Liqaa al-Wardi also said the camp’s Iranian dissidents should be recognised as refugees and provided with all the humanitarian and medical assistance they need.
She told an Iraqi news agency: “We recognise the members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) as refugees due to their opposition to those who rule Tehran.
“As the government of Iraq, it is our duty to protect them and it is also upon the United Nations to meet its obligations to provide the necessary protection and humanitarian and medical assistance to them until such time as they are resettled in a third country or returned to Ashraf for better protection.
“There must be an international united solidarity effort to assist the PMOI in Iraq in order for an immediate return to Camp Ashraf and this camp must be under the jurisdiction of the UNHCR, because their presence in Liberty endangers them as the camp lacks adequate protection and is made of wooden temporary housing trailers.
“The government of Iraq must transfer them to Camp Ashraf where there are adequate measures in place to protect them against rocket or missile attacks, until such time that the agreement with the UN to resettle them in a third country is fully implemented.”
Mrs al-Wardi also said the UN’s Iraqi envoy Martin Kobler must provide a ‘a truthful and transparent image’ of the difficulties PMOI members are facing in Liberty, where they are unable to be protected from further attacks.
She added: “The oppressive measures taken by the Iraqi government against the PMOI cannot be taken without outside influence because the PMOI are political opponents of the Iranian regime and the present Iraqi government cooperates with Iran.
“There the PMOI (MEK) are subjected to brutality and murder. In particular pro-Iranian groups are dispatched to Iraq and can easily target the PMOI.”