Refugees and asylum-seekers
Although Iraq is experiencing relative stability and an expansion in its fiscal space, the country continues to face protracted humanitarian and development needs, a complex political environment, and a volatile security situation. Iraq generously hosts some 300,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, mostly Kurdish Syrians (some 270,000) residing in the KR-I. They face limited immediate return prospects, particularly in view of the deteriorating security situation in north-east Syria, where most of the refugees originate from. Some 70% of Syrian refugees live in urban areas, while the rest reside in nine refugee camps and one transit facility.
IDPs and Returnees
Iraq has an internally displaced (IDP) population of 1.1 million, some of whom face significant barriers to return or to effective local integration. Most of the 5 million IDPs that have already returned exercise similar rights to the rest of the Iraqi population but also face similar challenges. IDPs report insecurity, lack of livelihood opportunities and financial resources, combined with damaged housing in areas of origin and perceived affiliation with extremist groups as the main return barriers. Given that the remaining protection concerns affecting displaced populations in Iraq are largely driven by socio-economic factors, human rights deficits and the absence of the rule of law, UNHCR is scaling up its efforts to empower IDPs, refugees and host communities to become more resilient and better equipped to mitigate protection risks and access solutions. Such efforts include promoting IDP and refugee inclusion into social protection systems, advocating for refugee and IDP access to public services and policies, as well as improving refugee access to the labour market and livelihood opportunities.
Stateless persons
A stateless person is defined as a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law. A person at risk of statelessness is any person who may become stateless in the future if preventive actions are not taken (usually due to a combination of factors including, but not limited to, a lack of documentation, displacement, migratory patterns, discrimination, and a lack of safeguards in nationality laws). A lack of nationality results in alienation, marginalization, and impeded access to enjoyment of basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement. UNHCR is the agency mandated by the UN General Assembly to identify and protect stateless people and to prevent and reduce statelessness.
Iraq has historically hosted stateless populations including the Faili Kurds, Bidoon, Qajar (Dom) and Bedu Ruhhal (Bedouin). In recent years, the Iraqi government has undertaken significant efforts to prevent and reduce statelessness amongst these populations. However, owing to barriers to accessing nationality-confirming documentation, along with gaps in Iraq’s legislative and administrative framework for attributing nationality, some individuals are still stateless or at risk of statelessness in Iraq.
In line with the #IBelong campaign and the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness by 2024, UNHCR collaborates with partners and authorities in Iraq to ensure everyone eligible for Iraqi nationality is both able to have their nationality confirmed and have access to nationality documentation. The Iraqi government has demonstrated a commitment to ending statelessness in the territory, including by making a pledge at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum to end statelessness amongst known stateless persons entitled to Iraqi nationality and to take steps to amend the Nationality Law to bring it in line with international standards.