Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Jordanian trucks to ferry Iraqi oil to Jordan
Region, Oil
(Azzaman) - More than 2,000 Jordanian tanker trucks have been readied to ferry Iraqi crude oil to the Kingdom’s refinery at al-Zarqa. Iraqi tanker trucks will be involved but will not be allowed to cross the border. They will carry the crude from Kirkuk and unload it into specially built storage tanks on the border. The Jordanian tanker trucks will transfer the crude from the border to the refinery.
Fifteen such storage tanks have been built but no Iraqi tanker truck has surfaced on the border yet. Iraq has agreed to resume exporting discounted crude oil supplies to Jordan. The volume is reported to start with 10,000 barrels a day and steadily rocket to 30,000. Under former leader Saddam Hussein, Iraq met all Jordan’s energy needs of nearly 100,000 barrels a day at preferential prices. Iraqi tanker trucks then drove directly to al-Zarqa refinery close to Amman, the capital.
Analysts say Iraq may not be able to meet its obligation under the deal due to the upsurge in violence along the Iraqi portion of the highway. Iraqi drivers are reported to be reluctant to drive along the highway despite incentives. Tanker trucks are now the main target of Qaeda and other anti-U.S. and anti-government groups.
The trucks are now increasingly being used in suicide bombing attacks. Their drivers are kidnapped and only released after their families pay hefty ransoms. Trucks passing through rebel areas are usually heavily taxed. Drivers refusing to pay are either killed or kidnapped.
Fifteen such storage tanks have been built but no Iraqi tanker truck has surfaced on the border yet. Iraq has agreed to resume exporting discounted crude oil supplies to Jordan. The volume is reported to start with 10,000 barrels a day and steadily rocket to 30,000. Under former leader Saddam Hussein, Iraq met all Jordan’s energy needs of nearly 100,000 barrels a day at preferential prices. Iraqi tanker trucks then drove directly to al-Zarqa refinery close to Amman, the capital.
Analysts say Iraq may not be able to meet its obligation under the deal due to the upsurge in violence along the Iraqi portion of the highway. Iraqi drivers are reported to be reluctant to drive along the highway despite incentives. Tanker trucks are now the main target of Qaeda and other anti-U.S. and anti-government groups.
The trucks are now increasingly being used in suicide bombing attacks. Their drivers are kidnapped and only released after their families pay hefty ransoms. Trucks passing through rebel areas are usually heavily taxed. Drivers refusing to pay are either killed or kidnapped.
Labels: al-Zarqa, Iraqi crude oil, Jordan, tankers
U.S. to support Iraqi refugees with $30 mn. education grant
Education
(AP) -- The top U.S. envoy on refugees announced Tuesday that the United States will increase its support to countries hosting Iraqi refugees with a $30 million grant for education. Assistant Secretary of State Ellen Sauerbrey said the money will help pay for schooling in countries like Jordan, where tens of thousands of young Iraqis recently began attending government schools.
Jordan and Syria host the largest percentage of the more than 2 million Iraqis who have been displaced by the war and they have complained of the increasing burden on their health and education systems. Smaller numbers of Iraqis have fled to Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey. The grant will go toward a recent joint appeal by the U.N. refugee agency and UNICEF for international donors to provide $129 million that would pay for educating 155,000 Iraqi children in Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Lebanon.
In Damascus, the German development minister, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, announced that her government would give $5.4 million to help Syria cope with the Iraqi refugees it hosts. This month, more than 40,000 Iraqi children went to school in Jordan for the first time since they fled their homeland, amid concerns about the system being overburdened. Education Minister Khaled Touqan said more classrooms and possibly new schools would be needed.
In the past, Iraqi children could attend Jordanian public schools only if a family had a residency permit or paid fees - a serious strain on the finances of the largely unemployed Iraqi refugees. Sauerbrey told reporters the United States expected to allow in some 2,000 Iraqi refugees by the end of September, but ruled out taking in large numbers.
While Washington has a "moral obligation" to aid refugees "in danger because of their affiliation with U.S. forces," she said it also had an obligation to "provide the assistance necessary to help people continue to be in the region for when the day comes that Iraq is a stable country and people will have a home to return to."
The United States has been criticized by some people for accepting so few Iraqi refugees. Only 57 settled in the U.S. last month, bringing the total over the last year to 190. This month it expects to take in 400 Iraqis.
Jordan and Syria host the largest percentage of the more than 2 million Iraqis who have been displaced by the war and they have complained of the increasing burden on their health and education systems. Smaller numbers of Iraqis have fled to Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey. The grant will go toward a recent joint appeal by the U.N. refugee agency and UNICEF for international donors to provide $129 million that would pay for educating 155,000 Iraqi children in Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Lebanon.
In Damascus, the German development minister, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, announced that her government would give $5.4 million to help Syria cope with the Iraqi refugees it hosts. This month, more than 40,000 Iraqi children went to school in Jordan for the first time since they fled their homeland, amid concerns about the system being overburdened. Education Minister Khaled Touqan said more classrooms and possibly new schools would be needed.
In the past, Iraqi children could attend Jordanian public schools only if a family had a residency permit or paid fees - a serious strain on the finances of the largely unemployed Iraqi refugees. Sauerbrey told reporters the United States expected to allow in some 2,000 Iraqi refugees by the end of September, but ruled out taking in large numbers.
While Washington has a "moral obligation" to aid refugees "in danger because of their affiliation with U.S. forces," she said it also had an obligation to "provide the assistance necessary to help people continue to be in the region for when the day comes that Iraq is a stable country and people will have a home to return to."
The United States has been criticized by some people for accepting so few Iraqi refugees. Only 57 settled in the U.S. last month, bringing the total over the last year to 190. This month it expects to take in 400 Iraqis.
