0 . MAJOR CHANGES SINCE PREVIOUS VERSION OF THE HIP
As with the deterioration of the humanitarian situation Iraqi refugees living in Syria are equally as affected as the local population living in Syria, DG ECHO will be pursuing its support to Iraqis in Syria based on vulnerability and not status through this 2013 HIP for the Syria crisis.
1 . CONTEXT
The February 2006 bombing of the Al-Askari mosque in Samarra and ensuing sectarian violence led to a significant wave of displacement, prompting more than 1.6 million people to flee their homes and bringing the post-2003 internally displaced population to more than 2.8 million people. Improved security conditions and patterns of community homogenization in 2008 slowed down displacement and led to a limited number of returns to places of origin, a trend that continues in 2012. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that as of May 2012 approximately 1.33 million people remain displaced inside Iraq. As of June 2012, the active number of UNHCR registered Iraqi refugees was 149,897 (87,741 in Syria, 29,191 in Jordan, 8,751 in Lebanon, 11,322 in Turkey, 7,144 in Egypt, 3,514 in Iran and 2,234 in GCC). In addition an unconfirmed number of unregistered Iraqi refugees remained displaced in other countries.
While some 92,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and nearly 26,500 refugees returned spontaneously in 2010, returns have more than doubled in 2011, with 193,610 IDPs and 67,080 refugees returning. In the first five months of 2012, this upward trend has continued with 118,060 IDPs and 36,640 refugees already returned (Source: UNHCR Iraq operation – Monthly statistical update on Return – May 2012). Meanwhile the majority of some 1.33 million IDPs in the country have found no solutions to their plight. There are also occasional reports of new displacements, particularly among the minority communities. An estimated 40,000 refugees and asylum seekers are residing in Iraq, most of them in governorates of Anbar, Ninewa, as well as the Kurdistan region and Baghdad.
The last US troops have left Iraq in December 2011 with security responsibility fully transferred to the Iraqi security forces. Although the security situation has not improved, a return to the full blown sectarian war in 2006-2007 is considered unlikely. Security incidents, like insurgencies and high criminality in Baghdad, northern/central governorates and the so-called Disputed Areas, remain at a level which affects development efforts in several ways. Firstly, it may slow down returns of IDPs and refugees. Secondly, it pushes Iraqis to neighbouring countries for either protection or economic migration.
At the same time the recent escalation of violence in Syria has triggered an increased return of Iraqis previously registered as refugees in Syria back to Iraq. It has also prompted Syrians both of Arab and Kurdish origin to flee to neighbouring Iraq. Until August 2012 almost 16,000 Syrian refugees have crossed into Iraq. The majority (11,626 people) have fled to the Kurdistan region of Iraq (Dohuk, Sulemaniya and Erbil governorates) and 4.272 people to the Anbar governorate.
Iraq belongs to category 3 (most severe) of the European Commission's Directorate- General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (DG ECHO) Crisis Index and to category 2 of DG ECHO's vulnerability Index for 2012.
