UNCHR says Palestinians at Syrian border need medical facilities

A UNHCR team visited Al Waleed on Sunday and found that the tented camp is overcrowded and many people are suffering from respiratory and other ailments that need proper medical treatment. But the nearest hospital in Iraq is located four hours away by car and the road runs through dangerous territory. At least three people, including a six-month-old baby, have died from treatable illnesses since the camp opened. Living conditions are likely to get worse during the summer months. Temperatures of more than 50 degrees Celsius have already been recorded this month, while sandstorms are another regular hazard. International aid agencies, including UNHCR, are not allowed to maintain a presence in the camp due to security reasons and so they must visit during the day and can only visit on an infrequent basis. Water is trucked to the camp daily, but this is rationed to less than one litre per person because of the increasing numbers of Palestinians fleeing to Al Waleed to escape threats and attacks in Baghdad. More are expected.

High Commissioner says 600 Palestinians killed

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, speaking at a press conference in Abu Dhabi yesterday, urged Arab and Islamic countries to have a stronger voice in the UNHCR, to ensure Muslim refugees get adequate protection and assistance. He voiced particular concern for ensuring protection for the Palestinians in Iraq, noting that they in particular "have been the targets of ongoing violence and suffering ... We are discussing with the Iraqi government the possibility of establishing a safe haven inside Iraq for the Palestinians." At a press briefing a few days previously in Bahrain he said: "There are 15,000 Palestinian refugees in Baghdad who are being targeted by the militia because they are thought to be associated with the previous regime and 600 of them have been killed."

UNHCR discusses Yemen as a temporary refugee for Palestians

Ma'an news agency reports that a spokesperson for the UNHCR said that consultations are ongoing regarding transporting the Palestinian refugees in Iraq to Yemen as a temporary settlement. She said that the project is not the first suggestion and previously Kurdistan, Canada and Australia had been considered.

UNCHR reports abuses in detention

UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said "UNHCR and other organisations have also received allegations of physical abuse and possibly torture being carried out [on Palestinians] in detention, an allegation denied by the Iraqi authorities. One ex-detainee reported he was beaten on his back and suffered a broken hand. He believed that others had been subjected to worse treatment." Seperately UNHCR notes that it has "received reports that the families of several detained Palestinians have been forced to pay thousands of dollars to some members of the Iraqi security forces – allegedly for protection from torture and mutilation of their family members while in detention. Higher sums have reportedly been demanded to ensure their release. The Palestinians who arrived at the border claimed that their houses had been raided by the special forces, their furniture thrown out of their homes and that they were told they had two days to leave their homes. Others claimed they had been detained and maltreated before being released. UNHCR is also very much concerned about the safety of NGOs working with the Palestinians. On March 13, one NGO staff dealing with the Palestinian community was abducted in front of his son by unknown men and found dead the next day." He added that at least 186 Palestinians had been confirmed murdered in Baghdad between April 2004 and January this year. UNHCR believes the number may be significantly higher. "How much more will have to happen before the international community and the countries in the region respond positively to calls to have Palestinians relocated out of Iraq," said Andrew Harper, head of UNHCR's Iraq Support Unit. "The Palestinians are particularly targeted, not protected and have nowhere to flee to."

Update on Baladiat raid + condemnation from UNHCR

UNHCR has condemned Thursday's raid, apparently part of the Baghdad secu. It says at least one person was killed and "Sixty people were reportedly detained during Wednesday's raid, but most were released and just nine are said to be still in detention. The raid prompted at least 41 other Palestinians to flee the capital and join 850 compatriots who have been stranded at the Iraq-Syria border since last May. [and] "More are expected to be on their way," UNHCR chief spokesperson, Ron Redmond, told reporters in Geneva." The dead man was a guard at a Baghdad mosque and reportedly suffered at least one gunshot to the head."

