US and Western Allies Turn Backs On Refugee Crisis in Syria and Iraq

As the number of Iraqi and Syrian people displaced by war and conflict soars, the United Nations refugee agency is blasting the international community for failing to respond with adequate humanitarian assistance and resettlement. Critics of the U.S.-led war say that the U.S., in particular, is failing to meet its obligation, by driving the conditions behind the ongoing displacement and then neglecting impacted communities when they are in need.

“In Iraq and Syria, the U.S. is an active participant in that conflict and U.S. intervention is one of the main reasons why these refugees exist in the first place,” Raed Jarrar, expert on Middle East politics and Policy Impact Coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee, told Common Dreams. “The U.S. obligation goes beyond basic courtesy to a moral and legal obligation and responsibility to help refugees in Syria and particularly in Iraq.”

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Approximately 13.6 million people have been displaced in both countries, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Tuesday, according to Reuters. This includes 7.2 million displaced within Syria and 3.3 Syrian refugees living internationally. In Iraq, 1.9 million have been displaced this year alone, piling on over one million previously displaced.

Amin Awad, UNHCR’s director for the Middle East and North Africa, told reporters in Geneva that the international community has hardened to the plight of Iraqi and Syrian people: “Now when we talk about a million people displaced over two months, or 500,000 overnight, the world is just not responding.” 

Most refugees have relocated in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Turkey, while other countries—including the United States—remain largely closed off. “Other countries in the world, especially the Europeans and beyond, should open their borders and share the burden,” said Awad.

Meanwhile, the UNHCR announced Tuesday that the high levels of displacement, combined with a funding shortfall of $58.45 million, threatens to leave up to one million Syrians and Iraqis without critical assistance this winter.