UNHCR in Iraq
The overall situation in Iraq has improved significantly since the conclusion of large-scale military operations against Da’esh in 2017. However, the security situation remains volatile and the economic situation fragile. The country generously hosts some 300,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, mostly Kurdish Syrians (over 270,000), the majority of whom live in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I). The refugees have limited prospects for return in the immediate future, particularly given the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in North-East Syria from where most originate. In the 2023 return intention survey conducted by UNHCR, 94% of Syrian refugees in Iraq indicated that they did not intend to return in the next 12 months. When asked about their reasons, the majority noted concerns about the lack of safety and security, and the lack of livelihood opportunities in Syria. Other important concerns included inadequate basic services, the lack of suitable housing and risk of conscription.
Iraq also has over 1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), of whom some 160,000 live in 23 IDP camps in the KR-I. IDPs report insecurity, limited access to public services, such as education, health or even water and electricity, lack of livelihood opportunities and financial resources, combined with damaged housing in areas of origin and, for some of them, Sunni Arabs in particular, perceived affiliation with extremist groups as the main barriers to return. The remaining needs of forcibly displaced populations in Iraq are largely driven by socio-economic factors, human rights deficits and the absence of the rule of law – and not anymore by their displacement status – which are addressed more effectively through sustainable development approaches. In view of this, UNHCR and partners transitioned in 2023 from a humanitarian response to a development-focused approach. This entails strengthening national ownership and capacity for public service providers to deliver protection and other services, advocating for increased access of refugees and IDPs to public services, and promoting refugee inclusion in social protection programmes and improving refugees’ access to labour markets and livelihood opportunities.
In line with this new approach, to promote lasting solutions for IDPs in Iraq, UNHCR’s IDP response transitioned from providing individualized short-term humanitarian assistance, to promoting IDP inclusion in their country’s existing systems. UNHCR does this by facilitating their access to civil documentation, advocating for their inclusion in Iraq’s Social Safety Net (SSN), strengthening the capacity of public protection service provides, and finding and implementing dignified and durable solutions for the IDPs living in camps in the KR-I.
In tandem, given refugees’ high level of inclusion, UNHCR’s refugee interventions focus on furthering their integration into public services and policies such as healthcare and education. UNHCR also promotes their economic self-reliance while providing individual assistance to the most vulnerable. Regarding stateless individuals, UNHCR is scaling up efforts to eradicate Statelessness in Iraq by the end of 2024, in line with UNHCR’s Global Action Plan, and the #IBelong Campaign to end Statelessness by 2024.
UNHCR globally
UNHCR, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (or the UN Refugee Agency), is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
We work to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge, having fled violence, persecution, war or disaster at home.
Since 1950, we have faced multiple crises on multiple continents, and provided vital assistance to refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced, returnees and stateless people, many of whom have nobody left to turn to.