Labels: education grants, Ellen Sauerbrey, Jordan, refugees, Syria, U.N., U.S.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Jordan to resume importation of Iraqi oil
Region
(AP) -- Jordan's energy minister said Thursday his country expects to resume Iraqi oil imports in the coming days, ending a four-year hiatus sparked by the U.S.-led war that toppled Saddam Hussein, the official Petra news agency reported. Khaled al-Shraydeh said the supply would eventually cover Jordan's daily need of 100,000 barrels and would be trucked across Jordan's desert border from northern oil fields in Kirkuk accompanied by Iraqi security.
"The Iraqi government said it was ready to start supplying us with oil, which we expect will happen within the next few days," al-Shraydeh was quoted by Petra as saying. Iraqi officials said the deal was in the works for a long time and awaited only the hiring of a security force to guard the trucks. Apparently until now they could find no one who would take the job.
Al-Shraydeh did not reveal the price Jordan would pay for the oil, but Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit said in October that his country would receive preferential rates. Jordan and Iraq signed the deal last August when al-Bakhit made a surprise visit to Baghdad - the first by a top Arab government official.
Al-Shraydeh said Jordan would begin by importing 10,000 barrels per day and would eventually increase the amount to cover the required 100,000. Before the war started in 2003, Iraq covered all of Jordan's oil needs, delivering a portion for free and the rest at about one-third the world market price.
When the supply was halted at the outset of the war, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates stepped in for a year to provide the cash-strapped kingdom with oil at prices believed to have been below market levels. Saudi Arabia now provides Jordan with funding to help the country pay for its oil need.
"The Iraqi government said it was ready to start supplying us with oil, which we expect will happen within the next few days," al-Shraydeh was quoted by Petra as saying. Iraqi officials said the deal was in the works for a long time and awaited only the hiring of a security force to guard the trucks. Apparently until now they could find no one who would take the job.
Al-Shraydeh did not reveal the price Jordan would pay for the oil, but Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit said in October that his country would receive preferential rates. Jordan and Iraq signed the deal last August when al-Bakhit made a surprise visit to Baghdad - the first by a top Arab government official.
Al-Shraydeh said Jordan would begin by importing 10,000 barrels per day and would eventually increase the amount to cover the required 100,000. Before the war started in 2003, Iraq covered all of Jordan's oil needs, delivering a portion for free and the rest at about one-third the world market price.
When the supply was halted at the outset of the war, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates stepped in for a year to provide the cash-strapped kingdom with oil at prices believed to have been below market levels. Saudi Arabia now provides Jordan with funding to help the country pay for its oil need.
Labels: Iraq, Jordan, Khaled al-Shraydeh, oil
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Jordan won't hand over Saddam's daughter to Iraq
Region
(AP) -- Jordan indicated Monday it is not ready to surrender Saddam Hussein's eldest daughter to Iraq, despite a new push from authorities in Baghdad for her to face charges of funneling money to Sunni insurgents. A visiting Iraqi delegation last week handed Jordanian authorities a list of wanted fugitives, including Raghad Saddam Hussein, the independent newspaper Al Arab Al Yawm reported Monday. Interpol has posted a "red notice" on its Web site, advising that Saddam's daughter is wanted by the Iraqi government for "crimes against life and health" and for inciting terrorism.
Jordanian government spokesman Nasser Judeh said Monday that Jordan was "not dealing with that situation right now. We will deal with this issue when it happens, but it isn't on the agenda," he said. "It's only a warning from Interpol and not an arrest warrant." Red notices from Interpol are not international arrest warrants, but are intended to advise police forces that an individual is sought by a member government, according to Interpol's Web site.
The issue of what to do with Saddam's daughters is complicated by Sunni Arab hostility, including in Jordan, toward the Shiite-dominated government of Iraq. An estimated 750,000 Iraqis, many of them Sunnis, have fled to Jordan to escape the chaos back home. Raghad, 38, and her sister, Rana, were granted refuge in Jordan by King Abdullah II after their father's regime collapsed in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Since then, the Jordanian government has turned down repeated requests by Iraq to hand over Raghad, insisting that to do so would violate Arab traditions of hospitality."We have always said that she is here on purely humanitarian grounds," Judeh told reporters. "It was agreed with her that she would never practice any political or media activities." Last year, Iraqi authorities included Raghad on a list of most wanted fugitives accused of supporting Sunni insurgents. Many of those on the list are believed to be in Jordan.
According to Al Arab Al Yawm, the Iraqis also asked for other Iraqi Sunnis, including Raghad's cousins, Ahmed Watban and Mohammed Sabawi; Harith al-Dhari, a hard-line cleric believed linked to Sunni insurgents; and Ziad Aziz, son of Saddam's deputy, Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, who is now in U.S. custody. Iraqi authorities have not released detailed information to support the allegations against Raghad or the others.
In the absence of such public evidence, Jordan is unlikely to risk a Sunni backlash by handing over Sunnis to Iraq. "If Raghad Saddam Hussein was responsible for all that is happening in Iraq with the chaos, massacres, car bombs, al-Qaida, the Mahdi Army ... then the Americans shouldn't be in dialogue with the Iranians, but with her," a former information minister, Saleh Qallab, wrote Monday in the pro-government daily Al Rai.
"It's about time that Iraq, instead of creating the 'Interpol hurricane,' proves its courage and says loudly and clearly that the one responsible for all that is happening in Iraq is Iran," he said. Raghad has been known to speak publicly in support of the anti-American insurgency in Iraq - most recently in Yemen in February, when she joined hundreds of Baath party supporters commemorating the 40-day period since Saddam's death.
At the gathering, Raghad - who supervised Saddam's defense before his conviction and subsequent hanging - said that "as long as the resistance and the mujahedeen are fulfilling their duties in Iraq, the Iraqi people, without any doubt, will achieve victory."
Jordanian government spokesman Nasser Judeh said Monday that Jordan was "not dealing with that situation right now. We will deal with this issue when it happens, but it isn't on the agenda," he said. "It's only a warning from Interpol and not an arrest warrant." Red notices from Interpol are not international arrest warrants, but are intended to advise police forces that an individual is sought by a member government, according to Interpol's Web site.
