By IRNA
London : More than 1,400 rejected Iraqi asylum seekers are to be told they must go home or face destitution in Britain as the government considers Iraq safe enough to return them, it was reported Thursday.
According to leaked Home Office correspondence seen by the Guardian newspaper, the Iraqis involved are to be told that unless they sign up for a voluntary return programme to Iraq within three weeks, they face being made homeless and losing state support.
“They will also be asked to sign a waiver agreeing the government will take no responsibility for what happens to them or their families once they return to Iraqi territory,” the daily said.
An internal letter from the Borders and Immigration Agency’s (BIA) case resolution directorate was said to make clear that the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith now considers that travel to Iraq from the UK is “both possible and reasonable.”
But the Refugee Council criticized the decision, saying it was a shocking example of the government’s policy of using destitution to starve people into leaving the country.
The United Nations high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) has also said its policy was that returns of asylum seekers to central and southern Iraq and for some categories to the north of the country were not advisable because of the continuing conflict.
The UK government has repeatedly tried to return failed asylum seekers to northern Iraq since 2005 with special charter flights to Arbil, but it has never regarded the routes to Baghdad or Basra, as safe enough to return anyone to central or southern Iraq.
The 1,400 Iraqis were reported to have came to Britain before 2005 and were granted “hard case” support. Although their claims for refugee status had been rejected, they were unable to leave the country because there was no safe way back to Iraq.
The BIA letter, dated March 6, was quoted saying that the Iraqis involved will be required to “demonstrate that they are taking all reasonable steps to leave the United Kingdom or that they are placing themselves in a position in which they are able to do so.” Failure to respond within the timescale would result in support being discontinued, although there will be a right of appeal.
“The government is committed to ensuring that unsuccessful asylum seekers do not remain in the United Kingdom indefinitely,” it said.
Two Iraqis were deported to the Kurdistan region in the past week, according to refugee groups. More than 90 Iraqi Kurds are reported to have been have been returned since August 2005.