McCollum, Pallone, Schiff, Walz Urge Clinton to Assist Iraqi Armenia

Emil Lazarian

15 years ago

Categories: News

McCollum, Pallone, Schiff, Walz Urge Clinton to Assist Iraqi Armenia

US-Armenia Public Affairs Committee
Contact: Aram V. Desteian <aram.desteian@usa-pac.org>

For Immediate Release: May 18, 2010
Contact:
Maria Reppas (McCollum), 202.225.6631
Erin Bzymek (Pallone), 202.225.4671
Maureen Shanahan (Schiff), 202. 225.4176

Reps. McCollum, Pallone, Schiff, and Walz Urge Secretary Clinton to
Assist Iraqi Armenian Christian Refugees

Washington, DC – Representatives Betty McCollum (MN-04), Frank Pallone
(NJ-06), Adam Schiff (CA-29), and Tim Walz (MN-01) spearheaded a
letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, urging action to ensure
the well-being of Iraqi Armenian Christian refugees in Jordan and
Syria. The letter, which 16 other Members of Congress have signed,
urgently requests U.S. assistance to help resettle Iraqi Armenian
Christian refugees to Armenia. Additional resources from the United
States will allow Armenia to reach more Iraqi Armenian Christians with
essential resources as well as the opportunity to begin a new life in
a safe and secure environment.

According to a recent press release from the U.N. High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR), Iraqi refugees, both inside and outside of the
country, are facing deteriorating conditions while international
concern is slowly declining. The attacks on Iraqi Christian refugees,
in particular, are a constant source of insecurity. UNHCR works to
protect and relocate refuges, while helping them restart their lives
in safer areas. Two years ago, UNHCR-Armenia helped several large
groups of refugees resettle in Armenia.

The Armenian government already made a generous commitment to UNHCR.
This includes the offer of all Iraqi Armenian refugees the opportunity
for citizenship, participation in UNHCR’s Iraqi resettlement program,
and resources to help refugees rebuild their lives. Armenia has
effectively delivered on these commitments over the past two years.

`It is in the interest of the U.S. that Iraqi Armenian Christian
refugees be provided the opportunity to start a new life in safety and
peace,’ said Representative McCollum, who traveled to Syria and met
with Iraqi refugees in 2006. `The Armenian government’s offer to
receive refugees is very generous, and I believe the U.S. should
provide the humanitarian support necessary to ensure their successful
relocation and integration into Armenian society.’

`Life for these refugees is difficult and the assistance provided by
UNHCR provides relief that is critical to these families,’ said
Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06). `With the commitment of the
government of Armenia and the success that past funds have yielded in
settling refugees in Armenia it is important for us to continue and
increase the funds being allocated to Armenia. I urge our continued
financial support and continued involvement in this pursuit.’

`Conditions for Iraqi Armenian Christian refugees are becoming
increasingly desperate at the same time that international support for
the vulnerable population is dwindling,’ said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).
`We urge the Obama Administration to commit additional funds to UNHCR
to sustain the momentum we have built to help these refugees resettle
and rebuild their lives in Armenia, providing a cost-effective and
regional solution for families who might otherwise seek resettlement
within our borders.’

ORIGINAL LETTER

May 14, 2010

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Clinton:

We are writing to urge the Obama Administration to make a commitment
of funds to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to assist
in the resettlement of Iraqi Armenian Christian refugees from Syria
and Jordan to Armenia. It is our understanding that the State
Department is in the process of formulating the Administration’s
response in support of UNHCR’s 2010 Global Appeal for Iraq. We feel
strongly that it is essential that an initial and specific
U.S. commitment is made to meeting the needs of Iraqi Armenian
Christian refugees.

According to a March 30, 2010 UNHCR press release, conditions for
Iraqi refugees both inside and outside of Iraq are becoming
increasingly desperate at the very time that international concern
appears to be fading. `The dwindling media interest in Iraqi
refugees,’ the UNHCR says, `is not matched by a decline in the scale
of the problem.’ With a planned U.S. troop withdrawal by the end of
2011, dwindling international support for Iraqi refugees, and the
campaign of violence against Iraqi Christians continuing unabated, the
U.S. must fulfill its obligation to this vulnerable population.

As you know, the State Department’s 2008 allocation of $1 million to
UNHCR-Armenia has enabled more than one thousand Iraqi refugees to
begin to rebuild their lives via resettlement in Armenia. It has been
a cost-effective and regional solution for a group that might
otherwise seek resettlement in the United States.

UNHCR’s `Regional Response Plan for Iraqi Refugees’ released in
January 2010 identifies hundreds of Iraqi Armenian Christian refugees
registered with UNHCR in Jordan. The number of refugees in Syria, the
primary asylum destination for Armenian Christians fleeing Iraq, is
known to be significantly larger. Of the more than two million
refugees who have fled Iraq, only a small portion, less than 20
percent, have been registered by UNHCR thus far. Since hopes for
successful repatriation and reintegration in Iraq have failed to
materialize it is certain that the need for resettlement of Iraqi
Armenian refugees will persist for the foreseeable future.

It is our understanding that the Government of Armenia has made a
formal commitment to U.N. High Commissioner Antonio Guterres to: offer
all Iraqi Armenian refugees a track to citizenship; formally
participate in UNHCR’s Iraqi resettlement program; and make land and
facilities available for refugees from Iraq to rebuild their lives.
Armenia has, in fact, delivered on these promises substantially over
the last two years.

The U.S. commitment of additional funds to UNHCR will allow UNHCR in
Armenia to extend its assistance to Iraqi Armenian Christians while
allowing for an accelerated resettlement of additional refugees from
Syria and Jordan to Armenia.

Again, we urge the Obama Administration to sustain the momentum of
what UNHCR, the United States, and Armenia have already accomplished
on behalf of Iraqi Armenian Christian refugees.

Sincerely,

________________-______
___ _____________-______

BETTY McCOLLUM FRANK PALLONE