A group of 36 Iraqi refugees have been assisted by IOM to resettle
from Jordan and Syria to Belgium  today,  2 September.
Another 11 Palestinian refugees from Iraq currently living at at a
refugee camp on the Iraqi-Syrian border will arrive later in
September.

The group is part of a total of 50 refugees  selected by
Belgium in May 2009 for resettlement. The Belgian government is
focusing on two groups: "women at risk", single women with or
without children who are in a vulnerable position living as
refugees in Syria and Jordan and a second group of Palestinian
refugees from Iraq living in the Al Tanf refugee camp at the border
of Syria and Iraq.

The Belgian government's decision to take in Iraqi refugees for
the first time is in line with the European Council Justice and
Home Affairs’ conclusions of November 2008 in which the
Council invited the EU Member States to accept 10,000 Iraqi
refugees in a vulnerable situation residing in Syria and Jordan for
resettlement in their countries.

IOM offices in Amman and Damascus have assisted the refugees (16
women and 10 children from Syria and 3 women and 7 children from
Jordan) by carrying out medical screenings which includes a
tuberculosis test before departure and a fit-to-fly assessment. IOM
also provided travel assistance to Belgium including the obtaining
of travel documents as well as assistance upon departure and during
airport transit.

Upon arrival in Belgium  where IOM staff helped the
refugees through passport and customs clearance,  the 10
Iraqis travelling from Jordan were welcomed by the Commissioner
General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRA), the Federal
Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers which has overall
responsibility of refugee reception and integration, UNHCR and
representatives from the civil society. 

The group of 26 Iraqi refugees being resettled from Syria will
arrive late on Wednesday.

"A good coordination between all official departments and the
civil society is crucial if we want to support those refugees in
resettling," says IOM programme coordinator Pascal Reyntjens.

Several NGOs (Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, Caritas
International, de Sociale Dienst van Socialistische Solidariteit
and CAW De Terp Protestants Sociaal Centrum Vluchtelingenwerk) will
carry out the integration programme.

For further information, please contact:

Pascal Reyntjens

IOM Brussels

Tel: +32 2 2877410

E-mail: "mailto:preyntjens@iom.int">preyntjens@iom.int

For more information on the selection process and transfer of
the refugees to Belgium please consult the new website from the
Government of Belgium: "http://www.resettlement.be" target="_blank" title=
"">www.resettlement.be