ingraham of the U.S. State Department.

We hope you will join us on October 24 for this powerful symposium on the Iraqi Crisis. For more information please visit: http://lawrecord.typepad.com/

In the Next Obama-McCain Debate, Who Will Speak Up for Millions of Vulnerable Iraqis?

Here at EPIC we're disappointed but not surprised that we didn't hear Tom Brokaw ask a question about the humanitarian crisis facing millions of Iraqis. Given the global economic crisis, Americans are understandably focused on pocketbook issues close to home.

But in an increasingly interconnected world, it's important for the United States to be responsibly engaged in facing global challenges, especially challenges that we helped create.

Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq, millions of Iraqis have been forced to flee their homes. Years of violence, economic dislocation, and failures in the delivery of essential services have left 17 million Iraqis without reliable access to drinkable water. More than 4 million Iraqis live in fear of hunger. While security has improved significantly over the past year, the vast majority of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are staying put. With their own safety or that of their families in mind, they worry about the sustainability of recent security gains. For those who fled direct threats of persecution, they fear any return as long as their persecutor remains free.

Dear friends, we think it's time we had a broader conversation about Iraq. A conversation that goes beyond shallow, partisan questions like "Did the surge work or not?" There are additional questions that the candidates ought to answer: How will you help millions of Iraqis affected by a conflict that we helped create? Will you increase U.S. admissions of vulnerable Iraqi refugees? Will you strengthen humanitarian assistance to the region? Are you committed to supporting Iraq's peace and development?

We need to take these questions directly to the candidates.

In one week, Barack Obama and John McCain will square up for one last debate. Here’s your chance to ask them questions about our issues and to offer the answers you'd like to hear. If you keep your submission to a paragraph or less, you increase your chances of reaching a senior communications adviser or even one of the candidate.

Send your questions and talking points to each candidate via their websites:

Barack Obama | John McCain

Here's a sample from yours truly: Americans and Iraqis are interconnected by events over the past five and a half years. It's not enough to say you support "victory" or "ending the war" in Iraq, we want to know what you plan to do -- specifically -- to help millions of Iraqis who desperately need humanitarian relief and protection. In addition, what do you see as America's moral and international obligation to the people of Iraq?

Photo caption: Kurdish refugee camp in northern Iraq. Jasper Young/Panos Pictures

U.S. Leaders Reinforced Sectarian Division, says Iraq scholar Nabil Al-Tikriti

Among the most provocative speakers at the 2008 Iraq Action Days Forum was Nabil al-Tikriti, a Senior Fellow at the U.S. Institute for Peace (USIP) and a passionate critic of U.S. Iraq policy. His presentation details how a chain of uninformed decisions made by senior U.S. officials like former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Ambassador Paul Bremer reinforced sectarian divisions.


Panel 1 Part 2 (19:59) from Sarah Shannon on Vimeo.

Al-Tikriti’s talk clarifies numerous assumptions about the sectarian rift in Iraq: “Iraqis historically got along well unless there was external interference.”

Al-Tikriti contrasts the dominant U.S. narrative of ancient sectarian blood fueds (e.g. “why they hate each other”) with the Iraqi narrative of intermarriage, pluralism, and shared histories and cultures. He raises serious questions about how U.S. policy makers’ without sufficient knowledge of Iraq's history and culture were allowed to make decisions that affected the entire population. He adamantly rejects the idea of partitioning Iraq as a solution to the conflict, a position supported by Vice-presidential Candidate Joe Biden.

Instead he boldly suggests that D.C. pundits advocating the partitioning of Iraq should be forced at gunpoint to load up their BMWs and relocate to Mississippi where they are given shelter in a crowded public building.

Among the important questions that Mr. al-Tikriti raises about U.S. involvement in Iraq: Is the surge successful and sustainable? What are the legacies of the U.S. led invasion of Iraq? How can any negative ramifications be reversed?

