WASHINGTON, June 19, 2008
Report Slams U.S. Over Iraq Refugee Crisis
Survey: 500,000 Iraqis Fled Fighting In 2007; U.S. Accepted Half Of Those It Promised To Resettle
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As before, most went to neighboring Syria, and some fanned out into other neighboring countries, the survey by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants said. It said the United States accepted few, just over half the 3,000 it had promised to resettle by the end of September.
The report said the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees had referred 10,000 Iraqis for U.S. resettlement.
It said the Iraqi exodus "from the violence and instability of their homeland" constituted "the largest refugee crisis of 2007."
"While the Bush administration and the United Kingdom are busy trying to win the war, they have provided no leadership toward ensuring the rights and well-being of the victims of this war," the report said. "Europe, which for the most part warned of the dire humanitarian consequences of the war, has also done nothing to help the people they were so concerned about."
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, said the survey "shows the United States still has far to go to support the rights of refugees worldwide."
"The United States has a moral obligation and a security interest in trying to alleviate the suffering of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons, particularly those who risked so much over the past few years to help our military and diplomatic efforts in their country," Cardin said Wednesday.
Iraqis were not the only group for which the survey faulted U.S. policies.
In its "Report Card" section, it gave the United States an "F," the lowest grade, for returning refugees to their home countries without hearing them out, a practice called "refoulement." China, Iran, Iraq, Russia, Libya and others failed the same category.
"We gave the United States an F in refoulement entirely for its treatment of Haitians," Merrill Smith, editor of the report, said Wednesday.
The survey said the United States interdicted 6,400 foreign nationals at sea in 2007, almost all Cubans or Haitians.
Cubans but not Haitians were told they had the right to seek asylum. Haitians who did not shout out their fear of reprisals at home were sent back, almost 1,600 in all. Cubans who did not accept the American offer of requesting asylum, 3,200 of them, were returned as well.
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For Cubans, the practice implements the "dry foot" policy that allows Cubans who cross the 90 miles of water between Cuba and south Florida to remain, but those caught at sea are returned unless they can claim valid refugee status. The policy does not include people fleeing Haiti.The United States still has far to go to support the rights of refugees worldwide.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md."We use the 'shout test' for Haitians," Smith said. "If somebody hears a Haitian shout out a claim to asylum, he will not be sent back" until the claim is investigated.
Many countries treat refugees from different countries or areas differently. The survey rates a country's efforts for each ethnic or racial group and makes the country's overall score that of the lowest ethnic group.
"The mistreatment of refugees is not limited to poor countries or undemocratic regimes," the survey compilers wrote. "Wealthy industrial nations utilize policies designed to limit the number of refugees that enter their territory, explaining that they have limited resources, that refugees are unable to integrate or that some other country had primary responsibility."
Europe appears in a section titled "Worst Places for Refugees." Smith said it did not use the word "The" because there are too many violators to make that distinction.
"European countries have crafted policies that essentially deny access by making it as difficult as possible to enter their territory," the survey says. "Countries on the periphery of Europe had the harshest policies, protecting their wealthy neighbors to the north and west, often for money."
It faults European countries for forcibly returning failed asylum seekers "to manifestly dangerous situations." It cited:
France's dispatch of a Chadian asylum seeker to Chad, where he was detained and forcibly interrogated.
Sweden's deportation of an Iraqi directly to Baghdad.
Greece's assault on potential asylum seekers to force them back into Turkish waters, including an attempt to swamp them with waves; a Greek fisherman was shot and killed after he was mistaken for an asylum seeker.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 133 Commentshttp://www.refugees.org/article.aspx?id=1146
lolllll...well, duh.
What did the world expect from two nations who made no particular effort at "ensuring" they weren''t feeding the public lies in order to justify the war itself?
Posted by gkc99
That was not a news story. It was a lie printed by gkc99
Great indication of the Bush regimes claims that "the surge is working"!
The greedy B-st--ds have no regard for human life of any kind and are arrogant enough to think we haven''t figured them out!
Bush and his loyalists are the vomit of the world.
