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Iraq

IOM emergency needs assessments (post Feb 2006 displacement in Iraq) 01 Apr 2009 monthly report

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Following the February 2006 bombing of the Samarra Al-Askari Mosque, escalating sectarian violence in Iraq caused massive displacement, both internal and to locations abroad. In coordination with the Iraqi government's Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MoDM), IOM continues to assess Iraqi displacement through a network of partners and monitors on the ground.

Most displacement over the past five years (since 2003) occurred in 2006 and has since slowed. However, displacement continues to occur in some locations and the humanitarian situation of those already displaced is worsening. Some Iraqis are returning, but their conditions in places of return are extremely difficult.

The estimated number of displaced since February 2006 is more than 1.6 million individuals1.

SUMMARY OF CURRENT IRAQI DISPLACEMENT AND RETURN:

Daily life for both IDP and returnee families in Iraq remains extremely difficult due to the lack of food, shelter, and basic services. Security is improving in many parts of Iraq, but is still uncertain. Drought is also a major concern, growing as the warm weather continues.

Return

As of the end of March, IOM displacement monitors had identified 49,603 returnee families in Iraq. While IDP families continue to return to their places of origin in many places throughout the country, upon arrival they face destroyed homes, lack of basic services, and few employment opportunities with which to support their families. While the Government of Iraq (GoI) and other national and international organizations are working to assist returnee families and ensure sustainability of returns, returnees are still in need of shelter and income generation assistance along with reconstruction of basic infrastructure and services.

In some isolated cases, increased security measures are proving insufficient for returnee families to remain. Families returning to Al Katoon area of Ba'quba, quickly left again after being threatened by local insurgents.

In other cases, families need assistance to successfully integrate into their place of displacement. In Hay al-Zahraa' area of Diyala, 17 IDP families (96 individuals) have decided to remain in their place of displacement rather than return to their place of origin despite poor living conditions. They have decided to stay because either their original homes have been destroyed, or they were renting and have no homes to which to return. After having transferred their PDS and school documents, they see no alternative but to stay.

Displacement

There has been an official GoI order to stop new registration of IDPs, which would affect which IDPs are eligible for certain types of governmental assistance. However, there are reports that some IDP registration is still occurring in various governorates.

Eviction still remains a chief concern of IDP families, creating an extra element of uncertainty within their already precarious situations. For example, in Al Asatetha compound in Baghdad, more than 70 IDP families are in danger of eviction. They are currently living in homes belonging to the faculty of nearby Al Mustansiriyah University, and the dean is claiming these homes on behalf of their original owners.

In some cases, authorities are willing to extend eviction orders due to mitigating circumstances. In Anbar 5 IDP families have received a court-order evicting them from a governmental building in Al- Thubat district, Fallujah, near the Al Hathra Al Mahmoudiya mosque. The 6 other families who cohabitated with these IDPs were allowed to remain due to their extreme poverty.

Returnee reports, along with IOM's regular reporting on displacement, including governorate profiles, biweekly updates, tent camp updates, and yearly and mid-year reviews, are available at http://www.iom-iraq.net/library.html#IDP.