Human Rights First is working to secure a comprehensive response to the Iraqi refugee crisis. We have pressed the United States to bring some of the most vulnerable refugees to safety through a major resettlement initiative and to lead the international community in providing aid for refugees and those displaced within Iraq. We now call on the Obama administration and other international actors to ensure that Iraq’s displaced are not forced to return to their homes except under safe, voluntary, and dignified conditions. As the UN refugee agency said in May 2009, “The improvement of the situation in Iraq does not yet constitute fundamental changes sufficient to promote or encourage massive returns to Iraq.”
Are we at risk of taking our eyes off the ball? Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) is quoted in this morning’s…
Human Rights First welcomes Friday
A great article in today’s New York Times highlights the challenges faced by Iraqi refugees resettled in the United States.…
Good news on the resettlement front – the United States resettled 1,900 Iraqis in June, for a fiscal year 2009…
The Associated Press highlights the challenges facing newly arrived Iraqi refugees in this article and cites to Human Rights First’s recent report “Promises to the Persecuted: The Refugee Act of 2008” – which revealed that just 20 percent of at least 20,000 Iraqis with American ties who’ve applied have arrived in the United States since 2003. HRF’s report also urges the Obama administration to review and improve security clearance procedures so that eligible refugees do not wait for a year or more – in an almost cruel limbo – while their applications are processed.
Human Rights First urges the Obama administration to clear remaining bureaucratic obstacles to fulfilling America’s promise to persecuted Iraqis who worked with the United States in Iraq, as well as to their families. A new report (April 2009) – Promises to the Persecuted: The Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act of 2008 – examines implementation of the this critical legislation. It finds that, despite a Congressional mandate intended to expedite Iraqi refugee processing times, only a small portion of eligible Iraqis have been granted a safe haven in the United States.
The U.S. government has not made a public estimate of the number of U.S. affiliated Iraqis who may face danger as a result of their work with the United States. In the absence of government data, we provide the first-ever public estimates of Iraqis with U.S. ties: Approximately 146,000 Iraqis have worked with the U.S. government, contractors, NGOs, or media – not including family members. Approximately 4,200 have actually made it to the United States, including some family members, out of at least 20,000 applications. The detailed breakdown of our new estimates appears in our new report.
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New York, NY To mark the sixth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq, Human Rights First has…
Human Rights First calls on President Obama to fulfill his campaign’s commitment to confront the Iraqi refugee crisis. In a new blueprint (December 2008) – How to Confront the Iraqi Refugee Crisis – Human Rights First provides a detailed and comprehensive strategy for the incoming administration. Addressing the crisis is not only a moral imperative for the United States; it is also in the country’s strategic interest, and will help rehabilitate the U.S. reputation in the region.
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Urges FY 2009 resettlement goal to be much higher
Bi-Partisan Bill Would Create U.S. Government Accountability at the Highest Level
Human Rights First welcomes the signing of S. 2829, an amendment that clarifies Congress’s intent to make 5,000 Special Immigrant…
The April resettlement numbers for Iraqi refugees have just been released. The United States resettled 974 Iraqi refugees this month,…
