Letter to President Obama on Iraq Withdrawal
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama,
At this critical juncture when the United States military is withdrawing from Iraq, we urge you to continue non-military support of Iraqis. Lasting success in Iraq depends upon strengthening Iraqi civil society, addressing the refugee crisis, and providing meaningful development. We must ensure that ending the U.S. military operations does not lead to ending the U.S. humanitarian and development assistance.
We commend you on your campaign pledge to support the millions of displaced Iraqis, and we ask you to fulfill these promises by choosing a strategy that creates the right conditions for Iraqis to return home. Formulating and implementing such a strategy requires adequate budget allocations for FY11.
This letter addresses the displaced Iraqis crisis and considers it a priority, but we also urge the U.S. government to also consider the millions of other non-displaced Iraqis who are in dire need of assistance and protection. Humanitarian aid for non-displaced Iraqis may be delivered through enhancing the existing programs and projects run by the Iraqi government, and by expanding international and non-governmental programs inside Iraq.
The following is our vision for a successful strategic plan and the FY11 budget that would help the Iraqi people and their government transition into 2012.
I. The Strategy
"We will forge a new coalition to support Iraq's future - one that includes all of Iraq's neighbors, and also the United Nations, the World Bank, and the European Union - because we all have a stake in stability" A New Strategy for a New World, Senator Barack Obama, Washington, D.C., July 15, 2008
We applaud your commitment to forge a new multilateral coalition. FY11 will be a pivotal year in determining the future of Iraq and the region. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report 1 released in April of this year criticized the lack of comprehensive international strategic planning to assist and protect displaced Iraqis. Unfortunately, a comprehensive strategy is still lacking now.
To ensure that all funds allocated for FY11 are spent in accordance to an international strategic plan, it is important to have a clear international strategy drafted before the end of this financial year.
A successful strategic plan should have clear objectives and measurable indicators of success for our immediate humanitarian aid and long-term development assistance. Progress toward these goals should be publicly reported on a regular basis.
Any successful plan for helping displaced Iraqis must examine these three elements:
- Local Integration and humanitarian aid: Integration of refugees in the host communities allows recipients to live in dignity and peace. The U.S. government, in coordination with the Iraqi government and host governments, should push for more efficient systems for visas, residency and access to education and healthcare. Also, robust programs must be created for the purpose of providing aid for displaced Iraqis and for the communities hosting them. The latest US-funded UNHCR schools in Syria are a step in the right direction.
- Resettlement: Resettlement is an essential tool for protecting the most vulnerable Iraqis and for sharing the burden of hosting them. We urge you to commit to accepting 50% of the Iraqi refugees identified by the UNHCR for resettlement.
- Voluntary Repatriation: The U.S. government should work with Iraq, Syria, Jordan and other host countries to help displaced Iraqis return home, and set this as the ultimate strategic goal. This effort should emphasize the creation of the type of economic, social, humanitarian and governance conditions that would allow for their safe, voluntary and sustainable return.
There should be clear plans to transition programs from immediate humanitarian assistance to recovery and eventually to longer term development programs. Community-based programming should be leveraged to build local capacity and promote ownership by Iraqis.
In a report published this July, the State Department's Inspector General recommended ending the Provincial Reconstruction Teams by 2011. These teams have been the prime U.S. tool for rebuilding civilian life in Iraq. Eliminating the Provincial Reconstruction Teams requires a transitional plan to handover the reconstruction work to Iraqis and to fund Iraqi NGOs, especially Community Based Organizations.
II. The Budget
"We will commit $2 billion to a meaningful international effort to support the more than 4 million displaced Iraqis." A New Strategy for a New World, Senator Barack Obama, Washington, D.C., July 15, 2008.
We applaud your commitment to allocate $2 billion to assist displaced Iraqis. Unfortunately, the U.S. budget allocated for displaced Iraqis in FY09 and FY10 was not enough. We ask you to fulfill your promise by increasing the funds allocated in the FY11 budget for the State Department's Population, Refugees, and Migration Bureau (PRM) and for USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). In order to meet the needs of Iraqi refugees and their hosting communities, USAID's Office of Middle Eastern Affairs has been providing funding assistance to the government of Jordan. We request that you continue this funding and to expand it to include the government of Syria.
In addition, we ask that you support the U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) fund to meet unexpected urgent refugee and migration needs. Money appropriated to the ERMA fund remains available until expended, creating an important backup emergency reserve.
We would also recommend that the federal agencies involved in the resettlement process, including the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migrations (PRM), and other relevant offices in the Department of Homeland Security are well-coordinated and adequately funded to ensure a smooth and efficient resettlement process.
In the last two years, the U.S. has been contributing around half of the funds to UNHCR's Iraq Operation Appeals, but unfortunately this has not been enough. The Iraq Operation Appeals have been underfunded for years now, and the UNHCR has not been successful in reaching its goals. We ask that you to increase the U.S. funding for UNHCR's Iraq Operation Appeals, and to work with other international and regional partners to ensure that it is fully funded.
Finally, the U.S. government should urge the Iraqi government to spend more of its resources on displaced Iraqis inside Iraq and in the region. The U.S. government should also encourage regional governments and organizations to participate in funding projects aimed at helping displaced Iraqis.
We are confident that strong executive leadership in partnership with the Congress will ensure that the U.S. meets its responsibility to Iraq's civilians. In doing so, the U.S. will be taking an important step toward securing a better future for Iraq and the region.
Sincerely,
The Christian Peace Witness (in partnership with United for Peace and Justice)
CC:
Peter Richard Orszag,
Director, Office of Management and Budget
John M. Spratt, Jr.,
Chairman, Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives
Kent Conrad
Chairman, Budget Committee, U.S. Senate
1 GAO report April 2009 IRAQI REFUGEE ASSISTANCE Improvements Needed in Measuring Progress, Assessing Needs, Tracking Funds, and Developing an International Strategic Plan GAO-09-120.