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Amnesty Intl says we should take in more than 7,000 and it's all our fault anyway!

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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA
PRESS RELEASE

February 14, 2007

Amnesty International USA Urges United States to Provide More Assistance to Refugees
State Department Announces Iraqi Refugee Taskforce and $18 Million Pledge for Relief Program

(Washington, DC) -- Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) urged the United States government to quickly identify and resettle vulnerable Iraqi nationals and send assistance to ease the financial burden on countries, including Syria and Jordan, supporting large numbers of Iraqis in the interim.

"As the outflow of people fleeing for their lives from Iraq continues to grow, the United States must establish effective and efficient avenues for the resettlement of Iraqi refugees in the United States," said Larry Cox, AIUSA executive director. "The administration's pledge of $18 million for a worldwide resettlement and relief program is a positive gesture. However, the UNHCR's appeal for $60 million must be met to avoid a massive humanitarian crisis. Given that regional and sectarian tensions are already elevated, a large number of Iraqis in limbo can only exacerbate a very dire security situation."

Nearly 2 million people are fleeing Iraq in what the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres recently called a "humanitarian disaster." According to Guterres, there are more than 1.7 million Iraqis internally displaced, including some 500,000 who have been displaced since the bombing of a Shi'a holy shrine in the city of Samarra in February 2006. Since 2003, up to 2 million Iraqis have sought refuge in neighboring countries. Of these, some 700,000 currently reside in Jordan and approximately 1 million reside in Syria.

Many of the Iraqis fleeing the country are members of vulnerable populations, such as religious minorities, or now have affiliations with the U.S. government that put them in danger inside Iraq. If such people are not allowed to seek safety, they remain in genuine danger of persecution. As a leading member of the Multinational Force (MNF), the United States must do everything in its power to ensure that durable protection is afforded to Iraqi refugees as well as to the 1.7 million internally displaced people inside Iraq.

"United States policy and military action contributed to the dreadful situation that now prevails in Iraq, yet the United States has resettled fewer than 500 Iraqis displaced as a result of the war," said Sarnata Reynolds, AIUSA refugee program director. "While AIUSA applauds DOS' establishment of an Iraq Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Task Force and acknowledges its commitment to resettle 7,000 Iraqi refugees during the coming year, many more people need help. The United Nations estimates that 40,000 to 50,000 people flee Iraq each month - where will they go?"
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http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGUSA20070214001