Iraq Slogger notes that the Iraqi News Agency reported Palestinian Prime Minister Isma'il Haniya and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas both condemned the raid and demanding that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani protect the Palestinian refugee community in Iraq from victimization at the hands of both the government forces and armed religious groups.

High Commissioner appeal to Arab League

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, addressed a meeting of the Arab League's Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Egypt. He praised Arab states for their traditional generosity toward the displaced and urged them to take a more active role in UNHCR's work in Iraq. He made a special plea on the non-Iraqi refugees inside Iraq, including the 15,000 Palestinians.

UNHCR conference on refugees from Iraq

UNHCR will be convening a ministerial-level conference in Geneva, April 17-18, on the humanitarian needs of refugees and displaced people in Iraq and the surrounding region. The conference will bring together Iraqi authorities and those of neighbouring countries, major refugee-hosting states, major donor countries, resettlement countries, concerned regional governmental organisations, NGOs and the UN. One of it's three main objectives will be "To identify more targeted responses to specific problems, including finding lasting solutions for those groups most at risk – e.g. Palestinian refugees in Iraq."

UNHCR ask Saudi to help

High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres met King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and other top Saudi Arabian officials in Riyadh at the weekend. He urged Saudi Arabia to take an active part in a UNHCR conference on the Iraqi humanitarian crisis due to be held in Geneva in mid-April. He stressed the plight of the 15,000 Palestinians in Iraq, calling on the Saudi leaders to use their influence to help find a solution for this tragedy. Guterres noted Saudi Arabia's long tradition of protecting asylum seekers and refugees. (photo of Al-Tanf camp)

School opened in al-Tanf camp

UNRWA has opened a tented school for some 90 children at al-Tanf camp in the no-man's land between Iraq and Syria. The children are among 354 Palestinians who have been stranded at the border for nine months. The school's eight teachers are drawn from among the refugees themselves and underwent a week-long training course in Damascus last month. UNRWA's Syria director Panos Moumtzis called for a long-term solution: "International support is needed to find a solution for Palestinians from Iraq. They are facing a harsh winter in the desert." (AFP report)

Palestinians are main protection concern - UNHCR

Andrew Harper, head of UNHCR's Iraq support unit, said today, following a trip to the region, "The Palestinians... have to be our main protection concern as they are being targeted by various militias and they are being continually threatened and killed on a weekly basis. There is basically nowhere that we can send them at the moment."

First Palestinians arrive in Canada

UNHCR reports on the resettlement of one family in Ottawa, part of a group of 63 Palestinian refugees that the Canadian government has agreed to resettle from Ruweished camp.

UNHCR confident of resettling the 97 Palestinians on Jordan-Iraq border

UNHCR said they were confident about the resettlement of 97 Palestinian refugees from Iraq who are in Ruweished refugee camp, 50 km from the Jordanian-Iraqi border, after 49 Palestinians left the tent camp for Canada last month (most had been in the camp for more than 3 years). "UNHCR will aggressively look for resettlement opportunities for the refugees in Ruweished and once that has been achieved the camp will be closed permanently," said Rana Sweis, Public Information Assistant at UNHCR, Jordan. UNHCR Representative in Amman, Robert Breen said the UN agency was also exploring options to have the refugees relocated in Jordan in a "less hostile environment. The refugees continue to suffer from extreme cold in winter and extreme heat in summer; the real solution is to have them moved to a third country, but in the meantime we want to make their life better."

UNHCR - Increasing numbers of Palestinians leaving Baghdad

UNHCR reports "The number of Palestinians stuck on the Iraq-Syria border after fleeing violence in Baghdad has risen to 80, with more reported on the way. Last weekend, an additional 39 Palestinians left Baghdad for the border with Syria, where an earlier group of 41, including 19 children, has been stuck just inside Iraq since Dec. 16.

UNHCR received reports over the weekend that the security situation for Palestinians in Baghdad had grown worse over the past week and that more were on the way to the border. Members of the Mahdi army were reported in Palestinian areas in eastern Baghdad, attempting to take over apartments to assert control in the mainly Shia area. The predominantly Sunni Palestinians are increasingly living in fear of attacks.

