Mr. labeed Abbawi Undersecretary for Policy Planning and bilateral relations met in the Foreign Ministry building on 29/10/2009 Mr. Daniel Ainders representative of the High Commissioner for Refugees in Iraq. During the meeting they reviewed the status of the inhabitants of Makhmor and the New Iraq (Ashraf formerly) on Iraqi soil, and the willingness of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to support the initiative of Iraq to cooperate with UNHCR and the European countries to shut down these two.
According to the report prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, the total number of Iraqi refugees who returned voluntarily for the period from January and September 2009 is 154,850 refugees while the total number of displaced people returning to their homes is 125,300 Iraqis.
