Advocacy in DC on the Iraqi Refugee Crisis

The next couple of weeks are important ones for advocacy on behalf of Iraq's 4 million-plus refugees. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker will be testifying before Congress on the state of the war in Iraq. The recent violence in Basra, along with the ongoing U.S. presidential campaign, mean that attention will probably be trained on two central questions: the ability of Iraq's leadership to provide security and stability independent of the U.S. and the level of U.S. engagement on the ground in the months to come. What must not be forgotten in the evaluation of the current situation is the refugee crisis - the fates of the millions of Iraqis who have been displaced from their homes are inextricable from the future security of Iraq and the region. We hope that members of Congress will ask Gen. Petraeus and Amb. Crocker how the U.S. and Iraq intend to ensure protection for Iraq's displaced - and to guarantee that no refugee is forced to return to unsafe conditions. Without this guarantee (which is an obligation under customary international law aside from being the moral thing to do), stability and security in the region don't have much hope.

We plan to claim the Hill's attention ourselves the following week, along with other activists from around the country who will travel to DC to participate in the Iraq Action Days. The Iraq Policy Forum will take place at George Washington University on Monday, April 14. The advocacy days will take place on Tuesday, April 15, and Wednesday, April 16. Our goal is to bring a wide coalition of organizations and individuals to their Congressional representatives to educate them about the Iraqi refugee crisis and the moral obligation of the U.S. to respond with commitment and leadership. Four HRF staffers will be attending, and my colleague Amelia Templeton will conduct the advocacy workshop on Tuesday morning. Please let me know if you plan to join us by emailing me at epsteinr@humanrightsfirst.org. For more info, you can check out the website here.