From N.Falzon
I would like to refer to your article of 29 October titled “Irregular Migration: EU Directive removes Ministerial discretion for Humanitarian Protection.”
I read in that article the incorrect assertion that the Office of the Refugee Commissioner holds the position that the entire territory of Iraq is safe for returns.
Having regular contacts with the Office of the Refugee Commissioner and having discussed the issue at hand, I feel obliged to clarify this assertion as follows. The position of the Refugee Commissioner concerning Iraq reflects the complexity of the situation in that country and the difficulties in obtaining reliable information about developments there.
Iraq, as is the case with a number of countries, faces different levels of political and social instability in different parts of its territory, and serious security problems. Accordingly, the Office of the Refugee Commissioner has continued to seek information about various regions of Iraq from various sources, including UNHCR and the EU. On that basis, at a certain point in previous months it considered certain parts of Iraq as safe for certain Iraqi failed asylum seekers – that is for persons not in need of International Protection.
However, given the unstable situation in Iraq, the issue of what areas might be safe is one that has required and continues to require continual revision by the Office of the Refugee Commissioner, as it has also for UNHCR.
It should be added that, in any case, and as a matter of routine, the Office of the Refugee Commissioner examines each case on its own merits and with great meticulousness, in order to ensure that persons who deserve some form of International Protection get it.
I would appreciate it if you could publish this letter in the next edition of your newspaper, as I believe it could help your readers get a more accurate understanding of the position of the Office of the Refugee Commissioner regarding Iraq and of its methods of work than was given in the above-mentioned article.
Dr Neil Falzon
Senior Legal Assistant,
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees