OVERVIEW: Impact of Demonstrations on Humanitarian Operations:
Widespread protests against the Government, which originated in Baghdad's Tahrir Square in October 2019--and continued throughout November--later spread to several other governorates, and had significant impacts on humanitarian operations throughout the country.
Intermittent curfews were imposed in Baghdad and the southern governorates, resulting in missions being delayed or cancelled. All coordination with federal ministries was temporarily paralyzed, and periodic internet outages imposed by the Government resulted in delays in the issuance of access letters for humanitarian organizations, which had significant impact on implementing response activities in federal Iraq.
In Duhok, lack of internet access led delays of cash-for-food distributions by food security partners.
Similar problems were reported in Ninewa, where interruptions and delays in getting approvals and related access letters meant both UN agencies and NGOs were unable to travel from Erbil to carry out relief activities in Ninewa camps. In Kirkuk, movement to the United Nations offices in the Kirkuk Government Building (the liaison offices for the UN, NGO partners and government counterparts) was suspended for a week due to continuing demonstrations in front of the building.
Uncertainty about the security situation led several organizations to reduce staff movements to the deep field. In Anbar, prevailing concerns about safety of staff led to the revocation of permission for overnight stays in the field, resulting in cancellation of project monitoring visits in West Anbar. In Diyala, security actors insisted that NGOs have military escorts during mission, leading to a temporary suspension in activities.