GENEVA, Switzerland, March 9 (UPI) -- The U.N. refugee agency will strengthen programs to aid the 2 million Iraqis who fled to nearby countries and 1.9 million who are internally displaced.
"UNHCR is stepping up its work and its support for the uprooted as well as the host countries that have assumed such an enormous burden," Ron Redmond, the agency's spokesman, said in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday.
George Okoth-Obbo, UNHCR director of international protection, will leave Saturday on a one week mission to strengthen the agency's protection and assistance programs for uprooted Iraqis, said Redmond. Okoth-Obbo will visit Syria, which shelters an estimated 1 million Iraqis, Jordan, host to 750,000 Iraqis, and Lebanon where tens of thousands of Iraqis have sought refuge.
"Okoth-Obbo's mission will be focused on the ongoing effort to ensure that Iraqis fleeing their homeland receive international protection; that the required systems are in place, including efficient registration procedures and the ability to identify the most vulnerable; and that there are programs for the provision of assistance and solutions, including resettlement of the most vulnerable," Redmond said.
Okoth-Obbo will meet with government officials, members of U.N. country teams and non-governmental organizations, Redmond said. His mission comes in advance of an international conference on displacement in Iraq to be held April 17-18 in Geneva.
