Iraq slams EU calls for forced repatriation of refugees

By Ibrahim Saleh

BAGHDAD

Iraqi Immigration Minister Jassim Mohamed al-Jaf on Tuesday criticized calls by certain European countries to forcibly repatriate Iraqi refugees following the defeat of the Daesh terrorist group.

Al-Jaf’s criticisms reportedly came during a meeting in Baghdad with Switzerland's non-resident ambassador, Hans Peter Linz.

According to a ministry statement issued after the meeting, the two men discussed Iraq’s large displaced population and the issue of Iraqi refugees overseas.

In the statement, al-Jaf calls on EU states to “consider the humanitarian dimension when dealing with the issue of Iraqi refugees in their countries”.

Al-Jaf also reiterates his government’s rejection of the notion of forcing refugees to return to Iraq.

“The repatriation of refugees should be done within a legal framework and with mutual understanding between Iraq and the countries in question,” the minister is quoted as saying.

The ministry did not provide the number of Iraqi refugees whose requests for asylum had been rejected by the EU.

But according to the EU's statistical agency, some 127,000 Iraqis applied for asylum in Europe in 2016 alone.

In mid-2014, Daesh overran much of the country, forcing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis to flee their homes -- many of whom eventually found their way to Europe.

But after a three-year war with the Iraqi army and its allies, the terrorist group’s presence in Iraq -- and its military capacity -- was largely destroyed in 2017.