April 9, 2008

Continuing its support for Iraqi refugees, the Episcopal Church will join 20 human rights organizations April 14-16 in sponsoring three days of advocacy on behalf of the more than four million victims of forcible displacement caused by the ongoing war in Iraq.

The advocacy initiative Iraq Action Days will be launched on April 14 with a forum at George Washington University under the auspices of the Institute for Middle East Studies. On the following two days, visits to Congressional offices will be arranged to urge representatives to take action on behalf of Iraqi refugees.

"It is a sense of urgency about the plight of these victims of the protracted Iraqi conflict that has prompted this outpouring of advocacy to press Congress to respond to this staggering humanitarian crisis," said Maureen Shea, director of government relations for the Episcopal Church. "The sponsors are seriously concerned about the failure of the U.S. government to resettle on an urgent basis a significant number of vulnerable Iraqi refugees. There is also a growing awareness that the limited response by the U.S. and coalition partners to the humanitarian burden being assumed by neighboring countries hosting thousands of Iraqi refugees places the entire region in jeopardy and increases the suffering of the refugees."

It is estimated that nearly two million Iraqis have been displaced within their country since the start of the war, "trapped in misery and violence but unable to leave for safety elsewhere," said Richard Parkins, former director of Episcopal Migration Ministries who is currently serving as the church's representative on the executive committee organizing this advocacy event. "Another two million have found temporary, albeit marginal, safety in Jordan and Syria and a few thousand more languish in difficult circumstances in Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey. Among the most desperate groups are about 800 Palestinians living in life-threatening circumstances in a no man's land between Syria and Iraq."

A key goal of the event is to underscore the need for greater humanitarian assistance to the region to help countries receiving fleeing Iraqis deal with the impact of welcoming their neighbors and offering a safety net to those who can escape Iraq. For those struggling inside Iraq, the goal is to secure increased support for reconciliation, recovery and community-based development to avoid further victimization by the upheaval which surrounds them.

"Since most organizations are keenly disappointed with the inadequate response of the U.S. Government in resettling the most vulnerable refugees in the region, attention will be given to having Congress mandate a more robust response by the Administration in meeting its commitment to make resettlement more available to a vastly larger number of refugees than has occurred to date," said Shea. "Both of these imperatives of the advocacy agenda are mirrored in a resolution adopted by the Executive Council of the church in March 2007 which states, in part, that the U.S. should ‘appropriate sufficient funds to allow host countries in the region to respond to the growing humanitarian crisis caused by the mass migration of persons into Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey in search of protection and safety and to take immediate steps to facilitate the resettlement of refugees in the region, including especially vulnerable persons such as women and children.'"

Underscoring the commitment of the Episcopal Church to a comprehensive response to this tragedy, the Rev. Canon Brian J. Grieves, Advocacy Center director, said that "the peace that will hopefully come to Iraq soon will not be complete or lasting until those violently uprooted from their homes and separated from their families find peace and security. Our church will partner with others to bring about such a result."

Further information on Iraq Action Days is available at http://www.iraqactiondays.org/.

Episcopal News Service