*EPF309 11/27/2002
Fact Sheet: U.S. Has Welcomed 133,000 Near East, S. Asian Refugees Since 1980
(State Department releases fact sheet on refugee resettlement) (830)

The United States has offered resettlement to more than 133,000 refugees from the Near East and South Asia since 1980, according to a fact sheet released November 25 by the Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

According to the fact sheet, most of those refugees who entered the United States came originally from Iran, Iraq or Afghanistan, and are members of religious and ethnic minorities. Many are also women designated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as Women at Risk because they are unsupported single women or widows fleeing dangerous situations.

In Afghanistan, although more than 2 million refugees have been repatriated since the fall of the Taliban government, some urban Afghan women have been identified by the United States and UNHCR as being among the most to need resettlement elsewhere because they "worked outside the home before the Taliban took power and who have no immediate male family members," according to the fact sheet.

The fact sheet said the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks greatly disrupted the U.S. resettlement program and forced new administrative procedures, so that only 1,800 refugees from the Near East and South Asia were able to enter the United States in the 2002 fiscal year.

However, it added that the ceiling for refugees from those regions would be 7,000 for 2003.

Following is a fact sheet from the Department of State concerning refugee admissions to the United States from the Near East and South Asia:

(begin fact sheet)

Fact Sheet
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
Washington, DC
November 25, 2002

Near East/South Asia Admissions Program

Background

Since 1980, more than 133,000 refugees from Near East and South Asian countries have been offered resettlement in the U.S. Most have been Iranian (about 58,000), Iraqi (36,000), or Afghan (33,000). The majority of refugees currently identified by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as in need of third country resettlement are, Iraqis and Iranians, often members of religious and ethnic minorities or extremely vulnerable Women at Risk who have sought temporary asylum in other countries in the region. INS conducts periodic refugee interviewing visits to Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt, and interviews from permanent offices in India and Pakistan. UNHCR continues to refer particularly vulnerable Afghans for who repatriation is not a viable durable solution to the program for U.S. resettlement in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Due to additional new administrative requirements imposed on the program in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, other processing disruptions, and a changed political environment in Afghanistan, only some 1,800 refugees from the region were admitted to the U.S. Resettlement Program in FY 2002, a substantial decrease from the 12,000 admitted in FY 2001

Iraqis. Nearly two million Iraqis fled the fighting during the Gulf War. Though most returned at the end of the war, significant numbers remained in countries of first asylum, fearing persecution in Iraq. Some 39,000, including ethnic and religious minorities and others who participated in the uprising against the Iraqi regime, remained in refugee camps in Saudi Arabia. From 1991 until 1997, the U.S. participated in a multi-country resettlement effort led by the UNHCR for Iraqi refugees in Rafha camp in Saudi Arabia. The effort resulted in third country resettlement of 24,260 refugees; about 12,500 came to the U.S. The Department of State and INS coordinated another U.S. resettlement visit to Rafha camp in June 2000 to process referrals of over 200 Iraqi refugees not previously interviewed. The Department of State and INS continue to process Iraqi refugees in several countries in the region.

Iranians. In Iran, the Islamic government restricts religious freedom and subjects certain religious minorities to widespread discrimination and harassment. Members of these groups often face legal penalties and persecution. As persons of special concern to the United States, refugees who are members of Iranian religious minorities are eligible to apply to our program regardless of family links and without UNHCR referral. They must be able to demonstrate in an individual interview with the INS that they have experienced persecution. Most Iranians are now processed in Turkey and Austria.

Afghans. More than two million Afghan refugees who fled from civil war and Taliban oppression to neighboring Iran and Pakistan have repatriated to Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban. Despite this massive repatriation, there remain a number of refugees for whom resettlement is the only viable durable solution. Urban Afghan women who may have worked outside the home before the Taliban took power and who have no immediate male family members have been identified by the Department of State and UNHCR as most in need of resettlement. Processing of vulnerable Afghan refugees in Pakistan continues despite a difficult security environment and of Indo-Pakistani tensions.

FY 2003 Admissions Program

The FY 2003 ceiling for refugee admissions from the Near East and South Asia is 7,000. The Department of State is working with UNHCR to identify refugees in the region requiring resettlement, especially women-at-risk. Refugees from the Middle East are also processed from central Asian and Caucasus countries.

(end fact sheet)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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