Donna Covey: Britain's responsibility for those who have fled Iraq

There are so many dimensions to the tragedy of Iraq that it is perhaps understandable that not all of them get the coverage they deserve. Until recently, that was true of the refugee crisis generated by the conflict and its aftermath. Now, however, one aspect of that crisis has become headline news - the fate of Iraqi interpreters serving with British armed forces.

Faced with a barrage of criticism, Gordon Brown has announced a review of the Government's refusal to treat them as special cases for asylum. That review is welcome, but it is vital that it has a wider focus than just the interpreters. There are perhaps fewer than a hundred of them, while the broader Iraqi refugee crisis is of an epic scale.

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More than 2 million Iraqis have now sought refuge in the surrounding region, mostly in Syria and Jordan, with more leaving every month. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, a thousand Iraqis arrive in Syria every day. Meanwhile, another 2 millionhave been internally displaced within Iraq.

Initially, many of those fleeing were able to find shelter with relatives and friends and survive on savings - which is perhaps why the world was so slow to wake up to the magnitude of the refugee movement. Now, however, the situation is becoming increasingly bleak. A small fraction of children are in school, and health services are struggling to cope. There are reports of women having to resort to prostitution to survive.

Most Iraqis, like refugees the world over, will seek protection as close to home as possible. But the burden on countries such as Syria and Jordan is becoming intolerable - which is why other states, such as the UK, need to do more to help. Our government, however, has made it increasingly difficult for refugees from places like Iraq to get to the UK to claim asylum.

Only 950 claims from Iraqis were registered last year. Of these, just 30 were granted refugee status, and 60 discretionary leave. The rest were refused, with just a few successfully appealing - so even those who do manage to make it to the UK have little hope of being offered protection here. Why should Jordan and Syria keep their doors open to millions of refugees when we are refusing help to the few hundred who arrive here?

Worryingly, countries in the region are beginning to impose visa and passport restrictions, effectively closing their borders to Iraqis trying to escape persecution. This contravenes the UN convention on refugees, but we are in no position to exert pressure because our response has been so pitiful. As well as our duty to protect Iraqis, we also have a duty to protect the universal right to asylum. We mustn't let this precious right be another casualty of the Iraq war.

One immediate response should be to offer more funds to the region to help Iraq's neighbours cope. The UNHCR has called the financial aid pledged so far "a drop in the ocean".

A resettlement programme should be put in place to offer a new life in the UK to some of the most vulnerable refugees. The USA has already pledged to take 7,000. Denmark, which has a notoriously restrictive immigration and asylum policy, has airlifted 200 of its employees and their relatives out of Iraq. But nearly 150,000 people have registered with the UNHCR for resettlement.

The UK's response to this overwhelming need must be a comprehensive programme, helping those who are the most vulnerable, and extending far wider than a small group of interpreters. For instance, of the 57,000 Iraqis the UNHCR has registered in Syria since the beginning of the year, more than 12,000 are victims of torture. A resettlement programme could be put into force quickly. We managed an emergency evacuation programme of vulnerable refugees during the war in Kosovo, and there is no reason why the same principles could not be applied to Iraq.

In addition, the UK must recognise that it is unsafe to return anyone to Iraq in the present circumstances. Large numbers of Iraqis refused asylum here are now living in destitution, in a legal limbo, and under constant threat of removal. The obvious solution is to grant a form of temporary status to Iraqis in the UK until it is safe and sustainable for them to return home.

It makes a refreshing change to witness such a widespread clamour to offer asylum here to vulnerable people, and we welcome this as a sign of the British people's basic humanitarian impulse. But we cannot limit help to army interpreters. While we welcome them with open arms, so, too, must we welcome hundreds, if not thousands more, as we do our bit to deal with the consequences of Iraq's bloody war.

The writer is Chief Executive of the Refugee Council