The issue of what to do with Saddam's daughters is complicated by Sunni Arab hostility, including in Jordan, toward the Shiite-dominated government of Iraq. An estimated 750,000 Iraqis, many of them Sunnis, have fled to Jordan to escape the chaos back home. Raghad, 38, and her sister, Rana, were granted refuge in Jordan by King Abdullah II after their father's regime collapsed in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Since then, the Jordanian government has turned down repeated requests by Iraq to hand over Raghad, insisting that to do so would violate Arab traditions of hospitality."We have always said that she is here on purely humanitarian grounds," Judeh told reporters. "It was agreed with her that she would never practice any political or media activities." Last year, Iraqi authorities included Raghad on a list of most wanted fugitives accused of supporting Sunni insurgents. Many of those on the list are believed to be in Jordan.
According to Al Arab Al Yawm, the Iraqis also asked for other Iraqi Sunnis, including Raghad's cousins, Ahmed Watban and Mohammed Sabawi; Harith al-Dhari, a hard-line cleric believed linked to Sunni insurgents; and Ziad Aziz, son of Saddam's deputy, Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, who is now in U.S. custody. Iraqi authorities have not released detailed information to support the allegations against Raghad or the others.
In the absence of such public evidence, Jordan is unlikely to risk a Sunni backlash by handing over Sunnis to Iraq. "If Raghad Saddam Hussein was responsible for all that is happening in Iraq with the chaos, massacres, car bombs, al-Qaida, the Mahdi Army ... then the Americans shouldn't be in dialogue with the Iranians, but with her," a former information minister, Saleh Qallab, wrote Monday in the pro-government daily Al Rai.
"It's about time that Iraq, instead of creating the 'Interpol hurricane,' proves its courage and says loudly and clearly that the one responsible for all that is happening in Iraq is Iran," he said. Raghad has been known to speak publicly in support of the anti-American insurgency in Iraq - most recently in Yemen in February, when she joined hundreds of Baath party supporters commemorating the 40-day period since Saddam's death.
At the gathering, Raghad - who supervised Saddam's defense before his conviction and subsequent hanging - said that "as long as the resistance and the mujahedeen are fulfilling their duties in Iraq, the Iraqi people, without any doubt, will achieve victory."
Labels: Jordan, Raghad Saddam Hussein, Saddam Hussein, Sunni insurgents
Friday, August 17, 2007
Al Rubaie Gives Jordanians Option Of Kirkuk’s Or Basrah’s Oil
Regional
(Al Mowaten Newspaper) - 16 AUG - Yesterday, National Security Advisor, Dr. Muwaffaq Al Rubaie, held a press conference in Amman to explain the results of his visit to Jordan. At the beginning of the conference, Al Rubaie confirmed that his visit was serious and frank. He added that he discussed the reasons behind the violence and said, “The violence in Iraq is because regional interests [conflicts] are being dealt with in Iraq. There is no sectarian war in Iraq but it is a war between extremists of all sects. Both countries have agreed that they are in one boat to fight Al Qaida, extremists and sectarianism. The threats to Iraq’s national security are threats to Jordan’s national security as well. Jordan supports Iraq’s political process and [Al Maliki’s] government.”
Regarding Iraq’s delay in implementing the agreement that was approved during the Jordanian PM’s visit to Iraq a year ago concerning providing Jordan with 50,000 barrels of oil a day at special prices, Al Rubaie said, “The security situation is the reason for delaying this agreement and the oil pipe line to Jordan has been sabotaged. We have presented two options to the Jordanians. These are to receive oil from either Basrah’s or Kirkuk’s oil fields. Basrah’s oil contains ingredients that are not compatible with Jordan’s refineries. We have been promised by the Jordanians that they will respond to us after studying the two options.” Al Rubaie concluded his statement saying, “The brothers in Jordan offered to support us and have promised that they will offer as much as they can to the Iraqis who are living in Jordan.”
Regarding Iraq’s delay in implementing the agreement that was approved during the Jordanian PM’s visit to Iraq a year ago concerning providing Jordan with 50,000 barrels of oil a day at special prices, Al Rubaie said, “The security situation is the reason for delaying this agreement and the oil pipe line to Jordan has been sabotaged. We have presented two options to the Jordanians. These are to receive oil from either Basrah’s or Kirkuk’s oil fields. Basrah’s oil contains ingredients that are not compatible with Jordan’s refineries. We have been promised by the Jordanians that they will respond to us after studying the two options.” Al Rubaie concluded his statement saying, “The brothers in Jordan offered to support us and have promised that they will offer as much as they can to the Iraqis who are living in Jordan.”
Labels: Basrah, Jordan, Kirkuk, Muwaffaq al-Rubay'i, oil, oilfields
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
International meeting on Iraq's security in Syria
Regional
(Reuters) -- Syria will host an international security meeting on Iraq on Wednesday although the United States doubts Damascus is willing to play a role in stopping violence in its eastern neighbour. The two-day meeting will be held in a government complex on the outskirts of Damascus. Officials from Iraq, the United States, Britain, Iran, Turkey and Jordan will attend, a Syrian official said.
'Washington is making a gesture towards Syria by attending the meeting in Damascus,' a Syrian official told Reuters. U.S. officials held security talks in Baghdad this week with Syria's ally Iran. After a visit to Damascus last month by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Syria said explicitly for the first time it supports the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad.
One delegate said the meeting would focus on ways to control the 360-km (225 mile) border between Syria and Iraq and dismantling alleged Iraqi Baathist networks in Syria. 'With all the talk of Syria as a transit route for rebels, it makes sense to hold the meeting here. This is a chance for Damascus to show it can cooperate and talk with U.S. officials. The two sides rarely meet,' the delegate said.
