EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The entire international community, including the Government of Iraq, the United States, United Nations, and the European Union and its Member States, has the responsibility and the means to assist more substantially the Iraqis inside Iraq, Iraqi refugees, and host countries in the region. Decision-makers at the highest level must acknowledge the scale and urgency of this crisis, provide adequate resources for the region and ensure that much larger numbers of vulnerable Iraqi refugees are admitted to third countries.

The European Union recognises human rights as universal and indivisible. It therefore actively promotes and defends them both within its borders and in its relations with outside countries.  Given that human rights is a core value of the European Union, now is the time for the EU to become actively engaged and address what is currently the largest growing humanitarian and displacement crisis of this century.

Based upon the International Rescue Committee's Iraqi refugee programs in Jordan, several missions to the Middle East region and our resettlement programs in the U.S., attached are IRC's findings that express the magnitude and urgency of the current situation for Iraqis.

We further recommend the following to the European Union and its Member States:

Protection:

• Halt all forced returns from Member States to Iraq and ensure that Iraqi refugees and asylum-seekers receive support;
• Ensure that no Iraqi  refugees in the Middle East region are enticed or forced to return to places determined by UNHCR to be dangerous, grossly lacking in basic services or offer no means to earn a living;
• Expand resettlement programs to accommodate greatly increased numbers of Iraqis, or, where formal resettlement programs do not exist, consider ad hoc protection programs, as were offered to people fleeing the Balkans;
• Adopt a more consistent approach to the treatment of asylum applications;
• For Member States active in in Iraq: make special arrangements to protect Iraqi employees, especially when they are threatened because of their association with the international coalition; and
• Make similar arrangements for Iraqis who have worked for other international entities, such as NGOs or media organization.

Improve Funding:

• Re-program part of existing reconstruction funds, and provide significant new contributions for nimble, humanitarian-focused funding mechanisms, such as the Emergency Relief Fund managed by UNOCHA;
• Ensure sufficient contributions to UN, international and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to assist Iraqi refugees and their host communities, including the funding needed by UNHCR to resource adequate staff for refugee registration;
• The Commission to provide aid to Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey to meet the increased demand for health, education, electricity, water and other basic services related to the large influx of Iraqi refugees; and
• Member States provide significant increases in bilateral aid to countries in the region to help share the burden of assisting Iraqi refugees.

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