The UK government has again rejected any possibility of Maryam Rajavi, de facto leader of the Mojahedin Khalq (MEK), entering the UK. Rajavi is currently based in France but visited…
provision of life support systems such as water, electricity and food continue to be well in excess of basic humanitarian standards. They have reported that the relocation of protective bunkers and installation of additional protective concrete walls, to increase the security and safety of the residents, has been completed … Residents’ representatives have confirmed this to be accurate …
We have agreed to consider, exceptionally, their re-admission as refugees, subject to a UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) assessment of each individual to ensure that none have been complicit in acts of terrorism or other activities incompatible with refugee status. Thus far, UNHCR have submitted 17 assessments to the Home Office …
Baroness Warsi (Conservative): The Government of Iraq has told our Embassy in Baghdad that a committee will conduct a full and open investigation into the attack on Camp Ashraf on 1 September, and that its findings will be made public …
It is not a refugee camp as such; it is a place where individuals are being assessed as to the countries to which they could be relocated. Four have already come to the United Kingdom, a fifth who was offered that has decided not to come and about 52 others are being considered for coming to the United Kingdom.
The UN visit Camp Liberty, where the majority of former residents of Camp Ashraf now live, several times a week, and report that facilities at the camp meet international humanitarian standards. For example, residents have access to electricity 24 hours a day and over 200 litres of water per person per day. This compares well to the situation for many Iraqis. I raised the situation at Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty with the Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Human Rights in July 2012. We continue to monitor the situation at Camps Ashraf and Liberty through our embassy in Baghdad…
The UN has said publicly, however, that under the terms of the memorandum of understanding, conditions at Camp Liberty[TTL] would meet basic humanitarian standards including: adequate accommodation; dining and food preparation facilities; hygiene infrastructure (water and sanitation); medical care;..
The one British citizen we were aware was in Camp Ashraf has left and returned to the UK. Of the five Iranian residents of Camp Ashraf with valid UK refugee travel documents, four have left Camp Ashraf and arrived in the UK. The fifth is free to return to the UK so long as the refugee travel document remains valid. The UK has agreed to consider further the cases of the approximately 50 residents with previous residence in the UK as refugees ..
… We are aware of reports that loudspeakers are being used outside the Camp Ashraf entrance. The Government of Iraq have publicly stated that the purpose of the loudspeakers is to allow family members to communicate with residents inside Camp Ashraf, as they have apparently been forbidden any contact by the camp’s leadership. Ashraf Committee is composed of members from the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Human Rights, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs…
… Our ambassador in Baghdad met with the Iraqi Human Rights Minister on 20 May 2010 and underlined the need for the Iraqi authorities to deal with the residents in a way that meets international humanitarian standards. The Iraqi authorities have told the residents that they can no longer stay at Camp Ashraf but have given assurances that no residents will be forcibly transferred to a country where they have reason to fear persecution or where substantial grounds exist to believe they would be tortured. We have not received any information about the Government of Iraq denying visas to relatives and friends of the residents …