'A mechanism should also emerge for the Iraqis and Syrians to cooperate regularly on controlling the border,' he said. Washington says Syria is allowing fighters and weapons into Iraq. Damascus denies this and says ending instability in Iraq and achieving an 'honourable withdrawal' for U.S. forces is in its national interest.
A diplomat in the Syrian capital said Damascus had kept its policy on Iraq vague in the absence of a U.S. promise to give Syria something in return for its cooperation, such as an easing of American sanctions that were imposed on Syria in 2004, or pressure on Israel to withdraw from the Syrian Golan Heights. 'So far Syria has been playing both hands. It puts out the right statements but does not move substantially on the ground,' the diplomat said.
Syria fiercely opposed the American-led invasion of 2003 that removed Saddam Hussein from power and brought sectarian tensions to the surface. It has since hosted an estimated 1.4 million Iraqi refugees who have fled Iraq. It also hosts a large number of former operatives from Saddam's security forces whom the U.S.-backed Iraqi government accuses of having links with the rebels.
The Damascus meeting is a follow-up to a conference in Egypt in May in which senior U.S. and Syrian officials met each other for the first time in two years. Another follow-up meeting in Amman dealt with the refugee problem.
Although the Damascus meeting will focus on Iraq's security concerns, Turkey is expected to raise the issue of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebel separatists who use Iraqi Kurdistan as a base. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki visited Turkey on Tuesday for talks on dealing with the PKK.
'Washington is making a gesture towards Syria by attending the meeting in Damascus,' a Syrian official told Reuters. U.S. officials held security talks in Baghdad this week with Syria's ally Iran. After a visit to Damascus last month by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Syria said explicitly for the first time it supports the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad.
One delegate said the meeting would focus on ways to control the 360-km (225 mile) border between Syria and Iraq and dismantling alleged Iraqi Baathist networks in Syria. 'With all the talk of Syria as a transit route for rebels, it makes sense to hold the meeting here. This is a chance for Damascus to show it can cooperate and talk with U.S. officials. The two sides rarely meet,' the delegate said.
'A mechanism should also emerge for the Iraqis and Syrians to cooperate regularly on controlling the border,' he said. Washington says Syria is allowing fighters and weapons into Iraq. Damascus denies this and says ending instability in Iraq and achieving an 'honourable withdrawal' for U.S. forces is in its national interest.
A diplomat in the Syrian capital said Damascus had kept its policy on Iraq vague in the absence of a U.S. promise to give Syria something in return for its cooperation, such as an easing of American sanctions that were imposed on Syria in 2004, or pressure on Israel to withdraw from the Syrian Golan Heights. 'So far Syria has been playing both hands. It puts out the right statements but does not move substantially on the ground,' the diplomat said.
Syria fiercely opposed the American-led invasion of 2003 that removed Saddam Hussein from power and brought sectarian tensions to the surface. It has since hosted an estimated 1.4 million Iraqi refugees who have fled Iraq. It also hosts a large number of former operatives from Saddam's security forces whom the U.S.-backed Iraqi government accuses of having links with the rebels.
The Damascus meeting is a follow-up to a conference in Egypt in May in which senior U.S. and Syrian officials met each other for the first time in two years. Another follow-up meeting in Amman dealt with the refugee problem.
Although the Damascus meeting will focus on Iraq's security concerns, Turkey is expected to raise the issue of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebel separatists who use Iraqi Kurdistan as a base. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki visited Turkey on Tuesday for talks on dealing with the PKK.
Labels: Baathists, border security, Britian, Golan Heights, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, PKK, security meeting, Syria, Turkey, U.S.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Iraqi refugee crisis - how to help
Humanitarian
Iraqi refugee crisis - how to help:
Iraqi refugee crisis - how to help:
According to The UN High Commissioner on Refugees, in terms of raw numbers, the nearly two-and-a-half million Iraqi refugees displaced because of the war is a bigger crisis than Darfur. It’s also the largest mass migration in the Middles east since the exodus of Palestinians from Israel in 1948. The vast majority of Iraqi refugees have fled to Syria and Jordan, further straining already overstretched infrastructures in two of the region's poorer countries.
The result is inflated housing costs, scarce water resources and crowded public health facilities and schools. Well over a million Iraqis are internally displaced. According to The UN High Commission for Refugees estimates that as many as a third of externally displaced refugees now outside Iraq is Christian. [And it really matters not what religion they may follow. They are in need of help. Call or write your congress person today and tell them to support the Responsibility to Iraqi Refugees Act. Or make a contribution to the International Rescue Committee or Direct Relief International or American Friends Service Committee or International Committee of the Red Cross/Crescent
Very few organizations are working on getting aid to Iraqi refugees, and of those that are, many are too small or too beleaguered to accept individual donations; the Iraqi Red Crescent, for example, has suffered bombings and mass kidnappings, yet its volunteers continue to deliver aid to displaced families inside Iraq. One of the larger relief organizations working with the refugees is the Catholic group Caritas. Caritas helps a few thousand families a year, but "the demand far outstrips the money available to us," says Magy Mahrous, who oversees the project.
You can make a contribution at: International Catholic Migration Commission, Citibank USA, 153 East 53rd Street, 16th floor, New York, NY 10043. To ensure that the money reaches the Iraqi program, write "Iraq-icmc" on your check.
You can make a contribution at: International Catholic Migration Commission, Citibank USA, 153 East 53rd Street, 16th floor, New York, NY 10043. To ensure that the money reaches the Iraqi program, write "Iraq-icmc" on your check.
Labels: Caritas Iraq, Direct Relief International, IDPs, International Committee of the Red Cross, International Rescue Committee, Iraqi Red Crescent Society, Iraqi refugees, Jordan, Syria, UNHCR
Friday, July 27, 2007
Jordan appeals for help with Iraqi refugee influx
Humanitarian
(RFE/RL) - Jordan has appealed for international help to deal with hundreds of thousands of Iraqis it is hosting on its soil. Mukheimar Abu-Jamous, the secretary-general of Jordan's Interior Ministry, told an international conference in Amman today that the influx of some 750,000 Iraqis into Jordan costs $1 billion a year in basic services, and heightens security concerns in the kingdom.