Sen. Clinton Joins Rep. Hastings in Championing Bill to Authorize Multi-year Humanitarian Funding for Vulnerable Iraqis

Last week Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) introduced Senate companion legislation to Representative Hastings' (D-FL) bill H.R. 6496, The Iraqi Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement, and Security Act of 2008. The bill — S.3541 — addresses the humanitarian crisis in and surrounding Iraq, authorizing multi-year funding for a comprehensive humanitarian plan to assist millions of Iraqis who have fled violence and instability in their homeland. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), more than 2 million Iraqis are internally displaced and another 2 million Iraqis have found refuge in the neighboring countries of Jordan, Syria, Iran, Lebanon and Egypt and Turkey.

“The United States has an obligation to address this great and growing crisis in Iraq and other countries in the region,” said Clinton. “This legislation will take important steps to ease the burden on host countries that have seen this influx of refugees and to help resettle the displaced population within Iraq.”

H.R.6496/S.3541 would require the U.S. to:

• Authorizes $700 million for FY 2009, 2010 and 2011 for the relief of Iraqi refugees, internally displaced persons, and other vulnerable Iraqis;
• Increases direct accountable bilateral assistance, as appropriate under U.S. law, and funding for international organizations and NGOs working in the region;
• Authorizes $500 million to increase humanitarian aid and infrastructure support for Jordan;
• Develop an immediate and long-term strategy for Iraq, in coordination with the Government of Iraq, United Nations (UN), nongovernmental organizations (NGO’s), and host countries, to meet the humanitarian and security needs of refugees and Internally Displaced People (IDP’s); and
• Work with the Government of Iraq, the UN, and NGO’s to improve the Iraqi Government’s capacity and ability to provide relief for all communities of vulnerable populations throughout Iraq.
• Lead efforts in resettling persecuted Iraqis by raising the ceiling on U.S. admissions of Iraqi refugees by at least 20,000 during fiscal years 2009, 2010, and 2011.

This bill brings much needed attention to the plight of Iraqis traumatized by violence, persecution, and the loss of loved ones. If passed into law, H.R.6496/S.3541 would require U.S. humanitarian action for peace in Iraq.

We hope you'll join us in supporting this important legislation. Urge your Senators and Representative to cosponsor The Iraqi Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement, and Security Act of 2008. You can reach your elected Member of Congress via the Capitol switchboard at (202) 225-3121 or (202) 226-3121.

Organizations supporting H.R.6496/S.3541 include:

The Campaign for Innocent Victims of Conflict (CIVIC)
CHF International
Church World Service
Congregation of Divine Providence of San Antonio, TX
Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Houston, Texas
Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC)
International Medical Corps
International Rescue Committee
The Iraq Foundation
The Leadership Conference on Women Religious
The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Mercy Center
Mercy Corps
National Catholic Peace Movement
NETWORK
Office of Justice and Peace of the Sisters of Charity of New York
Open Society Policy Center
Pax Christi USA: the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Refugees International
Save the Children
Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Dubuque, Iowa
Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas City, Kansas
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Institute Justice Team
Sisters of St. Francis in Tiffin, Ohio,
Sisters of St. Joseph NW, Pennsylvania

Photo caption: Joined by fellow Democratic Senator Evan Bayh, Clinton speaks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad, Iraq. Courtesy of Ali Al-Saadi-Pool, Getty Images.

A Crisis Too Big for Iraq Alone: a remarkable speech by Iraq's Ambassador to the U.S.

In the following video, Iraq’s first Ambassador to the U.S. in 16 years, His Excellency Samir Sumaida’ie, delivers an impassioned opening keynote address at the 2008 National Iraq Forum. Introducing him is former U.S. Ambassador to Jordan Edward Gnehm, Jr., a professor at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.

Ambassador Sumaida’ie addresses the plight of his compatriots as a man who knows what it's like to flee one’s homeland. Following Saddam's seizure of power in 1973, he was forced to do just that. He was 29 years old.

The rapid deterioration of Iraq from 2003 through 2007 raises serious questions: How did a nation “liberated from tyranny and oppression” become less secure? Why is there a large-scale humanitarian crisis? How have pre-war conditions and post-war policies contributed to the violence? And, perhaps most critically, what can and is being done by the government of Iraq, the United States, and civil society to help Iraq's most vulnerable citizens, including an estimated 4.8 million Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs)?


