Iraq: Human Security Survey Kirkuk, Iraq - 2019, Summary of Key Findings
In April 2019, PAX and its local partner, the Iraqi Al-Amal Association, conducted the second round of the Human Security Survey (HSS) across all four districts of Kirkuk governorate to get a sense of the experiences of civilian populations on issues regarding protection, conflict and security dynamics, and how they change over time. The first HSS was conducted in 2017 and did not include Hawija district as it was still under Da’esh control. Due to security and access challenges, the HSS was also not conducted in 2018 in the governorate. (See below for more information about the project, and please visit our website for additional reports in this series.)
While just over half of the respondents reported feeling safe in their communities, 52% reported that their security situation improved during the last year. This improvement could be attributed to the time that has passed since the Federal Iraqi forces took over the governorate following elections for Kurdish independence in October 2017, and since Hawija was retaken from Da’esh (also known as the Islamic State or ISIS/ISIL) in September 2017. It should also be noted that by April 2018, the airspace over the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) was also re-opened, another factor which could contribute to the feeling of relative safety.
These factors are especially important since 40% of the respondents identified as Kurdish, compared to 29% Arab and 15% Turkmen. For those who reported their security improving, almost half attributed it to the fact that they felt less exposed to violence or harassment outside of their house. While this was the top option for respondents in Kirkuk, Daquq and Hawija districts, in Dibis, respondents reported feeling safe because they were able to leave their house more often (a third of the respondents) and they had less financial worries (one-third).
