• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

No UK plans to suspend forced deportation of Iraqis

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, June 23, IRNA -- The British government is to continue its controversial policy of deporting failed Iraqi asylum seekers despite facing criticism from the UNHCR, human rights organizations and refugee agencies.

“There are no plans to suspend enforced returns to Iraq, but we will continue to monitor the situation,” said Foreign Office Minister Lord Howell.

“We believe that we should continue with both voluntary and enforced returns of those for whom no further protection is needed here,” Howell said.

Over 40 Iraqis were sent back to Baghdad on a charter flight last week in the latest deportations, but 36 were reported to have been detained upon arrival, while many claimed they were beaten by UK Border Agency (UKBA) personnel.

Answering questions in parliament on Tuesday, Howell said that the British government had been informed by the Iraqi authorities that of the returnees,30 have been released and the remaining 12 are expected to be freed soon.

The UKBA were also investigating allegations of violence being used, he said, but insisted there was “no evidence of mistreatment.” Senior officials were “on the flight and saw everything that happened,” he added.

With regard to protests from international refugee agencies, the minister said “the UNHCR is starting from a different viewpoint: it is looking at the overall return of Iraqis from all over Europe, including from this country.”

“It is looking at some of the central regions of Iraq, which are extremely dangerous.
Most of our returnees go to Kurdistan where they are safe. Therefore, we are satisfied that it is safe for those who are here illegally, or are failed asylum seekers, or are convicted criminals, to be returned,” he told fellow peers.

The Foreign Office Minister accepted that the majority of those deported were Kurds and would have normally been sent back directly to Erbil and not Baghdad if it was not for the temporary suspension of flights, an issue which the UK was taking up.

“The deportees were going through Baghdad and then on to Erbil. That is why some of them were delayed. It appears that although they were given money, they said that they did not have the resources to pay for the further flight,” he said.

Last October, when 44 failed Iraqi asylum seekers were forcibly put on an abortive charter flight to Baghdad, all but 10 were sent back to London.