Opening Keynote (21:12) from Sarah Shannon on Vimeo.

Ambassador Sumaida’ie offers answers and a certain pragmatism that neither condemns nor excuses his government from its responsibility to protect and assist Iraq's most vulnerable citizens. Yet, with modesty, Sumaida’ie acknowledges that Iraq cannot address the deepening crisis alone. The magnitude of the crisis is far greater than what the present capacity of Iraq's government can handle. Stronger international assistance is also needed to help alleviate the burden on refugee-hosting countries like Jordan and Syria.

It is a remarkable speech that I hope you’ll watch and share with your friends. To watch now, click the video above.

Putting Iraq's Budget Surplus into Context

More than 2 million Iraqis have fled the country, while another 2.8 million people are internally displaced. To make matter worse, Iraqis are facing the worst drought in ten years. Millions live in hunger or fear of starvation.

Meanwhile here in the U.S., the lead Iraq story is the Iraqi government's budget surplus. A new GAO report projects that Iraq's cumulative budget surplus could reach as high as $79 billion by year's end. Pundits and politicians are asking: "They have the money so what's the problem?" The problem begins with decades of war, tyranny and sanctions that hampered Iraq's development. Then the U.S. toppled Iraq's government, allowed government ministries to be looted and destroyed, dismissed civil servants with any ties to Saddam's Baath Party, disbanded Iraq's military, created a security vacuum, which led many Iraqi professionals to flee the country.

Last Friday, a New York Times editorial declared: "Iraq now lacks the trained professionals to prepare and execute budgets and to solicit, award and oversee capital projects. The United States must redouble its efforts to help Iraq build this capacity, including bringing back skilled Iraqis who have fled the country."

Yes, Iraq's government can and must do better. But at the same time, as both the GAO report and New York Times point out, the U.S. is NOT off the hook. Until Iraq's government is fully functional, the U.S. has a moral and international obligation to address the unmet humanitarian needs of vulnerable Iraqis, and to work with the international community to provide technical capacity-building assistance to Iraq's government.

On a national, provincial, and municipal level, assistance is needed to build up:

• Institutional Capacities - Policies, strategies and implementing tools are in place to ensure efficient coordination and management of aid.
• Human Capacities - Skilled, trained personnel are in place to implement policies and strategies, and to maintain the government-donor interface.
• Structural / Economic Capacities - Capacity of the recipient country’s economy to absorb additional aid with minimal distortion (“dutch disease”) etc.

Progress in building up Iraq's capacities would not only allow implementing agencies to spend down their budgets, it would have a profound impact on the security, health and welfare of Iraq's 27 million people. For more about Iraq's budget surplus and other ongoing challenges facing Iraqi officials, see Reports: 8/6/2008 below.

Photo caption: A man sows a crop on a dry field on the outskirts of Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, July 2, 2008. It's been a year of drought and sand storms across Iraq, a dry spell that has devastated the country's crucial wheat crop and created new worries about the safety of drinking water (AP Photo by Alaa Al-Marjani).

Reports: 8/6/2008

Key reports on the Iraq relief and development:

Stabilizing and Rebuilding Iraq: Iraqi Revenues, Expenditures, and Surplus
Government Accountability Office (GAO)
August 2008
From 2005 through 2007, the Iraqi government generated an estimated $96 billion in cumulative revenues (mostly from oil sales). For 2008, GAO estimates that Iraq could generate as much as $86 billion in total revenues. From 2005 through 2007, the Iraqi government spent an estimated $67 billion on operating and investment activities. The Iraqi government spent only 1% of total expenditures to maintain Iraq- and U.S.-funded investments such as buildings, water and electricity installations. From 2005 through 2007, Iraq was unable to spend all its budgeted funds. In 2007, Iraq spent 80% of its $29 billion operating budget and 28% of its $12 billion investment budget. For 2008, GAO estimates that Iraq could spend as much as $35.9 billion of its $49.9 billion budget. As a result, GAO estimates a cumulative budget surplus of about $29 billion from 2005 to 2007 and projects an additional $38 to $50 billion budget surplus for 2008 (although a proposed $22 billion Iraqi budget supplemental could reduce this projected surplus). U.S. and international officials identify the shortage of trained staff, weak procurement and budgeting systems, violence and sectarian strife, and other factors affecting the Iraqi government’s ability to spend more of its revenues on capital investments.

