November 30, 2007

Church World Service continues to be deeply concerned for the more than two million Iraqis who have fled their country and the nearly 2.5 million who are internally displaced within Iraq due to persecution, violence, fear of death, and a near total breakdown of essential public services.

A large number of these people have served alongside U.S. troops as translators, drivers, cooks, doctors, mechanics, and in other valuable roles and are now targeted for helping U.S. efforts. Others, including many Iraqi Christians, also are fleeing persecution based on their religion, ethnicity, or profession.

The United States has an obligation to protect people who are fleeing the violence that continues to grip Iraq by ensuring adequate humanitarian assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons in Iraq and neighboring countries and by offering resettlement to those for whom it is the only safe option.

In FY 2007 (Oct. 1, 2006-Sept. 30, 2007), the U.S. Refugee Program admitted about 1,600 Iraqi refugees for permanent resettlement in the United States. The U.S. government has committed to resettle 12,000 Iraqis in the United States during FY 2008. Church World Service is pressing it to fulfill that commitment, and to increase humanitarian aid in the entire Middle Eastern region and to the United Nations in order to help Iraq's nearly 4.5 million displaced.

Church World Service is advocating for passage of the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act, currently in conference as an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill. The amendment would help Iraqi refugees by prioritizing vulnerable individuals, include Iraqis who are members of a religious or minority community and have close family members in the United States. Final Congressional action - by the joint conference of the House and Senate Armed Services committees - is expected in late December or early January.

Church World Service is urging its constituents to advocate with their Senators and Representatives for all these measures to protect displaced Iraqis.

As an organization with more than 60 years of experience in refugee resettlement and protection, Church World Service is helping to welcome Iraqi refugees to U.S. communities, and is engaged in several projects of assistance to displaced Iraqis, both inside Iraq and in neighboring countries.

See also: Refugees from the Middle East

Media Contact: Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676; lcrosson@churchworldservice.org Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526; jdragin@gis.net