News & Resources

European Nations Continue to Deport Iraqi Refugees

Although European countries such as Denmark, Britain and the Netherlands were some of the first to open their doors to Iraqi refugees seeking asylum, they have since begun a massive campaign to forcibly deport asylum-seekers back to Iraq.

http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/iraqi-refugees-forced-return-home

http://www.theworld.org/2010/10/26/controversial-deportations-from-europe/

This continues happening despite repeated urging from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that Europe halt these deportations

http://www.unhcr.org/4c0e5f5a6.html

Last year, Britain attempted to forcibly return 50 refugees to Iraq, but the Iraqi government refused to admit 41 of them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/world/middleeast/18iraq.html?fta=y

In Denmark, Iraqi refugees hid in the basement of a church in an attempt to avoid forced return.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/15/world/europe/15denmark.html

The United Nations 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, to which all of these countries are signatories, explicitly prohibits the forced deportation of any refugee with a credible fear of persecution.”