Failed Responsibility: Iraqi Refugees in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon
International Crisis Group (ICG)
July 2008
Although the security situation in Iraq shows progress, Iraqi refugees remain stranded, jobless and deprived of essential services, while the Iraqi government and the wider international community have failed in their responsibilities and are ill prepared to cope with a new refugee crisis, should it occur. While initially welcoming their Iraqi brethren, ICG reports that Syria and Jordan have put tough restrictions on entry. They provide few basic services and inadequate opportunities for jobs, health care and children's education. If the host countries can be faulted for unfriendly treatment of refugees, they deserve credit for receiving so many at great cost to their societies. By contrast, it is difficult to give the Iraqi government any credit. Flush with oil money, it has been conspicuously ungenerous toward its citizens stranded abroad. The attitude of Western nations also has been deeply troubling.

Iraq Displacement 2008 Mid-Year in Review
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
July 2008
During the first half of 2008, trends of decreased violence and a declining rate of displacement continued throughout the country. Yet the deteriorating conditions facing the 2.8 million Internally Displaced People (IDPs), as well as the limited returnee population, remain one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world. The report finds that about half of the population continue to get their water from unsafe sources -- 53% from nearby rivers and streams and 52% from open or broken pipes. Meanwhile, shelter is consistently among the highest-priority needs cited by IDPs, and eviction threats coupled with rapidly rising rental prices have created an even more precarious housing situation in recent months. Food access was also poor, only three in ten had regular access to food rations. About half had intermittent access and 21% no access at all. In addition, approximately two million Iraqis are refugees, mostly in neighboring Syria and Jordan, resulting in a total of 5 million internally and externally displaced.

Assessment on Returns to Iraq Amongst Iraqi Refugee Population in Syria
United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)
April 2008
A survey of nearly 1,000 Iraqis currently staying in Syria has shown that 95 percent fled their homeland because of direct threats or general insecurity and that only 4 percent currently had plans to return to Iraq.

Consolidated Appeal for Iraq 2008
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
February 2008
Conflict in Iraq has exacerbated chronic problems that stem from the past two decades. An estimated four million people in the country are in need of food assistance as the Public Distribution System is weakened, and only 40 percent of the population has reliable access to safe drinking water. As part of the global Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) for 2008, the $265 million Emergency Appeal for Iraq brings together 14 UN agencies and 10 NGOs to deliver urgent relief to vulnerable people in Iraq over the next 12 months. Priority areas include health and nutrition, education, water and sanitation, housing and shelter, food, and protection. These operations are designed to move into recovery programs and are part of a wider effort to support Iraq’s own goals for stability and recovery.

Plight of Iraqi refugees demands 'humanitarian surge'

In today’s edition of The Hill, Congressmen Hastings and Dingell published an editorial calling for a “humanitarian surge” to confront the refugee and displacement crisis in Iraq. “Not nearly enough attention and resources have been devoted to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the region…Iraqis remain stranded, jobless and deprived of essential services, with conditions worsening by the day. As resources are depleted and desperation sets in, this deepening humanitarian crisis threatens to further destabilize the entire region.”

Congressmen Hastings and Dingell, along with Congressman Shays, recently introduced the Iraqi Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement, and Security Act (H.R. 6496), a long-term comprehensive strategy to address the humanitarian and security crisis in Iraq and the region.

