UN agency steps up efforts to aid 2 million uprooted Iraqis in neighbouring countries

With an estimated 2 million Iraqis now seeking shelter in nearby countries and another 1.9 million internally displaced, the United Nations refugee agency is sending a senior official for a week-long mission to the region to strengthen its protection and assistance programmes.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Director of International Protection George Okoth-Obbo will leave tomorrow on a visit to Syria, which shelters an estimated 1 million Iraqis, Jordan with an estimated 750,000 and Lebanon with an estimated 40,000.

“UNHCR is stepping up its work and its support for the uprooted as well as the host countries that have assumed such an enormous burden,” agency spokesman Ron Redmond told a news briefing in Geneva today.

“As our head of international protection, Okoth-Obbo’s mission will be focused on the ongoing effort to ensure that Iraqis fleeing their homeland receive international protection; that the required systems are in place, including efficient registration procedures and the ability to identify the most vulnerable; and that there are programmes for the provision of assistance and solutions, including resettlement of the most vulnerable,” he said.

Mr. Okoth-Obbo will meet with government officials, members of the UN country teams, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other partners. His mission comes in advance of the UNHCR-organized international conference on displacement in Iraq scheduled for 17-18 April in Geneva.

The Director of UNHCR’s Middle East and North Africa Division, Radhouane Nouicer, will also be in the region during the week.