20 February 1998
UNHCR ASKS IRAQ'S NEIGHBORS TO OPEN BORDERS IF IRAQIS BEGIN TO FLEE
(Agency prepared to deploy emergency stocks on short notice) (560) By Wendy Lubetkin USIA European Correspondent Geneva -- The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has asked countries neighboring on Iraq to open their borders to any Iraqis who might flee in the wake of possible air strikes. UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski said the UN refugee agency has had a "mixed response" thus far from the region's governments, most of whom say they would prefer to assist any displaced people within the borders of Iraq. "We do not share that opinion," Janowski told a February 20 press briefing. "We think that if the people feel unsafe in Iraq, they should be allowed to cross the borders and flee to neighboring countries." Janowski spoke in response to a question about what preparations UNHCR was undertaking to cope with the humanitarian impact of possible American military action against Iraq. He said UNHCR has been "in touch" with the governments of countries bordering on Iraq. "We have asked them to keep their doors open to people who may be forced to flee Iraq. We have no idea what size a possible outflow would have." Janowski noted that during the Gulf War some 2 million people fled Iraq, although most of them returned shortly afterwards. But he pointed out that there was no breakdown in that figure between those who fled the air strikes and those who fled for other reasons, such as Saddam Hussein's internal campaign against the Kurds. "Nonetheless, the whole situation produced a very large movement of people." UNHCR's contingency planning is "not just paper work," Janowski said. "We are looking at our stocks in our warehouses. The problem that we have, of course, is that we don't know in what direction a possible exodus of people is going to go." The focus of UNHCR's preparations is in countries surrounding Iraq, Janowski said. "We still hope that the neighboring countries, once there is a movement of people, will allow these people in. If they don't, then it is a difficult situation. Last time, in 1991, they did let people in." Janowski said UNHCR will be in a position to deploy emergency stocks on a fairly short notice. "These stocks are not sophisticated. They are basically what you always give first to people who flee, like blankets and tents and so on." UNHCR has not yet seen any indication that people are packing up or preparing to flee Iraq, Janowski said, but he noted that with the low number of staff the agency has in the country, "we don't have a complete picture." UNHCR currently has ten staff in Iraq, five in the northern Kurd controlled area, and five in Baghdad. Following a security instruction from the UN to reduce staff in Iraq to essential personnel, UNHCR will reduce its Baghdad based staff by one. Separately, the World Health Organization said it is working on an emergency plan for Iraq. WHO spokesman Philippe Stroot said the plan focuses on providing aid under two possible scenarios; a massive exodus from Iraq to neighboring countries, and the accidental release or deliberate use of biological or chemical weapons. (For more information on this subject, contact our special Iraq website at: http://www.usia.gov/iraq)
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