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Iraq rejects forceful repatriation of its citizens in France: Minister

Iraq rejects forceful repatriation of its citizens in France Minister
Iraq rejects forceful repatriation of its citizens in France: Minister

2019-04-27 00:00:00 - Source: kurdistan 24

Over the past few years, tens of thousands of Iraqis fled from dangerous situations in Iraq to European countries including France, but not all have not been granted asylum.

In a statement released by his ministry, Mousa said that Iraqis in the diaspora should be encouraged to return voluntarily by the nations where they now reside by “facilitating the process for them and providing jobs as well as launching reintegration programs after arriving home.” 

The minister stressed that the official policy of Iraq has long been, and continues to be, to reject its nationals from being returned against their will.

“This is a violation of human rights and international principles,” he said.

Mousa added that Baghdad and Paris had instead agreed on “a program to combat smuggling networks who illegally transfer people from Iraq to European countries for large sums of money, and implement strict sanctions against smugglers.”

A joint information committee will be set up between the concerned bodies in Iraq and the French Immigration Department on the exchange of information and experience in the field of migration, return, and integration, Mousa noted.

Last year, German authorities who had been similarly unable to get Iraq to break its policy of not accepting forced returns proposed a plan to repatriate some 10,000 Iraqi refugees through two counseling centers to be opened in the capital of Baghdad and Erbil, in the Kurdistan Region.

These centers, if established as initially suggested, would facilitate the integration of returning refugees as well as setting standardized methods of immigration from Iraq to Germany. 

Baghdad is considering opening offices in seven countries to which many Iraqi nationals flee, a move it said was aimed at helping to encourage businessmen and other Iraqis deemed desirable to voluntarily return to the embattled country.

There is no official data about the number of Iraqi refugees abroad as a result of recent and past conflicts, but unofficial statistics suggest it could reach four million people. 

Editing by John J. Catherine





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