INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF IRAQ REFUGEES-IFIR: CAMPAIGN

Human rights campaigners, trade unions and refugee rights organizations across Europe please join our campaign to defend Iraqi and Kurdish refugees

The American coalition forces attacked Iraq in the name of bringing freedom and
democracy to Iraq instead they have brought terror and killing. It has been six years since
the American led invasion of Iraq, yet killing, security, poverty, unemployment and lack of basic
services continue in Iraq. Yet Iraqi refugees remain the highest percentage of any nationality
entering neighbouring countries, Europe, America and worldwide.
The situation of the Iraqi refugees in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Pakistan, Iran and Europe is a
tragedy. Many thousands of Iraqi refugees have resorted to begging, prostitution, selling their
internal organs to avoid destitution.
European countries such as the UK, Switzerland, Sweden and Germany are treating Iraqi refugees
without compassion. Many have been detained and locked up in detention centers across Europe.
The Iraqi Kurdish refugees who have been lucky enough to remain free are being treated terribly.
Iraqi refugees whilst waiting for permission to remain in Europe are being refused permission to
work and are not given any money to support themselves leading many to become destitute.
Both the UK and Swedish Goverments have made agreement with the Iraqi Government
to return failed asylum seekers. The Iraqi Government is trading Iraqi asylum seekers
lives for financial gain for the KRG and Iraqi Government. Shame on the Iraqi Government
for making such a deal. They cannot provide security and safety for their citizens, which
has led to thousands of people leaving Iraq, and yet they make such a dishonest deal for
money in exchange for the future of Iraqi refugees lives.
Several 100 Iraqi refugees have been returned to Northern Iraq and more recently Bahgdad. The
ruturned asylum seekers have been seperated from their friends and families – many have
partners and children in Europe. Many of the returned asylum seekers are forced to live in hiding
to avoid persecution. IFIR has recieved reports of asylum seekers who have committed suicide,
been kidnapped or killed in car bombs.

IFIR has called a two day lobby in front of the UN office in Geneva. We ask all Human and
Refugee rights campaigners and labour and Trade Union activists to stand with us to stop
this policy against Iraqi asylum seekers in European country. With your help we can put an
end to these policies against Iraqi & Kurdish refugees.
To prevent further suffering, the International Federation of the Iraqi Refugees calls upon
the United Nations to make the following demands out of a regard for compassion and
human dignity:-
1. An immediate end to the policy of enforced deportation of Iraqi Kurdish refugees by all European
countries.
2. Require all European governments to recognise that previous agreements, between the Iraqi
Kurdish government and European countries regarding the deportation of refugees, as invalid
because their safety simply cannot be guaranteed.
3. Require the release of all Iraqi refugees from prisons and detention centres, who have been
detained because of illegal entry or their leave to remain, has expired. Those who have committed
a crime should be charged and tried in the country where the crime was committed not forcibly
deported.
4. Demand that Kurdish and Iraqi asylum seekers, be allowed to work to support themselves and
have the right to family reunion.
5. Those asylum seekers who are disabled, ill, or destitute and cannot work should be treated with
compassion.
6. Asylum seekers who are destitute in countries outside Europe should be supported with health
services and education or transferred to a European country.
7. The United Nations should require European countries to fulfil the above demands and stop
enforced deportations of refugees.
If these demands are to be met we need your support:
- please join our demonstrations outside the United Nations office in Geneva on the 16
and 17 April for further information please contact (Ahmad Ali )on (0788532004)or
(Jamal Koshish) on(0787557786) for queries regarding the campaign contact
campaign co-ordinator( Rebwar Arif )rebwar.arif@hotmail.com
- if you can not attend the demonstrations please send letters calling on the United
Nations to comply with the seven demands listed above to Ban Ki Moon, Secretary
General of the United Nations, Avenue de la Paix 14, 1211 Genève 10, Switzerland or
fax 022 917 00 32 - Fax (please send IFIR a copy of your letter to ifir@hotmail.co.uk)
- if you can, please send financial support to enable IFIR to pay for the transport costs
of asylum seekers who wish to attend the demonstrations. Please send cheques
payable to ‘Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq’ to IFIR, PO.BOX1575, ILFORD, IG1
3BZ, LONDON
The Secretariat for International Federation of Iraqi Refugees.IFIR 31/3/2009
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IFIR:PO.BOX1575, ILFORD, IG1 3BZ, LONDON UK :Dashty jamal Secretary of IFIR
Tel:0044 7856032991, or contact Richerd on 07824996724
ifir@hotmail.co.uk www.csdiraq.com www.federationifir.com