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2010

OSCE Partner States and Neighbors Overwhelmed By Iraqi Refugees: Band-Aid Solutions to Implosion in the Middle East?

Members

Hon. Alcee Hastings

Chairman

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Hon. Benjamin Cardin

Co-Chairman

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Hon. HIlda Solis

Commissioner

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Hon. Christopher Smith

Commissioner

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Hon. Maxine Waters

Commissioner

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Hon. John Dingell

Commissioner

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Witnesses

Ambassador James Foley

Senior Coordinator for Iraqi Refugees

Department of State

Lori Scialabba

Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security for Iraqi Refugees

Department of Homeland Security

Michel Gabaudan

Washington Director

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Anders Lago

Mayor

Sodertalje, Sweden

Noel Saleh

Member, Board of Directors

Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS)

This hearing, chaired by Commissioner Alcee L. Hastings, focused on the Iraqi refugee crisis.  Witnesses from the U.S. Department of State, Homeland Security, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees testified on the overall situation.  The mayor of Sodertalje, Sweden, which has taken in 5% of all Iraqi refugees, testified about the strain on his town’s resources and the need for action to address the crisis.  A representative of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Service testified that many more resources were needed to successfully integrate Iraqi refugees into American communities.

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