Iraq's Refugees - Not Disappearing

Are we at risk of taking our eyes off the ball? Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) is quoted in this morning's Washington Post on the Iraq war asking just that question. The paper's editorial page urges the Obama administration to continue to focus attention and resources on an Iraq that's far from stable, even as it prioritizes other foreign policy concerns. We'd highlight one important component of the United States' obligations in Iraq that the Post left out. The 2 million-plus Iraqis who have fled their homes since the beginning of the war remain in dire straits. HRF welcomed the appointment of Samantha Power to coordinate the administration's efforts affecting Iraq's displaced. It's crucial that the United States continue to lead the international response to the humanitarian crisis unleashed by the war - through aid to the region, ongoing resettlement of the most vulnerable Iraqis, and diplomatic efforts to ensure that Iraqi refugees return to Iraq only under safe, voluntary, and dignified conditions.

USCIS/DHS Guidance for Iraqi Refugees

U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a very useful fact sheet last week that provides an overview of Iraqi refugee processing, with guidelines for Iraqis who wish to apply for refugee status, for asylum, or for the Special Immigrant Visa program. Check it out here.

Iraqi Refugee Blueprint for the Obama Administration

The new year has finally arrived, and it is a year of many changes. Today, the new U.S. embassy in Baghdad officially opened. On January 1, control of the Green Zone passed to the Iraqis in accordance with the new status of forces agreement. And, of course, in just two weeks we’ll see a changing of the guard in the leadership of the U.S. government when Barack Obama is sworn in as President of the United States.

President-elect Obama made repeated commitments to address the Iraqi humanitarian crisis during the campaign. His plan for Iraq notably includes a $2 billion pledge to assist displaced Iraqis. We have learned that the $2 billion pledge remains a target, despite the inevitable constraints created by the global financial crisis. At the end of December, Human Rights First released a comprehensive blueprint of recommendations for the Obama administration – How to Confront the Iraqi Refugee Crisis. You can read it here.

The blueprint was informed by a recent month-long mission in Syria and Jordan conducted by me and my colleague, Amelia Templeton, as well as by the advocacy we’ve undertaken over the past year and a half on the crisis. In it, we call on the incoming administration to strengthen oversight and effectiveness of refugee assistance, to ensure that the Iraqi government refrains from pressuring refugees to return home before they can do so in safety, and to place a coordinator for Iraqi refuges in the White House. The blueprint contains detailed recommendations to these ends.

We’d love to hear your comments, and please do join us in calling on President-elect Obama, Vice President-elect Biden, future Secretary of State Clinton, future Secretary of DHS Napolitano, and the rest of the administration to fulfill the United States’ moral obligations – and to respond to our strategic imperatives – in the Middle East by undertaking a thoughtful and comprehensive strategy to deal with the refugee crisis.

Garry Trudeau Takes On Iraqi Refugees

For some reason, I stopped reading "Doonesbury" when I stopped reading the comics and moved on to other sections of the newspaper. I'm happy to report that I've just been corrected in my ways - several friends and colleagues pointed out that the comic strip takes on the Iraqi refugee crisis this week. Check it out here. Be sure to click "next" to read each day's comic - it started on Monday.

Lack of Presidential Leadership - or Insubordination? Important Legislation for Iraqis Still Not Implemented

The New York Times had a great feature on May 14 about Iraqi translators who worked for the US military. It focuses on several of their most passionate advocates – veterans and active duty members who say that they owe their lives to their translators. The article highlights two excellent organizations that we regularly work with, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a non-partisan veterans’ advocacy organization, and the Checkpoint One Foundation, which provides temporary financial assistance and other support for Iraqis and Afghans in the US who assisted the US military during wartime.

The piece paints a poignant picture of the danger that Iraqi translators face in their own country as a result of their work for the US. It also describes the additional challenges they must overcome to flee to the US – challenges that could be dismantled if the US State and Homeland Security Departments would implement the programs to help them that have already been mandated by law. The Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act (Title XII, Subtitle C, §1241-1249 of Public Law 110-181 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008) was signed by President Bush on January 28, 2008. It reflects a strong bipartisan consensus that the US has a moral obligation to support Iraqis who have helped us – it provides for 5,000 additional Special Immigration Visas for Iraqi translators each year for the next five years and requires the US government to set up inside Iraq to process Iraqi refugees who cannot make it out of the country, among other provisions.

However, State and DHS have not yet implemented these important programs. The NYT article says:

Gordon D. Johndroe, a White House spokesman, said the government’s hands were
initially tied by the lack of federal legislation allowing special visas for
interpreters. Now that more visas have been made available, he said, President
Bush has directed Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and the homeland security
secretary, Michael Chertoff, to “make sure the visa process for translators and
others moves as quickly as possible.”

