Host and donor countries of Iraqi refugees ended a one-day meeting Thursday by declaring the best solution for more than two million Iraqis who fled to neighbouring states, was for them to return to Iraq after restoration of stability and security there, according to dpa. "The real and virtual solution for the Iraqi refugee problem lies in returning home after restoring security and stability through a political process that involves all religious and ethnic components of the Iraqi people," a final communique said. However, participants underscored the necessity for international support to the service sectors in the host countries, particularly in education and health, "in order to enable these countries to go on in extending a suitable level of services to Iraqi refugees." The meeting grouped the main three Arab host countries - Jordan, Syria and Egypt - plus representatives of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Japan, the United States, European Union, Russia, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Arab League. According to the UNHCR, about 1.4 million refugees have taken refugee in Syria and 750,000 in Jordan, where they are placing a heavy burden on the health and education systems and the infrastructure of two countries with limited resources. The chief delegates of the three host countries issued appeals to the world community to come to their aid to enable them to cope with the economic and security spill-overs of the presence of such a large number of Iraqis on their soil. "The participants urged the concerned world organizations to continue their cooperation with the governments of the host countries to help them shoulder the resulting burdens on their economies and infrastructure," the communiqu e said. Participants also acknowledged that the host states "have the exclusive authority" concerning the granting of entry and residence permits to Iraqis "which should be governed by their own laws."
