The United Nations refugee agency has voiced concern about ongoing deportations of Iraqis from Western European countries back to violence-prone areas of their homeland, stressing that they should continue to benefit from international protection.
The call from Adrian Edwards, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), came two days after a chartered flight with dozens of Iraqis on board who had been residing in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the United Kingdom landed at Baghdad airport.
The UNHCR has asked governments not to forcibly return people originating from the governorates of Baghdad, Diyala, Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Salah Al-Din, owing to the serious human rights violations and continuing security incidents in these areas.