The conference on the Iraqi refugee crisis brings together officials from Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and Iran, as well as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hajj al-Hmud urged countries hosting refugees not to mistreat those arriving at their borders and to avoid their forcible return until stability returns to Iraq.
The United Nations says some 2 million Iraqis have fled Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion, and estimates that around 50,000 people continue to flee every month, mostly to neighboring Jordan and Syria, which are struggling to cope with the influx of refugees. Rights group Amnesty International said that without urgent action, the influx of Iraqis threatens a humanitarian crisis that could engulf the region.
The conference on the Iraqi refugee crisis brings together officials from Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and Iran, as well as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hajj al-Hmud urged countries hosting refugees not to mistreat those arriving at their borders and to avoid their forcible return until stability returns to Iraq.
The United Nations says some 2 million Iraqis have fled Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion, and estimates that around 50,000 people continue to flee every month, mostly to neighboring Jordan and Syria, which are struggling to cope with the influx of refugees. Rights group Amnesty International said that without urgent action, the influx of Iraqis threatens a humanitarian crisis that could engulf the region.
Labels: Amnesty International, Iraqi refugees, Jordan, Mohammed al-Hajj al-Hmud, Mukheimar Abu-Jamous, UNHCR
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Jordan to host conference on Iraqi refugees
Humanitarian
(AFP) - Jordan has invited officials from Iraq, Syria, and Egypt to a conference next week on ways to help these states cope with hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees, the foreign ministry said Thursday. United Nations officials will attend, with Turkey, Iran, Russia and Japan also taking part in the July 26 meeting as "observers," the ministry said in a statement carried by state-run Petra news agency.
"The conference will discuss ways of helping these states cope with burdens caused by Iraqi refugees," it said.On July 12 the UN refugee agency UNHCR said it had more than doubled its annual appeal for funding to help millions of uprooted Iraqis to 123 million dollars, to boost medical care, shelter and other support.
It urged the international community to "put its money where its mouth is" after Syria and Jordan were left with little in the way of direct bilateral aid to cope with some two million Iraqi refugees fleeing widespread violence. The UNHCR has warned that Syria and Jordan's healthcare, education systems and housing are under severe strain due to the continued influx of Iraqis.
Jordan said in May that hosting Iraqi refugees is costing the desert kingdom around one billion dollars a year, and it has commissioned a survey to determine the exact number of Iraqis on its territory. Syria hosts some 1.4 million Iraqis and Jordan about 750,000, including people who had fled before the 2003 US-led invasion, according to the UNHCR.
UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner L. Craig Johnstone commended both Jordan and Syria for taking in so many refugees, during a visit to both countries to meet officials and check on humanitarian services provided to Iraqis, the UN agency said in a statement.
"Registration is the only way that we can effectively identify those refugees that need our help," Johnstone said, adding that the UNHCR has already registered more than 150,000 Iraqis in the region. Johnstone said Jordan and Syria are "both to be commended for their extraordinary generosity toward those fleeing Iraq" and stressed that "the needs are enormous and these governments should not have to cope alone."
"The conference will discuss ways of helping these states cope with burdens caused by Iraqi refugees," it said.On July 12 the UN refugee agency UNHCR said it had more than doubled its annual appeal for funding to help millions of uprooted Iraqis to 123 million dollars, to boost medical care, shelter and other support.
It urged the international community to "put its money where its mouth is" after Syria and Jordan were left with little in the way of direct bilateral aid to cope with some two million Iraqi refugees fleeing widespread violence. The UNHCR has warned that Syria and Jordan's healthcare, education systems and housing are under severe strain due to the continued influx of Iraqis.
Jordan said in May that hosting Iraqi refugees is costing the desert kingdom around one billion dollars a year, and it has commissioned a survey to determine the exact number of Iraqis on its territory. Syria hosts some 1.4 million Iraqis and Jordan about 750,000, including people who had fled before the 2003 US-led invasion, according to the UNHCR.
UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner L. Craig Johnstone commended both Jordan and Syria for taking in so many refugees, during a visit to both countries to meet officials and check on humanitarian services provided to Iraqis, the UN agency said in a statement.
"Registration is the only way that we can effectively identify those refugees that need our help," Johnstone said, adding that the UNHCR has already registered more than 150,000 Iraqis in the region. Johnstone said Jordan and Syria are "both to be commended for their extraordinary generosity toward those fleeing Iraq" and stressed that "the needs are enormous and these governments should not have to cope alone."
Labels: Craig Johnstone, Egypt, Iraqi refugees, Jordan, Syria, UNHCR
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
U.N. on offensive against Iraq "mercenaries" recruited in Chile
Security
(IPS) - Mercenary recruitment agencies that send former soldiers to Iraq have been accused in Chile of human right abuses, illegal association, possession of explosives and unauthorised use of army weaponry, and are the target of a special United Nations mission.
The UN Working Group (UNWG) on the "use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination", established in July 2005 by the then UN Commission on Human Rights, conducted a fact-finding mission about the recruitment firms in Chile this week, and then planned to head to Montevideo.
Senator Alejandro Navarro, of the governing coalition Socialist Party, is the prime mover behind the visit by the delegation, which arrived in Santiago on Monday. He stated that these firms declare legal residence in Uruguay, and that contracts are signed in international airspace while the mercenaries are being flown to the Middle East. A Jordanian city has also been named as a venue where contracts are signed.
Some of these contracts designate the Conciliation and Arbitration Centre of Panama (CeCAP), linked to Panama's Chamber of Commerce, as the arbiter in case of any dispute, said Navarro, who had negotiated for two years for the UNWG to visit Chile. Navarro said that U.S. private security companies such as Blackwater and Triple Canopy, who recruit guards at the request of the U.S. government to send into armed conflict zones to protect strategic installations, tend to subcontract to South American firms like Red Táctica Consulting Group.
