Iraq News Now

By John Lee.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has issued a report on it's activities in Iraq during 2022.

It lists its key achievements for the year as:

• Vulnerable internally displaced Iraqis to be enrolled in the Ministry of Social Affairs' social assistance programme and benefit from monthly cash payments under the poverty alleviation scheme
• IDPs living in tented camps in Duhok governorate authorized to self-upgrade their shelters
• 26,000 (90%) of Syrian refugee children in grades one to four enrolled in public schools in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I)
• 400 (70%) of qualified Syrian refugee teachers recruited in public schools in the KR-I
• 72,000 key civil documents issued for IDPs, IDP returnees and other vulnerable Iraqis
• 270,000 medical consultations provided to refugees inside and outside camps
• 4,400 refugees received mental health and psychosocial support
• 40,000 vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers, and 119,000 IDPs benefited from multi-purpose cash grants

Operational Context

Five years after the defeat of Dae'sh in 2017, Iraq has an internally displaced population of 1.2 million and five million IDP returnees. Displaced Iraqis have achieved the same level of realisation of their rights as the rest of the Iraqi population, but also face similar challenges.

The country also continued to generously host 287,000 refugees and asylum seekers, mostly Kurdish Syrians living in the Kurdistan Region (over 90%), who enjoy high levels of inclusion into public services, policies and communities.

Iraq in 2022 was marked by relative stability, increased state revenues, and the election of a new government, creating the space for more government ownership. As a result, donor interest to support the humanitarian IDP response in Iraq diminished.

The UN and donors in 2022 reached a common agreement that the remaining needs of IDPs and IDP returnees in Iraq are better addressed through sustainable development approaches, now that displacement is no longer the main driver of needs. Accordingly, UNHCR's IDP response focused on responsibly scaling down individualized humanitarian assistance, while strengthening the capacities of public institutions to deliver enhanced services to all Iraqis.

UNHCR's refugee response continued to focus on enhancing refugees and asylum seekers' integration into basic public services and social protection schemes, to strengthen their social and economic inclusion.

Click here to download the full report.

(Sources: ReliefWeb, UNHCR)