Let us speak out together against the deportation of refugees! Statement by International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR) on World Refugee Day.

Uphold the principles of the right to asylum!

June 20 is World Refugee Day, officially recognised by the United Nations. Let us all make this anniversary a day to defend the rights of refugees and the lives of millions of people who have been forced to choose a life of displacement and exile due to war, instability and vested interest interference of global and regional poles and their proxy forces! They are not just numbers, but people who carry not only stories of survival, but hope for a better future.

June 20 is not just a day to remember, but a day to act. One day we will have to confront a system that blames those who have been forced to flee for dozens of reasons in search of safety and a peaceful life. We must reject policies that deprive people of their basic rights and deny them their very simple rights, just based on where they come from! Refugees deserve more than assistance and compassion, they deserve justice, protection and opportunity.

A quick look at today’s world reveals that capitalism is mired in crisis, and instead of profits and amassed capital, the working and poor have faced hardship, hunger, high prices, unemployment, and disenfranchised. They have created a climate of conflict and militarism to control energy resources, minerals, and raw materials, in addition to their trade battles! The three-year proxy war between NATO and Russia in Ukraine is part of the collapse of imperialist powers, which has murdered hundreds of thousands of people, disabled hundreds of thousands, and displaced millions of Ukrainians to European countries.

The fascist and racist Israeli government, which receives significant financial, military, political, and media support from the Western countries, has gone to extreme lengths to exterminate the Palestinian people. For 20 consecutive months, two million people in Gaza have been subjected to intense bombing and phosphorus bombs from the sky, while water, food, and medical supplies have been cut off from the ground and massacred daily!

The situation in the Middle East, which is continuously under threat, as well as the instability in Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, Libya, and Iraq, are all the outcome of capitalism’s crisis; as a result, humanity is dealing with injustice and a variety of other issues. Displacement and refugee difficulties are the result of imperialist nations’ war and conflict policies that seek to split the planet.

Refugees flee conflict, persecution, torture, and death and face the difficulties and dangers of the roads, putting their lives and the lives of their children at risk! They flee using small boats, travelling through Europe’s forests in search of a peaceful life, but European governments close their borders and tighten asylum processes, keeping them in hotels, camps, remote islands, military bases, ships, and detention centers, or imprisoning them. This is despite the rise of right-wing racism and fascism in Europe, as well as the emergence of fascist and far-right bourgeois parties. They are denied family reunification. They blame the repercussions of higher commodity prices, unemployment, and cuts in public services and insurance on foreigners and refugees who have been affected by these governments’ policies and actions.

Many European including the British government have launched a shameful campaign to forcibly deport refugees fleeing death. They collude with oppressive governments from which the refugees fled where they have been subjected to inhumane treatment. Their police and commandos raid the refugees and then deport them back to their home countries. Iraqi and Kurdish refugees are among the victims of this inhuman act, while mass deportation is a blatant violation of international law, which basically prohibits the return of refugees, such as returning them to places where their lives or freedoms are in danger.

Forced deportations are a violation of human rights and must end immediately. We at the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR) strongly condemn the forced deportation of refugees and consider it a cruel, inhuman and illegal act that violates human dignity.

Tens of thousands of people are facing difficult situations that force them to flee. Let us stand together against the policy of forced deportation of refugees on this day, World Refugee Day, to uphold the principles of asylum and to ensure that no one is punished for being asylum. Let us work together to create a world where no one must flee. Until that world is created, access to asylum is a basic human right. Refugees deserve life, freedom and safety. We stand with the refugees not just one day, but every day.