Brussels, 24/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) calls on the European Union to reinforce its commitment to ensure protection of Iraqi refugees, including through the setting in place of a European resettlement programme. “We hope that the ministers of justice and home affairs will commit the European Union to participation in organised resettlement efforts. At present, only a minority of the 27 EU member states have implemented resettlement programmes”, the UNHCR said in a press release on Tuesday 23 September. European ministers responsible for immigration issues, who are to meet in Brussels on Thursday 25 September, foresee tackling this theme during their lunch (EUROPE 9745). From April 2007 to mid-September 2008, the UNHCR allowed resettlement of 14 600 refugees from Syria, Jordan and other countries of the region. The United States admitted 60% of them, while the EU took in only 10%. The UNHCR therefore calls on member states to extend protection to Iraqis from the centre and south of Iraq and to refrain for now from any forced returns to these regions. In 2007, 38 500 Iraqis filed a request for asylum in the EU. During the first seven months of 2008, the number of requests was close to 16 000, mainly with Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom as the destination. Some 2 million Iraqis remain in the countries neighbouring on Iraq, mainly in Syria and Jordan. (B.C./transl.jl)