Now that the international community is finally beginning to pay attention to the existence of an estimated 2 million Iraqi refugees in the Middle East, Iraq’s neighbors are closing off escape routes, leaving another 2 million internally displaced persons and untold numbers of other war-affected and persecuted Iraqis trapped and denied the fundamental right to seek asylum in other countries. As high-level government officials meet in Geneva today for the International Conference on Addressing the Humanitarian Needs of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons inside Iraq and in Neighboring Countries convened by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Iraq’s neighbors are refusing entry, imposing onerous new passport and visa requirements, and literally building fences to keep out further refugees. And the legal status and living conditions for those who have managed to escape the armed conflict in Iraq is becoming more precarious by the day.
