234 Ford House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-6460
Hon. Christopher H. Smith, Chairman
Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin, Co-Chairman
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www.csce.gov
Media Contact: Shelly Han
202.225.1901
July 22, 2010
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HEARING ON IRAQI REFUGEES AND IRAQI ALLIES
***MEDIA ADVISORY***
WASHINGTON¬— U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), and Co-Chairman Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) announced today they will host a hearing:
“NO WAY HOME, NO WAY TO ESCAPE: THE PLIGHT OF IRAQI REFUGEES AND OUR IRAQI ALLIES”
Thursday, July 22, 2010
2:30 p.m.
The Kennedy Caucus Room, 385 Russell Senate Office Building
The hearing will focus on the plight of the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees who continue to languish in Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) partner State, Jordan, and in Syria and other countries in the region. The Commission will review U.S. Government efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Iraqi refugees and assess the impact of this massive population displacement on the stability of, and U.S. interests in, the region.
The situation of our Iraqi allies, particularly those who have risked their lives to work for the United States in Iraq and who are now considered “collaborators” or “traitors” and are marked for assassination by terrorist groups, is more precarious than ever as the planned withdrawal of U.S. forces accelerates. This hearing will assess our government’s strategy to assist U.S.-affiliated Iraqis who are subsequently being placed at risk.
Witnesses scheduled to testify:
• The Honorable Eric P. Schwartz, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration
• Ambassador L. Craig Johnstone, President, Refugees International, ad interim
• Mr. Kirk Johnson, Founder and Executive Director, The List Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies
• Michael A. Newton, Esq., Professor of the Practice of Law, Vanderbilt University Law School, and former Brigade Judge Advocate (U.S. Army Special Forces)
