A leading human rights group has called on the United States and Britain to increase their assistance to Iraqis displaced by the conflict in their country. At the start of a conference on displaced Iraqi in Geneva on April 17, delegates from Human Rights Watch said the countries that led the 2003 invasion bear the greatest responsibility to help Iraqis displaced by the war.
The director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Angelo Gnaedinger, said few Iraqis have been spared the "scars" of conflict in their country.
"Bombings, suicide attacks, shootings, abductions, murders, the destruction of civilian property, and forced displacements are a daily reality for millions of Iraqis," Gnaedinger said. "In this dreadful situation, and after years of violence, one wonders if a single Iraqi family has been spared human and material loss and their accompanying physical and psychological scars."
In a video address to the conference, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the countries bordering Iraq to keep their borders open, and to provide protection and assistance to Iraqis.
The two-day conference organized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, brings together government and aid officials from 60 countries. It ends today.
The UN refugee office says that more than 4 million Iraqis have been displaced by the war, including 1.9 million within their own country.
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
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