UN must designate Camp Liberty a refugee camp, British lawyers demand

The medical siege on Camp Liberty in Iraq that houses Iranian dissidents must end and the residents be designated as refugees by the United Nations, British lawyers have demanded in a letter to the UN.

Kirsty Brimelow, chairwoman of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC), wrote to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to express her 'deep concern' at the inhumane conditions being endured by Iranian dissidents at the camp.

She said in a strongly-worded letter: "The government of Iraq has consistently failed to meet its obligations to respect the humanitarian and human rights of these refugees and to provide them with security and protection as agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2011 with UNAMI. As a result the refugees have been targeted by numerous deadly missile attacks.

"The Iraqi authorities are also imposing a cruel medical siege on the camp, denying the refugees free access to medical services. This is contravention of article 14 of the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that Iraq ratified in 1971.

"As you will be aware this has prompted condemnation from international medical organisations who consider that the siege is putting the lives of the refugees at stake. It is believed that 23 people have died so far as a result of this medical siege.

"BHRC has condemned on several occasions the attacks against unarmed refugees both at Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty, including those perpetrated by Iraqi security personnel and also militias affiliated to the then Prime Minister al-Maliki. We understand that a total of 136 residents have been killed in such attacks with many more wounded.

"In addition to the constant fear of attack and the lack of access to medical care, the refugees face severe economic hardship. Despite the assurances given both by the UN and the US that the refugees could sell their moveable and unmoveable assets in Camp Ashraf, they have not been allowed to do so and, worse, many of them have had their property looted by militias affiliated with the Iranian regime without any protection from the Iraqi Government. The intention was that the assets in Camp Ashraf should be sold to provide necessary funds for relocating the residents.

"In view of this deplorable situation we ask that Camp Liberty be recognised as a refugee camp under the supervision of the UN High Commission for Refugees. We also call on the UN and international community to take necessary measures to ensure that the Iraqi Government puts an end to the siege on the camp and guarantees the refugees’ unrestricted access to medical services, and their right to be able to sell their assets."