In a statement on March 3, 2024, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)’s Department of Media and Information (DMI) said the KRG dedicates roughly $2.3 daily per individual for refugee support, amounting to an annual total of $842 million for approximately 900,000 people amid a continued budget crisis.
The Kurdistan Region currently hosts 900,467 displaced individuals, consisting of 631,174 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from inside Iraq, including Yezidis, and 269,293 refugees from Syria, Iran, and Turkey, the DMI said.
After the rise of ISIS in 2014, the Kurdistan Region hosted almost two million individuals, but almost half of them had returned to their areas of origin as of December 2023.
The KRG also said that the failure to implement the Sinjar Agreement signed by Erbil and Baghdad in 2020 to improve conditions in the district and remove militias is a significant barrier to the return of IDPs from Sinjar.
Director General of the KRG’s Joint Crisis Coordination Center (JCC) Srwa Rasul previously told Kurdistan Chroniclethat the Kurdistan Region has taken on this task at a time when it is facing a difficult financial and humanitarian crisis, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic and the effects of climate change, such as floods and droughts.
Baghdad’s budget cuts have made it difficult for the KRG to pay salaries to government employees and cover service costs. This situation has been exacerbated by the cessation of independent Kurdish oil exports following the March 2023 ruling of a Paris-based arbitration court. The ruling, which was in favor of Iraq over Turkey, has left the KRG without an independent budget.
Since 2023, the UN has also shifted its focus in Iraq from a humanitarian-only response plan to a development-focused approach, handing over the management of camp services to the KRG. But a report published by UNICEF on February 19 confirmed that this transition has been hindered by the Kurdistan Region’s budget crisis.
In the report UNICEF stated that water and sanitation coordination and camp services had been successfully handed over via integration with KRG services, “while child protection has been slowed down due to the budget crisis.”
“Despite all these obstacles, the Kurdistan Region has made every effort to provide the best services it can to IDPs and refugees,” Rasul added.
On March 3, 2023, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in another report stated that it will continue its efforts to strengthen the KRG’s public services, requiring an estimated $18 million in 2024.
Against this backdrop, Baghdad’s proposed date to shut down the camps – July 30, 2024 – is swiftly approaching.
According to data from the JCC, 30% of the refugees and IDPs in the Kurdistan Region reside in camps, while the remaining 70% have integrated into communities outside these facilities.
The challenge is now deciding what will happen to the 30% residing in camps.
Sarah Sanbar, Iraq researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Kurdistan Chronicle that “some IDPs are entering their tenth year of displacement, and it’s high time they return home.”
“The Iraqi and Kurdish governments have a responsibility to ensure that returns are safe and voluntary, otherwise they risk re-displacing people rather than solving their displacement.”
Kurdish officials have repeatedly underlined that they are against forced returns.
Rasul added that, “despite the forced closure of other camps in Iraq, the Kurdistan Region has never adhered to these decisions because of its strong belief in respecting human rights and protecting human values, and because it feels their suffering.”
“Our desire is to return home, but the absence of shelter, employment, and financial support hinders this,” one IDP said, according to a KRG press release. ”We urge for more support and aid for the camps in these tough times.”