Posted by demslie at 12:47 PM : Jun 19, 2008
Careful, demslie - people will figure out that you are a typical Republican who believes that there is only so much "democracy" to go around, and it should be apportioned in accordance with how much your net worth is...
Posted by ibsteve2u at 12:47
Aside from the fact, no one has ever explained what we''re going to win!
Posted by globlwarning
I think you just described Bush and Cheney.
Posted by standlee5
Perhaps it''s because Saudi Arabia didn''t create this mess.
Posted by dmw1167 at 01:11 PM : Jun 19, 2008
Pretty hard to do while trying to support a family. Imagine seeing your home destroyed, children, wife, husband, etc. killed because of a War brought to your country by someone else. They may not have had the ideal leader but they had jobs. homes, and something to eat. Wake up and smell the coffee. "God Speed USA"
Posted by demslie at 12:47 PM : Jun 19, 2008
Careful, demslie - people will figure out that you are a typical Republican who believes that there is only so much "democracy" to go around, and it should be apportioned in accordance with how much your net worth is...
Posted by ibsteve2u at 12:50 PM : Jun 19, 2008
As of 6/18/08, the GOP has stopped apportioning "democracy" and has implemented "leasing democracy" - a much better profit ratio...
It''s your king boosh who blows the Saudi''s. They made his family so much money over the years, he kisses them and holds their hands.
Nice.
They are buying 3 NYC Skyscrapers including the old American Lanmark the Chrysler Building.j
-------------------------------
That statement again proves your ignorance - please explain with facts please
They seem an odd couple: the general who engineered President Bush''s surge in Iraq, and the presidential candidate who has promised to undo it. But look again. Gen. David Petraeus''s broad new agenda as the likely next commander of Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees U.S. forces in the entire Middle East and Central Asia, seems to echo some of Barack Obama''s views about the critical front in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/142136
When was the last time the UN did anything worthwile on it''s own, instead of whining that the U.S. should do it FOR them? Are there no "conciensious objector nations" out there who opposed the war but are willing to do ANYTHING besides complain?
Apparently not.
Posted by j-whitman at 02:11 PM : Jun 19, 2008
Like Darfur? How about Bosnia? Myanmar (Burma)? Lebanon? Give it up, sub-boy.
The UN has to do juggling act of under funding & under suporting. --- With what they get they do a fine job.
I didn''t help much when your GOP put Kadafi on the UN Security Council with Veto Power -- Kadafi is the terrorist who bombed the Pan Am flight over Lockerby
Posted by j-whitman at 02:11 PM : Jun 19, 2008
Like Darfur? How about Bosnia? Myanmar (Burma)? Lebanon? Give it up, sub-boy.
Posted by One-American at
.. .. ..
and Rwanda, Cambodia, Uganda....
I call the as I see them. Comes from many years of life BTW I was going to say hi. Had not seen you in a while.. HI
June 19, 2008 11:12 AM
Writing the forward to a Physicians for Human Rights study of 11 former detainees who were apparently tortured by US military personnel and later released, Army Maj. General Antonio Taguba (Ret.) writes that "there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account."
You want to bomb the UN or support it ?? It as most government needs to grow with growing global proplems & needs real support -- The support we give them is actually minimual & doesn''t keep up with the global weakening of the US Dollar
Posted by lewiston14 at 02:18 PM : Jun 19, 2008
Really? If NOT for the UN the George W. Bush is WITHOUT a doubt a War Criminal! Not that it bothers me because I consider him one anyway. I know for some the UN is an embarrassment since the Little Nazi took office but it does an awlful lot for a lot of people. Sieg Heil Bush
Posted by notblue at 02:46 PM : Jun 19, 2008
What terrorist you pathetic Nazi?? ROFLMAO THERE WERE NONE there BEFORE Sir Lies-A-Lot!! YEAH that''s right swastika breath your Fuhrer and God invaded a Nation that had NO "Islamic Terrorist" in it!! Don''t that make you feel good??? Just think your GRAND CHILDREN can look back at you and your fuhrer with all the shame you deserve. Now stand... sing it out!! SIEG HEIL BUSH!!
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