|
|
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
IRAQ: Interview with spokesman for Ministry of Migration and Displacement
BAGHDAD, 1 April 2004 (IRIN) - Iraq's Ministry of Migration and Displacement opened its doors in January to try and deal with hundreds of thousands of returning refugees and almost a million internally displaced people (IDPs).
Funded by the US and the government of Portugal, the Baghdad-based ministry is based in a former secretarial building of ousted leader Saddam Hussein’s more than two-kilometre square Republican Guard palace, an area now strictly controlled by US troops called the “green zone”.
In an interview at the ministry, spokesman, Mohammed Safu al-Naimi told IRIN about how the newly-created ministry plans to work and deal with the estimated four million Iraqis expected to return this year to an oil-rich nation yet grappling with limited resources.
QUESTION: How many returnees have come back and where are they returning from?
ANSWER: Since the fall of the former Saddam Hussein regime, we basically have no border protection, so people can cross back into the country from anywhere. But according to our registration figures, 120,000 families have returned from Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
Q: Where does that figure come from?
A: This was confirmed by the Ministry of Trade, which is issuing ration cards for these people (families in Iraq still receive monthly food baskets under the formerly UN administered Oil-For-Food programme put in place to feed the population during international sanctions against the country.)
Our estimation is actually lower - 80,000. It’s related to the typical Iraqi family. If people are getting married in the family, they can apply for new ration cards for their new families. So we think the number of families that returned is lower than the number registered at the Ministry of Trade.
Q: How do you confirm that the people coming back from other countries really are from Iraq?
A: Usually they have their original documents or a national ID card. Or we can depend on documents supplied by neighbouring countries, or by the UN, especially if they have registered in Iran. The UN has helped the people who registered in Iran with food and money.
Q: Are you worried that people are returning illegally?
A: It’s a considerable number coming illegally, around 20,000 to 30,000 have come illegally from Syria and Iran. Concerning the people who were transferred out under Saddam Hussein’s rule, we can now issue a national certificate for them. What we are going to issue is a temporary national ID for them. Then there should be a decision by the (the US appointed interim) Iraq Governing Council (ICG) to delete Saddam’s previous decision to send people out of the country.
Q: Will the registration be used in any future voting registry, as Iraq is to hold a general election before December 2005 after an expected handover of sovereignty to Iraqis happens on 30 June.
A: I can’t give you an accurate answer about if these documents will be used to vote. The minister of the interior will make this decision. We are coordinating with him so far (Nouri Badran).
Q: It has been said by many in Iraq that people returning from Iran will change the political dynamics in the country to favour conservative Shi'ite leaders such as Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. What does your ministry think about this?
A: You know, those who come from Iran are not all religious. They form different political trends, which may not all be religious but could even be communist or patriotic. The majority is religious, but what you hear is political propaganda for the parties.
Q: What are your goals as a newly created ministry?
A: We’re interested in the following issues: 1) Immigrants, or anyone who was transferred by force away from Iraq; 2) Those who migrated for political or humanitarian reasons; 3) Those who left their southern provinces and went to the north and now want to come back. The most important thing is to find solutions for people who were transferred during the ex-regime.
Q: How will you reach your goals?
A: Our ministry just was approved in August, and we just started our work and organised the office in January. Our work is expanding now, but we don’t have much money. The countries that issued guarantees to help Iraq at the Madrid conference, if they give us the money they promised, we can do much better work. The minister gave a speech to ask for help, but there is no help so far.
Q: Since you’re new, how do you do your work?
A: We are getting money from the IGC and help from the US government, the Portugal government and the United Nations. The UN gave us $35,000 million for operations, but it is not enough and we need more assistance.
Q: Will you work with NGOs?
A: There is a decision issued by the IGC that all the NGOs who want to work in Iraq, should coordinate with our minister. About 80 NGOs came to our meeting to discuss this in Amman in January. The UN decided there should be two refugee headquarters, one in the north and one in the south of Iraq. So now we want to be more accurate with the NGOs. Our liaison officer will register them and give them formal validity.
Themes: (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Refugees/IDPs
[ENDS]
This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
