Iraq News

Aid groups warn against forced refugee returns

International aid groups on Monday (February 5th) warned countries hosting Syrian refugees against forcing them to return, AFP reported.

A report by several leading humanitarian organisations -- including the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE International -- spoke of an alarming trend advocating for deportations.

"Hundreds of thousands of refugees are at risk of being pushed to return to Syria in 2018, despite ongoing violence, bombing and shelling that are endangering the lives of civilians," it said.

The report, "Dangerous Ground", observed that measures to send refugees back to Syria were increasingly prominent on the agenda of host countries.

"As the military situation changed in Syria, and against a backdrop of increased anti-refugee rhetoric and policies across the world, governments began in 2017 to openly contemplate the return of refugees to the country," it said.

The number of refugees who returned to Syria rose to 721,000 in 2017, from 560,000 the previous year.

But the report warned that three times as many Syrians were displaced last year and that a further 1.5 million were expected to be forced from their homes in 2018.

"Now, return would neither be safe nor voluntary for the vast majority who fled the war and the violence," NRC Secretary General Jan Egeland said.

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, head of Save the Children, which co-authored the report, warned that many children risked being sent straight into harm's way.

"No child should have to return home before it is safe. Right now, many parts of Syria are unsafe for children. Bombs are still falling and basic services like schools and hospitals lie in ruins," she said.

Action Against Hunger and Danish Refugee Council also contributed to the report.

Do you like this article?

0 Comment(s)
Comment Policy * Denotes Required Field 1500 / 1500