Security must improve before more Iraqi refugee repatriations

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR) in Turkey has said it is prepared to help repatriate Iraqis if and when security permits. "We are not encouraging Iraqi refugees to return home as yet," Metin Corabatir, a UNHCR spokesman, told IRIN in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Thursday. The refugee agency has appealed to governments hosting Iraqi refugees or asylum seekers to wait until the security situation improves. The ban on deportation to Iraq has been in place since March 2003. Security has deteriorated in Iraq as the result of a number of bombings, which have forced aid agencies to scale back UNHCR currently has 900 applications from Iraqis seeking asylum, currently in Turkey waiting to have their cases heard to decide whether they are entitled to resettlement in another country. According to the current regulation in Turkey, an asylum seeker must apply within 10 days of arriving in the country. "The Turkish asylum regulation allows temporary asylum pending resettlement for those recognised as refugees by UNHCR," Corabatir explained. On average, the individual refugee's waiting period for status determination is one year. Last year, 76 percent of Iraqis who applied for refugee status were granted it, this compared to 67 percent in 2002. "On average, the resettlement process used to be seven months from the time an asylum seeker is recognised to departure. Today, it's 10 months to one year. Delay in departures are caused by security background checks imposed by resettlement countries," Corabatir said. Few individuals have returned to Iraq since the end of the US-led campaign in their homeland. "Since March 2003, a total of 66 Iraqis have returned spontaneously on their own to Iraq," he said. Corabatir said the conditions for Iraqis in Turkey can often be tough as they face an uncertain future and are often financially unstable. "Asylum seekers are not legally able to work in Turkey, so they can face a lot of problems. There is of course an illegal labour market, usually physical labour like in other countries, but they work in bad conditions and are paid very little," he noted. Once refugee status is given, the individuals are entitled to financial and medical aid as well as education, courtesy of UNHCR. "Some of the asylum seekers are also traumatised, and we are now working on a campaign to offer support to those with psychological problems," he added. Globally, UNHCR’s planning figure for Iraqi returns when the conditions in Iraq are conducive to promote voluntary repatriation is 500,000 persons. Most Iraqi refugees are living in neighbouring Iran, having fled there during the first Gulf War.