News: UNHCR cites conflicting reports on Iraqi return figures

A UNHCR press release issued on Friday, December 7 explores some of the difficulties that agencies such as UNHCR face when reporting on refugee figures, and returns in particular - difficulties that can lead to the sometimes conflicting reports that get issued.

Part of the problem, according to the press release, is that not everyone being counted is a refugee:

[The number of returning refugees reported] includes all categories of Iraqis, including bus and taxi drivers, and not just refugees who returned for good. UNHCR does not have a 24-hour presence at the border and relies on various sources to estimate numbers.

Adding to the difficulty in understanding the current state of the refugee crisis are the many and varied reasons for which people return to Iraq. According to UNHCR spokesman William Spindler:

"UNHCR staff have spoken to a wide range of refugees before they left Syria, and some said they were returning because they believed that security had improved, while others said they had run out of resources and feared the winter period when the cost of living jumps. Others are leaving because they have outstayed their visas,"...

Some also wanted to arrive before the end of the year to enable their children to enrol in school, the spokesperson said, while adding that there was "a real concern among the returnees about longer-term security with many saying they are only returning to areas where they feel secure because of the local security arrangements in place."

The rest of the press release discusses other issues faced by refugees in Syria and Lebanon, many of which have been discussed previously on this blog, but it is well worth reading.

News Roundup: 10/24/07

Among desperate Iraqi refugees, prostitution a growing problem (From the International Herald Tribune): ...the problem is growing as thousands of Iraqis flee their homeland. Most troubling to some human rights groups is the possibility that ever-younger girls may turn to, or be pulled into, the sex trade, desperate to support families barely getting by...

Iraq refugees headed for Twin Falls, ID (From the Times-News): They fled their homeland because they helped the United States... A family of four Iraqis will arrive in Twin Falls from Jordan in the near future, but their exact arrival date is unknown... "It's like the army says, hurry up and wait," [College of Southern Idaho Refugee Service Center Director Ron Black] said.

Fire ravages UN refugee agency warehouses in Syria (UN News Centre): This story has been up for a few days, but is worth drawing attention to...

News: UNHCR urges Europe to take in Iraqi refugees

"BRUSSELS: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called on Europe to accept more asylum seekers from conflict-torn Iraq. "Keeping the asylum door open in Europe is absolutely crucial in the present moment," Guterres said before a meeting in Brussels with EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini."

Read the complete story at the Daily Star.

News: UN raises ceiling on staff levels in Iraq

The United Nations is increasing its humanitarian presence in Baghdad, raising "the ceiling on the number of international staff allowed to work in Baghdad from 65 to 85".

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17 (Reuters) - The United Nations has raised its limit on the number of international staff it can send to Iraq as it tries to expand its operations there, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile a new report by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon distributed said humanitarian conditions in Iraq had worsened, despite the number of civilian casualties falling in September to the lowest number for the year.

U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said Ban had decided to raise the ceiling on the number of international staff allowed to work in Baghdad from 65 to 85, after a Security Council resolution in August urged the world body to boost its role.

Click here for the full story from Reuters.