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Internal Displacement in the Middle East
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In the Middle East region there were about 3.8 million IDPs at the end of 2009. This total figure represents a slight decrease since the end of the previous year.
IDMC monitors six displacement situations in the Middle East: in Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, OPT, Syria and Yemen. The figures on internal displacement should be read with caution, as few exercises to profile internally displaced populations in the region have been undertaken, and there are significant variations between different reports of their numbers.
In 2009, there were no significant trends which could be identified across the region. In Iraq, the number of returnees increased but remained a small percentage of the number displaced. Meanwhile the number of IDPs increased dramatically in Yemen and Gaza in OPT. More than 300,000 people displaced in those two places during the year faced acute humanitarian and protection concerns, many of which were shared by other less recent IDPs in the region.
Though there were improvements in the humanitarian and security situation in Iraq, and no major conflict-induced displacement in 2009, the country accounted for the majority of the region’s IDPs, with 2.764 million people internally displaced at the end of the year. Iraq remained one of the most unsafe countries in the world, despite a decrease in the number of recorded violent incidents since 2006 and 2007.
In OPT, 2009 was one of the most violent years since the Israeli occupation began in 1967. The Israeli offensive in Gaza launched in December 2008 displaced more than 100,000 people, and the implementation of policies of house demolitions and revocation of residency permits in East Jerusalem displaced hundreds more. The armed conflict in northern Yemen in the second half of 2009 was the most intensive fighting there since 2004, and the number of IDPs increased to 175,000 by late 2009. Many of them had already been displaced a number of times by previous rounds of conflict.
In Yemen and OPT, people fleeing conflict were killed or injured by warring parties: in Yemen, IDPs fleeing the conflict and others gathered in settlements were killed or injured by indiscriminate bombardments or in cross fire between warring factions; in Gaza during the Israeli offensive, many displaced people were killed or injured while sheltering in UN-designated emergency shelters.
In Iraq, despite the overall decline in violence, returnees and IDPs continued to face endemic violence and threats on the basis of their religious, sectarian or ethnic origins, or simply for being displaced or a returnee.
Restrictions on freedom of movement continued to affect IDPs and non-displaced people alike in a number of countries in the region. Movement restrictions inside Gaza during the offensive, and the refusal by Israel and Egypt to let people leave the enclave, left residents with few safe havens; in the West Bank movement continued to be restricted by around 580 checkpoints, roadblocks and other impediments. In Yemen, checkpoints established by government forces, opposition groups or warring tribes increasingly limited the movement of civilians including those seeking to flee. In late 2009, tens of thousands of people were stranded in conflict areas, while hundreds were reportedly refouled along the Saudi-Yemeni border. In Iraq, checkpoints, curfews, permission requirements and security barriers continued, particularly in Baghdad and surrounding areas.
IDPs’ access to basic services and to assistance varied significantly across the region, with most difficulties faced by IDPs in Yemen, Iraq, and much of OPT. In Gaza, humanitarian access proved impossible due to prevailing insecurity and Israeli restrictions. The continued blockade of Gaza has since 2007 prevented efforts at reconstruction and limited access to basic services. In Yemen, the majority of IDPs lacked basic services, whether they were dispersed among hosts, with whom relations became more tense as resources dwindled, or living in makeshift shelters, or schools.
Elsewhere displaced communities were simply neglected: Bedouin communities in southern Israel had only irregular access to clean water, as the tankers and pipes supplying them had been allowed to fall into disrepair.
Trauma associated with displacement and conflict was reported among children in OPT, Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon.
In Iraq, displaced children were still at risk of recruitment while in Yemen children, displaced or not, were reportedly recruited by various factions to the conflict. In the region the prevalence of gender discrimination continued to restrict the access of displaced women and girls to fundamental rights including education.
Throughout the region, minority groups faced a greater risk of being displaced on the basis of their cultural, religious or ethnic identity. Although sectarian violence declined in Iraq in 2009, sectarian tensions and violence were still evident and led to isolated cases of displacement. In the Negev region of southern Israel, Bedouin communities remained at risk of displacement as the government maintained its policy of destroying villages it deemed illegal. These communities faced widespread protection concerns.
The achievement of durable solutions has been prevented by continued political conflicts and longstanding barriers including insecurity, occupation, and inadequate responses by national authorities. There were no recorded returns in Israel, OPT or Syria due to continuing Israeli occupation and policies. In Iraq, rates of return remained modest. In Yemen, return movements in early 2009 were soon overshadowed by the resumption of hostilities. In Lebanon, the number of returnees achieving durable solutions remained unclear, while Palestinians displaced from Nahr el Bared refugee camp continued to wait as the reconstruction of the camp edged forward.
In general, there was little information about IDPs achieving other durable solutions than return. For many countries in the region, such as Iraq, return continued to be advocated at the expense of other durable solutions.
The national and international responses to internal displacement in the Middle East remained uneven in 2009. Several factors continued to undermine an effective response including restrictions on humanitarian access, insecurity including targeting of humanitarian workers, the lack of resources or the will to recognise, assist or protect IDPs, and the will and capacity of the international community to address crisis situations.
In Lebanon, state institutions, national societies, and the international community have responded to several waves of displacement. However, significant reconstruction was still needed in southern Lebanon and Nahr el Bared. In Iraq, several steps were taken to address the needs of returnees and IDPs, but the ability of the government to provide for durable solutions was weakened by insecurity, lack of national reconciliation, and insufficiency of resources and institutional capacity. Prevailing insecurity also limited the capacity of national and international NGOs and UN agencies to respond effectively.
Yemen and OPT remained two of the region’s neglected crises, despite the increase in the number of people displaced and in the corresponding humanitarian needs. In Yemen, following the resumption of conflict in the second half of 2009, the government took some steps to facilitate a coordinated response; however humanitarian agencies faced a range of challenges in gaining access to IDPs and conflict-affected civilians, due to the prevailing insecurity, the restrictions imposed on them, obstacles from warring parties, and limited resources.
In Gaza, humanitarian access was continuously hindered by the Israeli blockade during and after the Israeli offensive, and onerous administrative restrictions that agencies faced, including those related to the policy of “no contact” with local Hamas authorities. Advocacy denouncing demolition orders against Palestinian’s homes and revocation of residency permits in the West Bank remained ineffective in changing Israeli policies, while Palestinian authorities continued to be impaired by their limited jurisdiction and political disunity.
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