Statement from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, Regarding Solutions for the Residents of Camp New Iraq (Ashraf)
GENEVA - I want to express my deep appreciation for the tireless efforts of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Mr. Martin Kobler, to reach an agreement with the Government of Iraq regarding a process for the voluntary relocation of the residents of Camp New Iraq (former Camp Ashraf).
UNHCR is fully engaged in this initiative and looks forward to the voluntary and peaceful transfer of the asylum seekers to a temporary site so that UNHCR can proceed immediately with the determination of their status in accordance with its mandate.
I wish to commend the Government of Iraq for extending the deadline for the closure of the camp and for agreeing to provide the necessary facilities with safety and security, so that the process of verification and adjudication can be conducted in a timely and appropriate manner.
I urge all sides to cooperate in good faith to ensure a peaceful process and I reiterate my appeal to the international community to contribute to the achievement of durable solutions for those recognized as refugees through offering resettlement places.
For further information on this topic, please contact:
- In Geneva, Leigh Foster, on mobile +41 79 557 9124
Related news and stories
Twelve years on, Syrian refugees face deepening debt and hunger
UN Refugee Agency warns of extreme hardship for forcibly displaced families this winter
Iraqi doctor provides care and comfort to Yazidi survivors
Iraqi doctor provides care and comfort to Yazidi survivors
Yazidi women box their way to recovery
The 'Boxing Sisters' of Rwanga IDP Camp in Duhok, Iraq
-
Evaluation of UNHCR prevention and response to SGBV in the refugee population in Lebanon (2016-2018)
Nov 2018 Attachments: ES/2018/05 - Annexes and management response (.zip) -
UN Refugee Chief urges states to support fairer response to refugee crises
31 Oct 2018 At UN General Assembly, Filippo Grandi called on member states to get behind a new global compact on refugees. -
Third Committee of the General Assembly, 73rd Session
31 Oct 2018 Agenda Item 65: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, questions relating to refugees, returnees and displaced persons and humanitarian questions -
Polish city gives Syrian poet peace and space to speak out
30 Oct 2018 Poet Kholoud Charaf is using a two-year residency in Kraków to highlight the suffering of those forced to flee the conflict in her homeland. -
Tents bring Indonesia quake survivors out of the rain
29 Oct 2018 UNHCR delivery gives shelter to some 10,000 children, women and men who lost homes when a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Sulawesi last month. -
Syrian duo Refugees of Rap taught French schoolchildren how to compose their own raps.
29 Oct 2018 -
Statement of South Africa
29 Oct 2018 -
Syrian duo teaches French schoolchildren how to get rapping
29 Oct 2018 A workshop by the duo Refugees of Rap opens new horizons for pupils at a school in northern France. -
Critical UNHCR aid reaches over 150,000 displaced Yemenis
26 Oct 2018