Specifically, H.R. 6496 supports a multi-year, comprehensive plan to address the deepening crisis facing Iraqi refugees, displaced persons and other vulnerable Iraqis by doing the following:

• Authorizing $700 million for each of the fiscal years 2009, 2010 and 2011 for the relief of Iraqi refugees, internally displaced persons, and other vulnerable Iraqis;
  
• Increasing direct accountable bilateral assistance, as appropriate under U.S. law, and funding for international organizations and NGOs working in the region;
  
• Authorizing $500 million to increase infrastructure support for Jordan to help meet the needs of 100,000s of Iraqi refugees;
  
• Providing technical assistance to grow the capacity of Iraqi government agencies responding to humanitarian needs inside Iraq;
  
• Increasing Iraqi refugees admissions to the United States by 20,000 for FY 2009, 2010 and 2011, and requires improvements in the efficiency of the resettlement application process;
  
• Establishing a Special Coordinator for Iraqi Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons within the Executive Office of the President to ensure expeditious and effective implementation of the overall strategy; and
  
• Urging increased cooperation between the United States government and the international community to address this crisis.

The bill has already been endorsed by more than 25 non-governmental organizations and religious groups and is generating a huge amount of excitement in the NGO community. In their editorial, Congressmen Hastings and Dingell urge their colleagues to “set partisan politics aside and work together to find common solutions to this desperate situation.”

Campaigning for Iraq's Disabled

If you ever wonder whether one person can really change the world, Tiana Tozer has your answer. This Mercy Corps staff member was recently featured on MSNBC's Making a Difference segment.

Using a wheelchair since she was hit by a drunk driver, Tiana's positive outlook on life is inspiring others. Now she is heading to Iraq for a year to give a voice to Iraq's disabled community. According to Mercy Corps, 90 percent of disabled Iraqis live in poverty, despite this Tiana's campaign is showing that they are role models for the rest of Iraqi society on how to live together and overcome adversity.

Since 2003, Mercy Corps has invested in the capacity of people with disabilities by:

• Supporting and training 33 disability-rights organizations and helping them form a Baghdad-based alliance to lobby the government on disability issues
  
• Funding activities such as sewing workshops for deaf women, literacy classes for disabled children, and wheelchair sporting events for youth
  
• Building new wheelchair-accessible parks, schools, community centers and sports complexes, and helping dozens of people with disabilities modify their private homes
  

"They told you that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What they failed to tell you is that it is best seen with the eyes closed. What you look like isnít important. What is important is who you are inside and the choices you are making in your life." Tiana Tozer: 1992 Paralympic silver and 1996 bronze medalist, women's wheelchair basketball.

Photo Caption: Tiana Tozer on NBC Nightly News MercyCorps>

U.S. Admits 1,721 Iraqi Refugees in June; Still Shy of 2008 Goal

Conflict in Iraq has forced more than 2 million Iraqis to flee their nation and over 2 million more to be displaced with Iraq. Unfortunately, the response from the U.S. government has been woefully inadequate.

The U.S. plans to allow 12,000 Iraqi refugees into the country during the 2008 Fiscal Year. The Associated Press reports that the administration admitted 1,721 Iraqi refugees in June, which is an increase from the 1,141 admitted in May. In addition to the goal of resettling 12,000 refugees, the administration is supposed to grant 5,000 Special Immigrant Visas. Normally, for a refugee to be resettled in the U.S., the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) must refer him for resettlement to the U.S. State Department before his application is processed. SIVs bypass the UN referral process because SIVs are designed for those Iraqi's who face immanent danger because of their ties to the United States coalition, including Iraqis who worked as translators and interpreters, or those with pressing medical needs.

Last year, Senators Kennedy (D-MA) and Smith (R-OR) co-sponsored the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act, which established the Special Immigrant Visa program. The intent of the Kennedy-Smith bill is to ensure that 5,000 Iraqis are resettled in the U.S. through the SIV program annually. According to the act, the 5,000 resettled with SIVs is in addition to the goal of 12,000 admittance set by the Bush administration. We must ensure that the administration follows the intent of the Kennedy-Smith bill, rather than including the 5,000 SIV admittance as part of the 12,000 refugee quota.

The crisis is ongoing but thanks to support from fine folks like you, we are making hard fought gains in the right direction.