The owner of the Washington-based Red Táctica is José Miguel Pizarro, a retired general of the Chilean army who lives in the U.S. He is also known as a commentator on Iraq security issues for the U.S. news service CNN.
According to Navarro's estimates, close to 1,200 former members of the Chilean military, mostly retired and with an average age of 40, have gone to Iraq since 2004. They were recruited by private companies who operate in several different countries in order to evade future responsibilities, he said. Sources in Santiago estimate that there are currently 500 Chilean mercenaries there, while Navarro says there are 1,000.
So far, no Chileans have been reported killed in Iraq, but some of them have complained of irregularities and abuse. Daniel Maturana, a 28-year-old former Chilean army soldier, told the UNWG his story Tuesday, which had been broadcast by the media two years ago after Navarro reported it. Maturana said he was contacted in 2005 by Global Guard, another company owned by Pizarro, to work as a guard in a "secure installation" in Iraq, such as an embassy or an airport. He was offered the attractive salary of 2,800 dollars a month for six months, plus 250 dollars for travelling expenses and paid holidays.
Maturana accepted and boarded a private charter plane to the Middle East, along with one of his brothers, also an ex-soldier, and 160 other Chilean mercenaries. He signed the contract on board the flight, but to his surprise the pay stipulated was only 1,000 dollars a month. "Pizarro told us: 'If you don't like it, get off the plane,'" Maturana told IPS. After a 30-hour journey, during which they ate only bread and water, they arrived in Jordan, where the group was divided up. Maturana and his brother were sent to guard a U.S.-British diplomatic mission in a location near Baghdad, where they carried war weapons: an AK-47 assault rifle and five spare magazines containing 30 rounds each.
Although he said he was treated well by Triple Canopy, the firm that subcontracted Global Guard's services, Maturana was indignant when he found out how much profit Pizarro was making. The U.S. firm paid Pizarro between 8,000 and 15,000 dollars a month for each mercenary, more than 10 times what they were getting. "He pocketed about 10,000 dollars for every one of us," he said.
The former soldier says that Triple Canopy offered him a job with them at 15,000 dollars a month, because of his professionalism. But Pizarro did not like this move at all, and physically assaulted the two brothers, kidnapping them for six days, after which they were rescued by Fijian guards. They returned to Chile without having been paid any of their wages. Another of their brothers, who had travelled to Iraq later on, also had difficulty in leaving the country. Maturana said Pizarro's firm was "a mafia", but he defended the work he did in Iraq. "I think it's degrading to say that former members of the Chilean military are mercenaries, because that isn't the case. I wasn't a mercenary or a hired killer, I didn't kill Iraqis, I just protected buildings and people," he said.
On the occasion of the UNWG visit, Senator Navarro met with Defence Minister José Goñi, who told him that the Chilean government has every intention of signing and ratifying the 1989 Convention. "Now it's in the hands of the Foreign Office, which hasn't so far regarded it as a priority," Navarro said. The results of the experts' investigations will be presented to the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly in September.
Labels: Alejandro Navarro, Blackwater Security Consulting, Chile, Daniel Maturana, Global Guard, human rights abuse, Jordan, Red Táctica Consulting Group, Triple Canopy, UNWG, Uruguay
Friday, July 13, 2007
UNHCR doubles funding appeal for Iraq as 2,000 flee each day
Humanitarian
(Reuters) - The United Nations refugee agency on Thursday doubled its funding appeal for Iraq this year to $123 million, saying humanitarian needs continued to mushroom as an estimated 2,000 people flee violence each day. Most of the revised appeal, up from $60 million in January, will be used to provide shelter, food, health care, education and other emergency services to Iraqis who cross into neighbouring countries.
Syria and Jordan are already struggling to host 2 million Iraqis who fled before and since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, while another 2 million people are uprooted within Iraq, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). "Massive displacement of Iraqis externally and internally continues unabated, causing a great deal of suffering and uncertainty," Radhouane Nouicer, director of UNHCR's Middle East and North Africa bureau, told a news briefing.
The agency had received $67 million towards its initial appeal, including $17 million from the United States, and was seeking more from both new and traditional donors. "At least one Iraqi in seven is displaced and UNHCR estimates the number of those newly displaced at 2,000 per day," the UNHCR said in an appeal document sent to donors. "Thousands of Iraqis approaching UNHCR are the victims of torture, sexual and gender-based violence, car bombings, or other violent attacks and are in urgent need of medical care.
"Many Iraqi children had been out of school for two to three years, raising the prospect of "potential emergence of a generation of uneducated Iraqi youth", the UNHCR warned. As part of its protection strategy, the UNHCR has set a target of resettling 20,000 of the most vulnerable Iraqi refugees to third countries this year.
Labels: IDPs, Iraqi refugees, Jordan, Radhouane Nouicer, Syria, UNHCR
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Jordan to hold conference on Iraqi refugees in July
Humanitarian
(RFE/RL) - A Jordanian Foreign Ministry official said on June 26 that the Hashemite kingdom will host a conference of countries sheltering Iraqi refugees sometime in July, AFP reported. "Regional countries, mainly Jordan, Syria, and Iraq, as well as the United Nations, will take part in the conference that will discuss ways of helping these states cope with burdens caused by Iraqi refugees," the unidentified official said.
The decision on holding the conference was made during a meeting between Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdallah Khatib and his Iraqi counterpart, Hoshyar Zebari, in Amman on June 26. Jordan has repeatedly warned the international community that the influx of Iraqi refugees has created a huge strain on its economy. The Jordanian Interior Ministry says the approximately 750,000 Iraqi refugees are costing Jordan an estimated $1 billion a year.
