2026-06-20T17:45:23+00:00
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Shafaq News-
Al-Sulaymaniyah
806,593 Iraqis
applied for asylum in European countries between 2015 and 2026, a refugee
affairs official said on Saturday.
Speaking at a
press conference marking World Refugee Day and the 75th anniversary of the 1951
Refugee Convention, Behrouz Barzan, Projects Director at al-Sulaymaniyah-based
Summit Foundation for Refugees and Displaced Affairs, said wars, violence,
poverty, climate change, and political instability continue to drive
displacement worldwide, including in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
According to
data, applications peaked at 186,422 in 2015 and 160,717 in 2016 before
declining to 31,455 in 2025 and 11,740 in 2026. 358 Iraqis died during
irregular migration attempts, while 251 others remain missing. “The figures
represent human tragedies affecting hundreds of families rather than mere
statistics.”
Since 2017, the
Summit Foundation has provided humanitarian assistance, food aid, healthcare
services, and medical treatment to displaced people, refugees, and vulnerable
families, Barzan added. It has also helped return more than 300 migrants to
their families, followed up on cases involving hundreds of missing persons, and
assisted individuals facing risks during migration journeys.
During the
conference, he announced the launch of the “Find a Job” project, a
platform designed to connect job seekers with employers and provide employment,
training, and professional development opportunities across the Kurdistan
Region. He called on the Kurdistan Regional Government, the ministries of labor
and higher education, international organizations, investors, and the private
sector to support the initiative.