Slovakia will temporarily house 101 Palestinian refugees from Iraq, according to a proposed agreement between the Slovak Government, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration that has been submitted by the Interior Ministry to the government for comments and fast-tracked proceedings, the TASR newswire wrote.
The Palestinians could be placed in an asylum centre in Humenné in Prešov region operated by the Interior Ministry and then be subsequently transported to third countries. According to the document, this initiative will require €362,862 from the Interior Ministry's budget.
The refugees will be provided accommodation, food and basic hygiene necessities. The request for co-operation in relocating these people, who became stuck in the Al Waleed refugee camp at the Iraqi border with Syria, was sent by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres to Slovak Prime Minster Robert Fico in March 2009.
“We need to carry out the transport as soon as possible, that is, in the next few days, due to the inhumane conditions in which Palestinian refugees live,” the document says. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
