Since the late 1970s until the present, Iraq has witnessed numerous waves of refugees and emigrants due to significant events in its modern history.
These include over three decades of repression, periodic violent attacks, and massacres targeting the Kurdish population in the north and the Shi'a in the south, all carried out by Saddam Hussein's regime.
However, Europe's response to the refugee crisis caused by the US-led invasion of Iraq has drawn widespread criticism from the UNHCR.
After 18 months of persistent pressure from the UNHCR, the European Union (EU) eventually reached a non-binding agreement in November 2008, committing to accept up to 10,000 Iraqi refugees.
[2] However, the challenging living and working conditions faced by Iraqi refugees in Jordan persisted, leading to a continued influx of migration towards Europe.
[1]: 1 Many European countries did not follow UNHCR's 2003 guidelines and argued that the post-war situation in these areas of Iraq was not enough for qualifying Iraqis as refugees.
[1]: 107–110 The UNHCR repeatedly condemned the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands and Norway, among other European countries, for forcibly repatriating Iraqis when the situation back in their homeland is still not safe for them.
UNHCR's spokesman in Geneva, Adrian Edwards, said in September 2010 that "[w]e strongly urge European governments to provide Iraqis with protection until the situation in their areas of origin in Iraq allows for safe and voluntary returns.
In this critical time of transition, we also encourage all efforts to develop conditions in Iraq that are conducive to sustainable and voluntary return".
The majority of Iraqis that enter the EU illegally do so through Greece, either by land crossing the Greco-Turkish border, or by reaching one of the numerous Greek islands by sea.
[7] In addition to the UNHCR, the European Council on Refugees and Exiles along with human rights groups have denounced the EU's strict policies, which force many Iraqis to undertake long, dangerous and expensive journeys in order to find refuge in Europe.
The country is already home to a sizeable Iraqi population, many of whom were granted protection by the German authorities after fleeing persecution from Saddam Hussein's former regime.
In June 2007, the German government asked the asylum authorities to temporarily suspend the revocation of refugee status for certain groups of Iraqis such as those from Baghdad, single women, and members of religious minorities such as Christians.
A large proportion enter the country after a treacherous journey across the quasi-border separating Central and Southern Iraq from the northern regions, from where they cross the mountains into Turkey.
From Greece, Iraqis generally travel on before making an asylum claim, either to the northern European countries, or to Madrid, Spain from where the USA or Latin America can be reached.
Christoph Blocher, the Swiss Justice and Police Minister, stated that "We already have 5,000 Iraqis in Switzerland and our country is in second place in Europe in accepting them".