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Iraq Parliament considers using oil revenue to help refugees

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
[See also Juan Cole's Informed Comment at http://www.juancole.com
on the developing story of a possible agreement on an oil revenue bill
in Parliament --NYTr]

IRIN via electronicIraq - Jun 22, 2007
http://electroniciraq.net/news/aiddevelopment/Parliament_considers_using_oil_revenue_to_help_refugees-3131.shtml

Parliament considers using oil revenue to help refugees 

BAGHDAD (IRIN) - The Iraqi parliament is considering a package of
measures to meet the needs of the growing number of Iraqis who have
fled to neighboring countries, a lawmaker said on 19 June.

"Our proposals include allocating three percent of Iraq's oil export
revenues to help them meet their needs," Abdul-Khaliq Zankana, a
Kurdish lawmaker and head of the parliamentary committee for
displacement and immigrants, told IRIN in Baghdad.

The committee made the proposals in late May after visiting and
interviewing Iraqis in neighboring countries earlier this year.

"Other proposals include distributing food rations to the refugees,
giving them social protection network funding and allocating funds from
the education and health ministries' budgets to help those who cannot
afford education and health services, especially for their children,"
Zankana added.

"They are living in harsh conditions as their situation is
deteriorating," Zankana said, without specifying when parliament would
consider the bill.

"We realize that even if we were to set aside US$500 million, this
would not be enough, but as a parliament and government we are
committed to helping to alleviate their suffering because they left
Iraq against their will due to escalating violence," he added.

Iraq exports about 1.6 million barrels per day and last year oil
exports brought in $31.2 billion.

UNHCR report

In its 2006 Global Trends report released on 19 June, the UN Refugee
Agency (UNHCR) said that people fleeing Iraq had swelled the ranks of
the world's refugees, reversing a five-year decline, and causing an
increase in the number of those driven from their homes for the first
time since 2002.

As of the end of 2006, the world had 9.9 million refugees, a 14 percent
increase on the 8.7 million refugees recorded in 2005, the UNHCR report
said. The current total is the highest since 2002, when there were 10.6
million refugees.

Iraqi refugees

The report said the increase was largely due to the situation in Iraq,
where by the end of 2006 1.5 million had fled the country to seek
refuge in other countries, particularly Syria and Jordan.

Host countries have complained of shouldering the burden while Iraq
spirals further into turmoil. Iraqi refugees say they are struggling to
legalize their residence and find work in host countries.

"The situation in Iraq continues to worsen, with more than 2 million
Iraqis now believed to be displaced inside Iraq and another 2.2 million
sheltering in neighboring states," the UNHCR statement said.

According to government figures, some 1.4 million Iraqis are now in
Syria, up to 750,000 in Jordan, 80,000 in Egypt and some 200,000 in the
Gulf region. Syria alone receives a minimum of 30,000 Iraqis a month.

"The number of Iraqis fleeing to neighboring countries remains high,"
the UN agency said. "Calls for increased international support for
governments in the region have so far had few results."


[This item comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis
service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United
Nations or its Member States. Reposting or reproduction, with
attribution, for non-commercial purposes is permitted.]
       
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