On March 13, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq Ghulam Isaczai visited camps in the Kurdistan Region and met with Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Interior Reber Ahmed in Erbil to discuss the situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Region.
“As a UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, it is in my role to regularly visit the IDPs camps and interact with IDPs to hear about their concerns and challenges and how UN humanitarian activities are responding to their needs,” Deputy Special Representative Isaczai told Kurdistan Chronicle.
“My meeting with Minister of Interior Ahmed was focused on the preparation of a roadmap for a durable solution for IDPs in Kurdistan, which is currently being prepared in consultation with the KRG and the Government of Iraq.”
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The Kurdistan Region currently hosts 900,467 displaced individuals, consisting of 631,174 IDPs from inside Iraq, including Yezidis from Sinjar, and 269,293 refugees from Syria, Iran, and Turkey.
The Iraqi Ministry of Immigration and Displacement aims to close all the IDP camps in the country by the end of July 2024, while the Iraqi Council of Ministers has decided to provide financial compensation to IDPs to help them return to their areas of origin.
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However, KRG officials have emphasized that they will not forcibly return IDPs to their areas of origin.
Director General of the KRG’s Joint Crisis Coordination Center Srwa Rasul previously told Kurdistan Chronicle 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.”
DSRSG/RC/HC @G_Isaczai met with IDPs at Khanke camp & from Qasr Ezedin informal settlement in Duhok yesterday & listened to their issues. He stressed voluntary, informed, safe, and inclusive return through #DurableSolutions pathways. pic.twitter.com/YjuMZd0q8g
— UNAMI (@UNIraq) March 14, 2024
Deputy Special Representative Isaczai on March 14 posted on X that he had met with IDPs at the Khanke Camp, which mostly hosts displaced Yezidis, and the Qasrezdin informal settlement in Duhok and listened to their issues.
“He (Isaczai) stressed voluntary, informed, safe, and inclusive return through durable solutions pathways,” the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq posted on X.
During a visit to Harsham Camp in Erbil today, DSRSG/RC/HC @G_Isaczai met with residents & teachers’ representatives & listened to their views & concerns on Council of Minister’s decision to resolve the IDP file in Iraq. pic.twitter.com/mfvpJhLtno
— UNAMI (@UNIraq) March 13, 2024
In a post on X, Deputy Special Representative Isaczai said he also visited Erbil’s Harsham Camp and listened to their views and concerns “on the Iraqi Council of Minister’s decision to resolve the IDP file in Iraq.”
In today's meeting with Minister Reber Ahmed in Erbil, DSRSG/RC/HC @G_Isaczai discussed the IDP situation & underscored @UNIraq's commitment to achieve durable solutions for all IDPs in Iraq. pic.twitter.com/wU6UMTofnZ
— UNAMI (@UNIraq) March 13, 2024
Deputy Special Representative Isaczai met KRG Minister of Interior Ahmed in Erbil on Wednesday, in which Deputy Special Representative Isaczai underscored the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq’s “commitment to achieve durable solutions for all IDPs in Iraq.”
Important talks with Victoria Taylor, Deputy Assistant Secretary at @StateDept_NEA, covering H.E. @masrourbarzani ‘s visit to #Washington D.C., ongoing political/security developments in #Iraq, concerns over the federal government’s decision on #IDPs camp closure, and obstacles… pic.twitter.com/WLjC5jH1nV
— Rêber Ahmed (@RayberAhmed) March 6, 2024
In a meeting with the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary Victoria Taylor on March 6, Minister of Interior Ahmed also underlined his “concerns over the federal government’s decision on IDPs camp closure, and obstacles facing the implementation of the (2020) Sinjar Agreement.”
In October 2020, Iraq and the KRG signed the Sinjar Agreement with support of the UN, aimed at revitalizing and stabilizing the situation in Sinjar and allowing the return of IDPs.
The Yezidi genocide perpetrated by ISIS in August 2014 in Sinjar resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, with many more being displaced to camps in the Kurdistan Region.
However, the Sinjar agreement has not yet been implemented and over 100,000 Yezidis remain displaced in camps in the Kurdistan Region because of ongoing security concerns in Sinjar.
On February 26, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani discussed the implementation of the Sinjar Agreement during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Furthermore, Secretary Blinken met with Yezidi human rights activist Nadia Murad on March 6 and underlined continued U.S. support to Yezidis.
Nadine Maenza, a global fellow at the Wilson Center and president of the International Religious Freedom Secretariat, told Kurdistan Chronicle that the continued support for the Yezidi community is ever “more important as we approach the ten-year anniversary of the genocide against them.”
“It’s heartbreaking that so many genocide survivors are still displaced, many living in tents for years and unable to return to their homeland of Sinjar.”