Labels: Abdallah Khatib, conference, Hoshiyar Zebari, Iraqi refugees, Jordan, Syria, U.N.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Iraq, Jordan discuss setting up free trade zone
Regional
(MENAFN) - A spokesperson for the Jordanian Ministry of Trade and Industry stated that the minister along with his Iraqi counterpart have initiated discussions for the set up of a free trade zone amid the two states.
He went on to say that the action was part of the aim to increase bilateral and economic support between the two countries and that Jordan plans to make special economic ties in all aspects with Iraq. It is noteworthy that an Iraqi technical team will visit Jordan in the near future to straighten out all impediments that hinder the bilateral relations between the two countries.
He went on to say that the action was part of the aim to increase bilateral and economic support between the two countries and that Jordan plans to make special economic ties in all aspects with Iraq. It is noteworthy that an Iraqi technical team will visit Jordan in the near future to straighten out all impediments that hinder the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Labels: free trade zone, Iraq, Jordan
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Jordan Agrees To Allow Iraqi Passport Type “S” Until End Of Year
Region
(Azzaman Newspaper) - 30 MAY - The Iraqi Ambassador in Amman, Saad Jassim Al Hayaini, said that the Jordanian government has informed him of their decision to continue accepting the Iraqi passport type “S” until the end of the year instead of the 30th of this month. Al Hayaini added that the Jordanian decision came after an Iraqi request because of the difficulties in distributing the new type “G” passport. The minister in Amman has received only 200 passports daily; they complete the information and send it to Baghdad.
Jordan announced previously that it would not accept the old type “S” passport because they believe that it is easy to forge and the current number of Iraqis with the type “S” passport in Amman is 750,000. An Iraqi Parliament delegation visited Jordan two weeks ago and met with Jordanian officials including the Minister of Interior, intelligence officers, Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education to find help for the Iraqis that are suffering there. On the other side, the Ministry of Interior stopped the special procedures for changing names and family names for one year.
Labels: Jordan, Saad Jassim Al Hayaini, Type G Passports, Type S passports
Friday, May 25, 2007
UNICEF needs $42 mn. to help Iraqi children
Humanitarian
(UNICEF) - Conditions for Iraqi children affected by violence and displacement have reached a critical point, UNICEF has said. The children’s organization requires $42 million to provide relief over the next six months for children inside Iraq, as well as those who fled with their families to neighbouring Jordan and Syria.
“Humanitarian aid offers a lifeline to Iraq’s children and stepping up support now is the best way to protect and invest in Iraq’s future,” said Daniel Toole, Acting Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF and Chief of Emergency Operations. “Plans are in place to reach Iraq’s most vulnerable children with basic health, water, sanitation and education support – particularly displaced children living in host communities, as well as children living in Iraq’s most violent districts.”
UNICEF will also help the Jordanian and Syrian governments in providing quality social services for the growing population of Iraqi children. Initial priorities in these countries include ensuring that Iraqi children have full access to the classroom, health care and protection from exploitation.
“Humanitarian aid offers a lifeline to Iraq’s children and stepping up support now is the best way to protect and invest in Iraq’s future,” said Daniel Toole, Acting Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF and Chief of Emergency Operations. “Plans are in place to reach Iraq’s most vulnerable children with basic health, water, sanitation and education support – particularly displaced children living in host communities, as well as children living in Iraq’s most violent districts.”
UNICEF will also help the Jordanian and Syrian governments in providing quality social services for the growing population of Iraqi children. Initial priorities in these countries include ensuring that Iraqi children have full access to the classroom, health care and protection from exploitation.
“Iraq’s drain of care-givers is creating major gaps in children’s daily lives, an issue often overlooked amid the violence,” said Roger Wright, UNICEF Special Representative for Iraq. “We need to fill these gaps to address the most debilitating effects of the insecurity. Conditions for too many Iraqi children are deteriorating,” he added.
Last week Iraq reported its first suspected cholera cases of the year (all of them children), increasing fears of a serious outbreak over the summer months. The deterioration of Iraq’s water and sanitation systems means only an estimated 30 per cent of children have access to safe water. Health services are becoming increasingly hard to access. And with many schools hit hard by insecurity and overcrowding, too few children are completing this school year with a quality education.
Last week Iraq reported its first suspected cholera cases of the year (all of them children), increasing fears of a serious outbreak over the summer months. The deterioration of Iraq’s water and sanitation systems means only an estimated 30 per cent of children have access to safe water. Health services are becoming increasingly hard to access. And with many schools hit hard by insecurity and overcrowding, too few children are completing this school year with a quality education.
View full report: IMMEDIATE NEEDS FOR IRAQI CHILDREN IN IRAQ AND NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES
Labels: cholera, clean water, Daniel Toole, Iraqi children, Jordan, Roger Wright, Syria, UNICEF
Friday, May 18, 2007
Iraq asks Jordan to allow nationals to stay until year's end
Government
(RFE/RL) - The Iraqi government has reportedly asked Jordan to allow its nationals holding S-series passports to remain inside the kingdom until year-end, Amman's "Al-Dustur" reported on May 16. Jordan said earlier this year it will no longer allow Iraqis carrying outdated passports to remain in the country. However, the Iraqi government has been slow to issue new G-series passports. Iraq's ambassador to Jordan, Sa'd Jasim al-Hayyani, said that 7,000 applications received at the embassy to date and 3,000 passports have been issued. Al-Hayyani said Iraqi officials first requested an extension until September 30, and then until the end of the year. Neither request has been answered by Jordan.
Labels: Iraqi government, Jordan, Sa'd Jasim al-Hayyani, series G passports, series S passports
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Jordan to receive Iraqi oil at preferential prices
Oil
(Iraq Directory) - Iraqi Minister of Planning, Ali Baban, said that the oil agreement between Iraq and Jordan provides for the latter to provide oil at preferential prices, up to $18 per discount on the worldwide price of oil.
