Iraqis returning spontaneously

Increasing numbers of Iraqis are returning to their homeland spontaneously from Iran, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR) in the Iranian capital, Tehran. "They started returning voluntarily in May after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and then the numbers increased in July and September," the spokeswoman for the UNHCR in Tehran, Marie-Helene Verney, told IRIN on Monday, adding that it was difficult to give exact numbers due to security related issues. Iran is today home to the largest community of Iraqi refugees, who arrived over the last three decades. There are approximately 202,000 in the country, mainly in the west, with 48,000 sheltered in 22 camps overseen by the Iranian government. UNHCR also plans an assisted repatriation programme for those refugees wishing to return. "We are not encouraging returns, but it is better to have organised returns and limit the danger faced by refugees, as they have to cross one of the most heavily mined borders in the world," she said. The refugee agency is planning to send a convoy of around 100 individuals to southern Iraq sometime in the near future, but could not be more specific about the date. "They would all be given a security briefing and mine awareness to ensure they have some basic knowledge," Verney explained. Once back in their homeland, the returnees would receive cash assistance of US $20 and other basic items such as blankets, a mattress and cooking utensils. "This is all we can offer at the moment, and we have not started other projects such as rebuilding homes, as we don't have the staff or security to be able to do that," she said. Verney remarked that the first convoy returning to Iraq would be a pilot project and hoped that the situation would permit others to return too. "We are dealing with many refugees who want to go back home despite the lack of infrastructure and security," she added. Meanwhile, UNHCR headquarters in Geneva reiterated its call on governments to continue protecting Iraqi asylum seekers, saying that forced returns should not be made in view of the conditions obtaining in their home country. "The situation in Iraq remains volatile, with an absence of law and order in many parts of the country. The provision of basic services remain irregular, and there is a high rate of unemployment and a severe housing shortage," a UNHCR spokesman, Rupert Colville, said at a news briefing on 14 November. The refugee agency has recommended that governments suspend asylum procedures for the time being and continue granting them protection. UNHCR's ability to monitor returns to Iraq has been limited following the evacuation of international staff due to the 19 August truck bombing in which 22 people were killed.