1 INTRODUCTION
Syria hosts more Iraqi refugees than any other state in the world, with hundreds of thousands now living in the country.(1) Many arrived after February 2006, when a bomb attack which devastated al-'Askari mosque, a Shi'a shrine in the Iraqi town of Samarra provoked a dramatic intensification of sectarian conflict in Iraq. Sunni Muslims comprise the majority of the refugees who have arrived in Syria since then but there are significant numbers of refugees from Iraq's other religious and ethnic minorities, including Christians and Sabean-Mandeans, as well as Palestinian refugees who were formerly long term residents in Iraq.(2)
Between 26 February and 6 March 2008, Amnesty International delegates visited Syria to assess the situation of refugees from Iraq.(3) Most of the dozens of refugees that they met had fled after suffering traumatic experiences in Iraq: some had been forced out of their homes and neighbourhoods by armed groups in the context of sectarian violence; some had been physically threatened or kidnapped; some had been tortured; some had escaped armed clashes between armed groups and Iraqi and US forces; some had relatives or friends who had been killed in bomb explosions or suicide attacks. A few women reported that they had been raped or threatened with rape.
Many of the Iraqi refugees interviewed by Amnesty International need rehabilitation and counselling, but such services are in short supply in Syria. Most of the refugees are impoverished, but they are not allowed to work. Those registered with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, may receive food assistance from UN agencies, but many need further financial assistance, in particular for housing costs, which most do not receive. Others have to renew their residence permit monthly. Such instability has a severe impact on the mental state of many refugees.
This briefing summarizes key findings of the assessment conducted by Amnesty International into the situation of refugees from Iraq in Syria. In particular, Amnesty International reviewed the impact of recent developments, including the introduction by Syria of visa requirements for Iraqis, reports of improved security in parts of Iraq, and reports of the return of large numbers of refugees to Iraq. The organisation also looked into the economic conditions of Iraqis living in Syria, their access to services such as education and health, as well as protection concerns, particularly those relating to women and girls.
It calls on the Syrian authorities to:
- ensure that Iraqis needing protection are not denied entry to Syria;
- refrain from forcibly returning Iraqis who would be at risk of extrajudicial execution, torture or other human rights violations in Iraq;
- ease restrictions on international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that wish to operate in Syria to assist refugees from Iraq.
Notes:
(1) There has been no official census carried out on the number of Iraqi refugees. The Syrian government has said that 1.6 million Iraqis live in Syria, while UNHCR said there are between 1.2 and 1.4 million. The Iraqi Embassy in Damascus estimates the total number to be between 800,000 and 1 million.
(2) Many of the Palestinians who fled Iraq are stranded in makeshift camps at the Iraq/Syria border. For information on their plight, see: Iraq: human rights abuses against Palestinian refugees, AI Index: MDE 14/030/2007, October 2007; Al-Tanf Camp: Trauma continues for Palestinians fleeing Iraq, AI Index: MDE 14/012/2008, April 2008.
(3) Amnesty International had already issued public documents on this subject in 2007 - see Iraq: The situation of Iraqi refugees in Syria, AI Index: MDE 14/036/2007, July 2007; Iraq: Millions in flight: the Iraqi refugee crisis, AI Index: MDE 14/041/2007, September 2007.