Amnesty International Charges That Vast Humanitarian Crisis is Looming With More Than Three Million Iraqis Displaced

Amnesty International today warned that the Middle East is on the verge of a massive humanitarian crisis unless the European Union, United States and other countries take urgent and concrete measures to assist the more than three million people forcibly displaced by the conflict in Iraq.

In a briefing released in advance of an international conference being convened by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, April 17-18 2007, the organization called for other nations to immediately help alleviate the situation of Iraqi refugees who have flooded into Syria and Jordan, particularly since the February 2006 attack by armed insurgents on one of Iraq's holiest shrines, the Samarra' mosque. That attack sparked a new, more intensive stint of sectarian bloodshed in which civilians from Iraq's increasingly divided communities have been among the principal targets.

"The Iraq conflict is in its fifth year, and the civilian situation is more dire than ever," said Larry Cox, Amnesty International USA executive director. "As more and more Iraqis flee their country seeking haven in bordering nations, the international community, especially the United States, must thrust humanitarian efforts into overdrive. Otherwise, stable nations in the region facing the burden of educating, housing and caring for millions of refugees may begin to implode."

As well as direct aid to the Iraqi refugee communities and the countries hosting them, Amnesty International is calling on the United States, European Union and other countries to establish generous resettlement programs to assist Iraqi refugees, especially the most vulnerable and at-risk, in starting new lives well away from the conflict zone and to afford all refugees and rejected asylum-seekers effective protection.

"The United Kingdom government and others which persist in returning failed asylum-seekers to Iraq, arguing that the Kurdish north is relatively peaceful, should desist from this practice forthwith," said Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North African Program. Smart is leading an Amnesty International delegation to Geneva for the UNHCR conference.

Amnesty International is also calling for action to assist the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have become internally displaced.

"Iraq's internally displaced people are shouldering the brunt of the failure of the Iraqi government, countries providing troops to the multinational force, religious leaders and others to find a political resolution. Until that occurs, innocent men, women and children will continue to suffer and regardless of the number of troops in the area, regional stability will remain an elusive goal," said Cox.

For a copy of the new report, "Iraq: A Deepening Refugee Crisis," please go to http://www.amnestyusa.org/Iraq/Reports/page.do?id=YCR0923076000E.