US Failing to Keep Pledge to Welcome 10k Syrian Refugees in 2016 - Report

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States is failing to fulfil its promise to host 10,000 Syrian refugees in 2016 as conditions in Middle East camps go down, Human Rights First (HRF), an independent advocacy, warned in a new report.

"[T]he US resettlement process is hampered by bottlenecks, backlogs, and staffing gaps, which undermine the United States’ ability to meet its humanitarian [and] protection… goals," Human Rights First stated in a press release on Monday accompanying the report.

In September 2015, US President Barack Obama announced his administration would admit into the United States 10,000 Syrian refugees in 2016. However, the inititive has met siginificant opposition by congressional Republicans and state governors.

The report noted that despite significant US efforts to step up resettlement processing, backlogs and staffing gaps make it difficult for the United States to meet even its modest commitment to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees, which amounts to less than 0.2 percent of the Syrian refugee population.

"As of January 31, one-third of the way through the fiscal year, the United States had resettled only 841 out of the 10,000 Syrian refugees it pledged to resettle by September 30, 2016," the report added.

Syrian refugees are increasingly at risk, and suffer sharply deteriorating conditions, across the Middle East, the report stated.

European Union member states had closed their borders, blocking civilians from escaping Syria, and imposed increasingly onerous restrictions on refugees, it said.