He added, during his presence in the fourth international exhibition for the reconstruction of Iraq held in Amman, that the problem is in the unstable security situation on the road between Beiji and the Iraqi border, which impede the implementation of the agreement signed in Baghdad, when the Jordanian Prime Minister, Maaroof Al-Bikheet visited it last year, and not in the relations between Iraq and Jordan. He stressed the needed of the two countries for pipeline between them, but such a pipeline has not been built despite the need for it.
He pointed out that after this period, the Jordanian government found the road unsafe for the transport of oil from Iraq, and we are still ready to implement this project if not for the security dilemmas that accompany the transport process. He said that there is a complex security situation, but this does not prevent us from the construction process.
(Iraq Directory) - Iraqi Minister of Planning, Ali Baban, said that the oil agreement between Iraq and Jordan provides for the latter to provide oil at preferential prices, up to $18 per discount on the worldwide price of oil.
He added, during his presence in the fourth international exhibition for the reconstruction of Iraq held in Amman, that the problem is in the unstable security situation on the road between Beiji and the Iraqi border, which impede the implementation of the agreement signed in Baghdad, when the Jordanian Prime Minister, Maaroof Al-Bikheet visited it last year, and not in the relations between Iraq and Jordan. He stressed the needed of the two countries for pipeline between them, but such a pipeline has not been built despite the need for it.
He pointed out that after this period, the Jordanian government found the road unsafe for the transport of oil from Iraq, and we are still ready to implement this project if not for the security dilemmas that accompany the transport process. He said that there is a complex security situation, but this does not prevent us from the construction process.
Labels: Beiji, Jordan, oil, Planning Minister Ali Baban
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
$300 bn. needed for Iraq reconstruction
Reconstruction
(Iraq Directory) - An Iraqi lawmaker has urged foreign firms attending an international reconstruction fair in Jordan to help rebuild his battered country. "Iraq needs more than 300 billion dollars for reconstruction in all fields -- oil, economy, industry, agriculture, infrastructure," said Yunadem Kanna, a member of Iraq's parliamentary commission on the economy, investment and reconstruction.
"Iraq is a huge market that needs expertise and technology in order to take its seat among world countries," he said at the opening of the 4th Rebuild Iraq international trade fair which lasts through Thursday. "There are security problems but we have safe areas in the north and the south, and there is an investment law that gives foreign firms many benefits," he said.
More than 700 Arab companies and foreign firms from Iran, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and Saudi Arabia are at the fair. Observers believe Iraq has great potential because of its abundant oil and gas resources. Last week the leaders of more than 50 countries agreed at an international conference at Sharm al-Sheikh to fund Iraq's reconstruction if the embattled nation meets certain economic benchmarks.
Labels: International Rebuild Iraq Exhibition, Iraq reconstruction, Jordan, Yunadem Kanna
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Iraqi Type S passports to be recognised in Jordan till September
Travel
(Al Mada Newspaper) - 2 MAY - The Jordanian government decided to keep working with Iraqi Type S Passports until September. Saad Al Hayani, Iraqi Ambassador in Jordan, announced, “Last May, the Jordanian government decide to cancel officially recognizing the Iraqi Type S Passport in June [2007]. However, the Iraqi government submitted a request to the Jordanian government to allow for Iraqi Type S Passports to be recognized by Jordan until September.”
The Iraqi Ambassador added, “The number of Iraqis living in Jordan reached more than 700,000. We need an extension of time to issue the new Type G Passports. The procedure for issuing a new passport in Jordan for Iraqis takes about a month to process the paperwork through Baghdad before a new one is issued.” Al Hayani added, “All Iraqis need the new Type G Passport because all of them have types N, M, and S passports which can not be used since 2006. There are five types of passports used in Iraq. Two types were used during the former regime. Types N and S were used under Saddam and these passports contained his picture but no one has been able to use them since 2006.
Labels: Iraq, Jordan, Saad Al Hayani, series S passports, Type G Passports
Saturday, April 21, 2007
E.U. - no urgent need to accept more Iraqi refugees
Humanitarian
(AP) - European Union nations said Friday there was no urgent need to accept more Iraqi refugees, agreeing only to consider sending more humanitarian aid to Syria and Jordan to take in Iraqis. German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told reporters that EU justice and interior ministers did not consider the current refugee crisis urgent enough for Europe to open its doors to more asylum-seekers from Iraq.
"The situation is not such at the moment that we have to start emergency measures. At the moment, the problem is such that we should try to tackle it locally in the region," Schaeuble said. "The amount of money we can use to resettle them here could best be spent there because you can help ten times more refugees there."
However, EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini said he would set aside up to $9.5 million in special funds to help EU nations if they want to take in more Iraqis. EU officials also said that on top of $15.2 million already sent to Jordan, Syria and Iraq to help pay for housing, feeding and hosting fleeing Iraqis, they were readying an additional $13.6 million, which could be disbursed later this year.
The U.N. refugee agency and human rights groups have urged the EU to help ease the burden on Jordan and Syria and take in more Iraqis until the security situation in Iraq improves. About 50,000 people continue to flee Iraq every month, mostly to those two countries, according to the UNHCR.
"The situation is not such at the moment that we have to start emergency measures. At the moment, the problem is such that we should try to tackle it locally in the region," Schaeuble said. "The amount of money we can use to resettle them here could best be spent there because you can help ten times more refugees there."
However, EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini said he would set aside up to $9.5 million in special funds to help EU nations if they want to take in more Iraqis. EU officials also said that on top of $15.2 million already sent to Jordan, Syria and Iraq to help pay for housing, feeding and hosting fleeing Iraqis, they were readying an additional $13.6 million, which could be disbursed later this year.
The U.N. refugee agency and human rights groups have urged the EU to help ease the burden on Jordan and Syria and take in more Iraqis until the security situation in Iraq improves. About 50,000 people continue to flee Iraq every month, mostly to those two countries, according to the UNHCR.
Labels: E.U., Franco Frattini, humanitarian aid, Iraqi refugees, Jordan, Syria, UNHCR, Wolfgang Schaeuble
