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Ashraf Camp

• Camp Ashraf, or Ashraf City as its residents know it, is based in Diyala province about 50 miles from the Iranian border to the east and 60 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraq.
• Camp Ashraf a self-run camp, which was built in 1986, after the PMOI relocated from France to Iraq.
• What is known today as Ashraf City was once a piece of arid land in a dry, desolate desert. Only a handful of deserted buildings were standing and there were no facilities, paved roads, lamp posts, and running water.
• Over the years, Ashraf grew both in size and in improvements. It became the PMOI’s largest enclave in Iraq.
• Since 2003, the residents of Camp Ashraf, which did not meddle in the war and remained non-belligerent, have signed agreements with the US-led Multi-National Force-Iraq regarding their status according to the International Humanitarian Law.
• Several thousands Iranians residing in Camp Ashraf are expatriates who hold dual nationalities or refugee status of various Western countries as well as crossed-bordered Iranians who obtained their refugee status afterward.
• The clerical regime which is bent on uprooting the Iranian opposition has excreted tremendous pressure on Ashraf residents in violation of the International Humanitarian Law.
• Humanitarian obligations behove us to act now to prevent an impending humanitarian catastrophe. The Iranian refugees in Ashraf need our urgent action to ensure their safety and security as outlined by International Law.

An oasis in the desert

An investigative report by a delegation from the European Parliament which visited Ashraf in 2005, wrote: Camp Ashraf "is made up of a complex of roads and buildings. It contains all sorts of educational, social and sports facilities. These include four Olympic size swimming pools, a shopping centre, a zoo, a park, a university, a full size football pitch, a ‘museum of terrorism’ containing details of attacks on the PMOI and its personnel by the Iranian regime, a ‘museum of martyrs’, a mosque and even a cemetery. Due to its size and in order to function effectively, Camp Ashraf also has services such as shops and bakeries, a petrol station and its own traffic police."

After a visit to Ashraf, a reporter from Knight Ridder news agency wrote, "Iraq has an oasis where fountains gurgle over pebbles and flowers blossom in lush gardens… Schools offer violin lessons and drivers obey traffic laws. The electricity is always on, and the water is always clean in this serene, self-sufficient compound."

Key Developments Regarding Status of Ashraf Residents

July 2004

A 16-month investigation by seven different US agencies, including the State Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, clears every resident of the Camp Ashraf of any violations of American law. (The New York Times, July 27, 2004)

July 21, 2004

the Multi-National Force –Iraq, in a memorandum issued by its then- Deputy Commanding General, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, recognized the status of Iranian refugees residing in Camp Ashraf as protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention. In the memorandum, General Miller said he was "writing to congratulate each individual living in Camp Ashraf” on their status.(The New York Times, July 27, 2004)

Feb. 16, 2006

Major Gen. John D. Gardner, then-MNFI’s Deputy Commanding General reaffirmed the application of the Fourth Geneva Convention to residents of Camp Ashraf. He wrote: The Coalition remains deeply committed to the security and rights of the protected people of Ashraf and the principle of non-refoulement [refugees cannot be dispersed to a country where they would face persecution]. (Human Events, July 15, 2008)

Spring 2006

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reiterated that it has repeatedly reminded the relevant parties in regards to residents of Camp Ashraf, of their obligation to act in accordance with the principle of non-refoulement. (Human Events, July 15, 2008)

Spring 2007

The United Nation’s High Commissioner for Refugees reiterated that “bodies of international law, particularly international humanitarian law and human rights law have positive relevance to the Ashraf situation. As such, UNHCR cautioned competent Iraqi authorities and MNF-I “to refrain from any action that could endanger the life or the security of these individuals, such as their forcible deportation from Iraq or their forced displacement inside Iraq.”(Human Events, July 15, 2008)

The New York Times, December 22, 2008

The New York Times, July 27, 2004