The 80 Palestinians now stranded on the Iraqi side of the border with Syria are prevented from leaving by Iraqi authorities, and from entering Syria by Syrian authorities. The group has also been denied access to a no-man's land between the two countries, where another 350 Palestinians have been living since last May. So far, the 80 people stranded just inside the Iraqi border have been taken care of by a generous local tribal leader. UNHCR and the International Committee of the Red Cross have also provided relief items such as blankets, stoves, plastic sheets, tents and food. But weather conditions are rapidly deteriorating and new supplies, including additional tents and kerosene, are urgently needed.

UNHCR has undertaken various demarches with the Iraqi and Syrian authorities, but has been unable to find any solution for the stranded Palestinians. A recent agreement between Iraq and Syria called for tighter control of population movements between the two countries. Palestinians have been specifically targeted in Iraq and have no safe haven or support network there. There are still an estimated 15,000 Palestinians in Iraq – out of some 34,000 in 2003. In Baghdad, they live in a climate of constant fear and are unable to get proper documents. Hundreds who have tried to flee are stuck at the Syrian border or in an isolated camp inside Jordan. And those who have succeeded in leaving Iraq often did so illegally."

UNHCR condemns attack on Baladiat

UNHCR said "it was alarmed by a militia attack on a Palestinian neighbourhood in Baghdad which left at least nine people dead, including several children, and it appealed to countries to provide a humanitarian solution for Palestinians attempting to flee Iraq. Local militia reportedly shelled the Al Baladiya area for three hours on Wednesday with no attempt by the Iraqi police or multinational forces to halt the attack. The militia also blocked ambulances from taking the dead and wounded to hospital. At least nine people were reportedly killed and many injured during the attack."

"We are very alarmed by this attack and dismayed by the lack of protection given to the Palestinians in Iraq. They have very limited freedom of movement and no possibility to leave the country – unlike Iraqis – to find a safe haven, nor any community to protect them," said Radhouane Nouicer, UNHCR's Geneva-based deputy director for the region. We are urgently appealing to the Iraqi government and the multinational forces to provide protection and safety or an alternative safe location for this targeted group. We also ask the world to stop turning their back and provide a humane solution and safe haven to these people who have no way out," he added.

However, discussions on Thursday with the Iraqi authorities leave little room for optimism that anything can be done to improve protection for this population. The exact fate of those wounded in the attack is not known, as some families were too scared to take injured relations to hospital or remove bodies. Others are too fearful of their own safety to visit some wounded smuggled out in private cars to hospital. Violence against the Palestinian community in Iraq has increased in recent years, but markedly so since the bombing of an important Shia Muslim mosque in Samarra last February. In recent months, Palestinians have been the victims of kidnappings and targeted killings, with an increase in attacks and abductions over the last weeks. Last Saturday, the same Al Baladiya area came under mortar attack, leaving 10 people wounded, while several eminent Palestinians were kidnapped. On earlier occasions, leaflets with death threats were left on doors in Palestinian neighbourhoods of Baghdad, prompting hundreds to flee to the border between Syria and Iraq. Palestinians in Baghdad are extremely fearful for their lives and have expressed their wish to leave as soon as possible. But, with more than 350 Palestinians stuck in inhumane conditions on the border between Iraqi and Syria, there seems to be no way out for other Palestinians trapped in the capital.

UNHCR has repeatedly appealed to the international community and governments to offer refuge for Palestinians. It has appealed to Israel to allow for admission into the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and asked neighbouring Arab states to keep their doors open. UNHCR has also approached resettlement countries, but so far positive responses have only been received by Canada – which has taken 64 Palestinians, stuck in the Jordanian desert for years – and Syria, which took up 287 Palestinians last May, before closing its borders to other desperate Palestinians."