Press Release
455 thousand Iraqis to UN Secretary-General in support of Ashraf residents’ rights
Iraqi government at Iranian regime behest is turning Liberty into prison with harsh conditions
The inhumane conditions of infrastructure at Camp Liberty, continuing restrictions on transferring assets and depriving basic humanitarian freedoms all demand the intervention of the UN Secretary-General

While the international community is concerned about the humanitarian crises in Camp Ashraf, the second group of Ashraf residents left Ashraf – where they had lived for over 25 years – and headed to Camp Liberty based on provided guarantees. This camp, which the Iraqi government has turned into a prison for the residents to gain the consent of the Iranian regime, is far from the minimum humanitarian and human rights standards that UN Secretary General’s Special Representative to Iraq Martin Kobler had promised time and again in his statements, especially with the positioning of military forces, armed patrols with automatic machine guns inside the camp, installing spying cameras and eavesdropping devices, preventing freedom of movement outside the camp and averting the entrance of lawyers and family members, lack of services such as water, electricity, sewage and … has created an embarrassing situation in this camp that angers the conscience of any noble human being.
One hundred thousand other Iraqis in their petition to UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon stressed: “It has now been proven that this project, which was carried out step by step by degrading these guests of the Iraqi people, is the result of the shameful and disgraceful succumbing to the influence and dictation of the regime ruling Iran, which unfortunately has taken place by taking advantage of the UN’s approval and must be stopped immediately and placed under international investigation. We call on the UN, especially His Excellency and request to no allow the Iraqi government carry out its prison-making measures under the guise of the UN and not allow the residents’ rights be violated any further.”
The US government and UN have time and again provided assurances for minimum guarantees. However, these guarantees to this day have not been implemented and the credibility of the international community, UN’s principles in the field of Ashraf residents’ rights whom the UNHCR announced as asylum seekers, is on the line.
In the current and inhumane conditions of Camp Liberty’s infrastructure, and while not even one person has been resettled by the UNHCR, imposing pressure for the transfer of further groups of people is taking place with political motivations and will only lead to increasing pain and suffering for the transferred residents, and therefore must come to an end. The inhumane conditions of Camp Liberty’s infrastructure, continuing to restrict the transfer of property and depriving basic humanitarian freedoms demand the UN Secretary-General’s immediate action.