United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres will visit the Middle East this week to monitor the status of Iraqi refugees in the region, the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said in a Tuesday press release. In a weeklong trip, Guterres will also thank host governments for their continued efforts to help Iraqis, the agency said. “Mr. Guterres wants to assure governments in the region of our continued commitment to and engagement in efforts to ease the plight of those displaced in the region and beyond,” the statement said. About 4.4 million of Iraq's 26 million citizens have reportedly been uprooted by violence in their country. Around 2.4 million are internally displaced in Iraq and 2 million are in neighboring countries such as Syria and Jordan, according to UNHCR and its partner organizations. UNHCR, while focusing on 400,000 Iraqis, has already appealed for $261 to aid “the most vulnerable” of displaced Iraqis in Iraq and neighboring host countries, the release said. $40 million will be reserved for displaced Iraqis and is a part of a Consolidated Appeal launched on Tuesday in Iraq through the U.N. Assistance Mission, which totals $265 million. UNHCR has committed to a target of sending 200,000 Iraqis to school at year's end as a part of the appeal. The agency has already registered over 250,000 Iraqis in host countries and has given health support for 210,000 cases, including psychological care and counseling, the release said. “UNHCR has been assisting internally displaced Iraqis, but getting help to many of them is extremely difficult because of insecurity in much of the country,” the release said. Over 21,000 resettlement cases for Iraqis have also been sent to 16 governments for consideration on behalf of the agency.