That’s news to us – check out Refugee Protection Program director Eleanor Acer’s subsequent letter to the editor in the NYT. It’s been almost 4 months since the legislation was passed (and the language of the legislation had been circulated many months previous to that, giving the relevant officials ample time to prepare), and there is no process yet in place for Iraqi translators to apply to the new SIV program. The relevant USCIS form, called the I-360, does not contain instructions for applicants to the new program, and we’ve heard no guidance as to how the program will be implemented. The old SIV program, which provided the “special visas for interpreters” cited by Mr. Johndroe, has been in place for a year; the visas simply ran out due to the enormous need.

Additionally, despite the millions spent on the war each day, and the new $700 million US Embassy slated to open in Baghdad at any moment now, State and DHS have not yet set up the in-country processing so desperately needed by Iraqis affiliated with the US. The US Embassy, unlike embassies in many countries, accepts visa applications in only a limited number of categories (and sends most Iraqis seeking to come to the US to their counterparts in Amman (or elsewhere) – disregarding the fact that travel to Amman is costly and it’s often impossible for Iraqis to gain entry, even if they have an appointment with the US Embassy there.

We hope that Mr. Johndroe was indeed correct when he expressed the president’s commitment to Iraqi refugees who helped the US. But actions speak louder than words. President Bush must exercise real leadership by making clear to Secretary of State Rice and DHS Secretary Chertoff , and all other officials involved, that he expects them to move forward quickly to make SIVs available to Iraqi translators and to set up processing for Iraqi refugees inside Iraq, as the law requires - and the need demands.

Iraqi Refugee Crisis in NYT Op-ed

The International Rescue Committee has a great op-ed in the New York Times today. The organization sent a high-level delegation to Syria and Jordan in February to meet with Iraqi refugees, leaders in both nations, and U.S. and UN officials in order to assess the crisis firsthand. The op-ed suggests, and we agree strongly, that a comprehensive plan to deal with this long-term crisis must be a part of any strategy for moving forward in Iraq and the region.

The op-ed’s numbers highlight an interesting point – U.S. resettlement and aid levels have been presented in the media as woefully inadequate (our view) and as perfectly acceptable (the implication in some articles). So it’s worth looking at the numbers a bit more closely.

On resettlement: Between October 1, 2004, and March 31, 2008, the U.S. resettled 4,635 Iraqi refugees. By way of contrast, between 1959 and 1962, the U.S. accepted 200,000 Cuban refugees. Between May 1 and December 20, 1975, the U.S. accepted 131,000 Vietnamese refugees. In almost five years, we’ve brought just a tiny fraction of Iraqi refugees to safety, though it’s clear from history that when the will exists we can do much, much more.

On aid: Since 2003, the U.S. had provided more than $500 million in humanitarian aid for Iraqi refugees and IDPs. Also since 2003, the U.S. has spent more than $500 billion on the war in Iraq. The Congressional Research Service estimated (as of February 2008) that the Iraq war costs about $10 billion per month. That means that the U.S. spends more on the war in two days than we’ve contributed to humanitarian assistance for refugees and IDPs in five years.

The bottom line is clear from the numbers: The United States can and should do much more to meet the needs of the 4 million-plus Iraqis who have fled their homes.

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.

February 5 Panel in NYC on Iraqi Refugee Crisis and Arts Advocacy

The polls don’t close till 9 pm tomorrow night, so there’s time for New Yorkers to attend an important panel discussion at Fordham University. Human Rights First is co-sponsoring the panel along with Fordham University and the Nailya Alexander Gallery. It’s entitled “Iraqi Citizens: War and Exile.” The panelists will address topics including the consequences of the Iraq war for Iraqis – more than 4 million of whom have fled their homes – the potential for visual artists to bring public attention to human rights issues, and the relationship between visual arts, human rights advocacy, and policy change. A question-and-answer session will follow. The panel’s in conjunction with a photo exhibit at the Nailya Alexander Gallery by photojournalist Lori Grinker – which received a nice notice in the New Yorker last week. The exhibit was also written up in January in the Huffington Post.

Complete info: Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 7 to 9 pm, Fordham University Lincoln Center, 113 W. 60th Street at Columbus Avenue, Room 816. Panelists include Lori Grinker, HRF advocate Amelia Templeton, former Iraqi translator Nour Al-Khal, and WITNESS communications and outreach coordinator Matisse Bustos Hawkes, and the conversation will be moderated by Fred Ritchin. It’s free, but seating is limited, so please RSVP to martinezb@humanrightsfirst.org.

Obama and Clinton Acknowledge Refugee Crisis

In last night's Democratic debate, the war in Iraq received some considerable attention. Sen. Obama pointed out that he and Sen. Clinton both believe that addressing the humanitarian crisis in the region is a critical component of any future strategy in Iraq. His exact words:

Both of us have said we would make sure that our embassies and our civilians are protected. Both of us have said that we've got to care for Iraqi civilians, including the 4 million who have been displaced already. We already have a humanitarian crisis and we have not taken those responsibilities seriously.

We're glad to hear the presidential candidates begin to lead a national conversation that acknowledges a refugee crisis whose scale is almost beyond comprehension - and a U.S. obligation to take responsibility for that crisis.