Monday, July 23, 2007
U.S. ambassador in Iraq calls for Iraqi employees to be granted asylum status
Humanitarian
(The Guardian) - The United States ambassador in Iraq, Ryan Cocker, has called for all Iraqis working for the US government to be granted refugee status in recognition of the dangers they face. Mr Cocker warned in a cable obtained by the Washington Post that unless Iraqi employees were given hope of finding safe haven in America they would quit, weakening the ability of the Bush administration to make an impact in Iraq.
He said that Iraqis in US government employment "work under extremely difficult conditions, and are targets for violence including murder and kidnapping. Unless they know that there is some hope of a [visa] in future, many will continue to seek asylum, leaving our mission lacking in one of our most valuable assets".
The US government and its main coalition partner in Iraq, Britain, have both been criticised by human rights and refugee organisations for failing to allow significant numbers of Iraqi asylum seekers into their countries. The US has admitted 825 Iraqis since the invasion in 2003.
He said that Iraqis in US government employment "work under extremely difficult conditions, and are targets for violence including murder and kidnapping. Unless they know that there is some hope of a [visa] in future, many will continue to seek asylum, leaving our mission lacking in one of our most valuable assets".
The US government and its main coalition partner in Iraq, Britain, have both been criticised by human rights and refugee organisations for failing to allow significant numbers of Iraqi asylum seekers into their countries. The US has admitted 825 Iraqis since the invasion in 2003.
Labels: asylum, Iraqi employees, refugee status, Ryan Crocker, U.S.
