Iraq

Overview | 30 June 2015

Iraq: IDPs caught between a rock and a hard place as displacement crisis deepens

Violence against civilians in Iraq has driven three million people into internal displacement in just eighteen months, with access to safety dramatically restricted by the fragmentation of society.

Overview | 10 October 2011

Response still centred on return despite increasing IDP demands for local integration

While Iraq is moving towards a development phase, new displacement still occurs and a large number of people have unmet needs

Overview | 14 December 2010

Political wrangling leaves around 2.8 million displaced Iraqis with no durable solutions in sight

Seven years after the March 2003 US-led invasion, Iraq remains deeply divided. Iraqis have been internally displaced in three periods: either under the former Ba’ath government; from the March 2003 invasion until the February 2006 Samarra bombing; and since then. Today, one in ten Iraqi is still internally displaced, totaling 2.8 million people.

Overview | 04 March 2010

Little new displacement but around 2.8 million Iraqis remain internally displaced

Seven years after the March 2003 US-led invasion, Iraq remains deeply divided. There are few prospects of durable solutions for the approximately 15 per cent of the population who are displaced inside and outside Iraq. It is thought that there are almost 2.8 million internally displaced people (IDPs), close to half of whom were displaced prior to 2003.

Overview | 28 December 2008

Iraq: Challenges of forced displacement

More than 2.8 million people were estimated to have been internally displaced in Iraq as of November 2008. Approximately 1.6 million were thought to have been displaced by sectar-ian and generalised violence since the Al Askari mosque bombing of February 2006, and approximately 190,000 more had been displaced by military operations and generalised violence from 2003 to 2005.

Overview | 30 March 2007

A displacement crisis

More than 727,000 people are estimated to have been internally displaced due to sectarian and generalised violence in Iraq between February 2006 and March 2007.

Overview | 23 May 2006

Sectarian violence, military operations spark new displacement, as humanitarian access deteriorates

An estimated 81,000 people were forced to flee their homes in a matter of two months by sectarian violence sparked by an attack on the Al-Ashkari shrine in Samarra in February. These newly-displaced people are in addition to more than one million internally displaced people (IDPs) in Iraq, the majority forced out by conflict and human rights violations under the former regime.

Overview | 11 July 2005

Iraq: Insecurity and lack of shelter exacerbate internal displacement crisis

Decades of conflict and human rights abuses have caused the displacement of more than a million people within Iraq. The majority of internally displaced people (IDPs) were forcibly displaced under the previous regime, which targeted communities perceived to be in political opposition as well as using forcible displacement as one of its tactics to strengthen control of resource-rich areas.

Summary | 31 December 2013

Iraq: Internal displacement in brief

Up to 2.1 million people were displaced in Iraq and unable to achieve durable solutions as of 2013.

Publication | 20 December 2013

Internal Displacement in Iraq: Barriers to Integration

This report looks at integration since 85 percent of Iraqi IDPs want to integrate but it is not always a question of choice since often they can neither return home nor move elsewhere.

Publication | 02 April 2012

Workshop report: Iraqi Protracted Displacement

This workshop organised by the RSC and IDMC aimed to provide a small forum for discussion on how policymakers, practitioners and researchers can contribute to ‘unlocking’ recurrent and protracted Iraqi displacement

Country Profile | 10 October 2011

Iraq: Response still centred on return despite increasing IDP demands for local integration

With the level of violence declining to levels unseen since the American-led intervention in 2003, Iraq is in 2011 moving away from an emergency situation to a development phase. However, new displacement still occurs and a large number of people have unmet humanitarian needs.

Briefing Paper | 30 June 2011

Iraq: IDPs and their prospects for durable solutions

Briefing paper presented at the UNHCR annual consultations with non-governmental organisations, 28 – 30 June 2011, Geneva

Briefing Paper | 01 July 2010

Fallen off the agenda: More and better aid needed For iraq recovery

As foreign troops are withdrawing from Iraq and a new government is to be formed, Iraq finds itself entering a phase of transition. Attention is now turning to how the emerging Iraqi democracy and the future Iraqi government will be able to ensure long-term stability and sustainable recovery for the country.

Country Profile | 04 March 2010

Little new displacement but around 2.8 million Iraqis remain internally displaced

Seven years after the March 2003 US-led invasion, Iraq remains deeply divided. There are few prospects of durable solutions for the approximately 15 per cent of the population who are displaced inside and outside Iraq. It is thought that there are almost 2.8 million internally displaced people (IDPs), close to half of whom were displaced prior to 2003. Though Iraq is no longer in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, daily life for all Iraqis is precarious. Public health, electricity, water and sanitation services remain inadequate.

Country Profile | 29 December 2008

Challenges of forced displacement within Iraq

More than 2.8 million people were estimated to have been internally displaced in Iraq as of November 2008. Approximately 1.6 million were thought to have been displaced by sectarian and generalised violence since the Al Askari mosque bombing of February 2006, and approximately 190,000 more had been displaced by military operations and generalised violence from 2003 to 2005. An estimated 1.2 million were displaced by the policies of the former government of Saddam Hussein. In addition, it is estimated that more that two million Iraqis have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

Country Profile | 30 March 2007

Iraq: A displacement crisis

More than 727,000 people are estimated to have been internally displaced due to sectarian and generalised violence in Iraq between February 2006 and March 2007. Together with tens of thousands more displaced by ongoing military operations, and more than one million by the abuses of the former regime of Saddam Hussein, this leads to a total of nearly 1.9 million people currently estimated to be displaced within Iraq. In addition, some 2 million Iraqis fled to neighbouring countries as of March 2007.

Country Profile | 23 May 2006

Iraq: Sectarian violence, military operations spark new displacement, as humanitarian access deteriorates

An estimated 81,000 people were forced to flee their homes in a matter of two months by sectarian violence sparked by an attack on the Al-Ashkari shrine in Samarra in February. These newly-displaced people are in addition to more than one million internally displaced people (IDPs) in Iraq, the majority forced out by conflict and human rights violations under the former regime.

Country Profile | 11 July 2005

Profile of Internal Displacement: Iraq

Decades of conflict and human rights abuses have caused the displacement of more than a million people within Iraq. The majority of internally displaced people (IDPs) were forcibly displaced under the previous regime, which targeted communities perceived to be in political opposition as well as using forcible displacement as one of its tactics to strengthen control of resource-rich areas. Prior to the United Statesled invasion of Iraq in March 2003 that led to the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime, it is estimated that some 800,000 people were displaced in the north and centre, mainly Kurds, but also Assyrians and Turkmen

Country Profile | 24 November 2004

Profile of Internal Displacement: Iraq (November 2004)

More than a million people remain internally displaced in Iraq today, though figures are uncertain given the poor security in the country. The majority of internally displaced people (IDPs) were forcibly displaced under the previous regime, which targeted communities perceived to be in political opposition as well as using forcible displacement as one of its tactics to gain control of resource-rich areas.

Country Profile | 19 February 2004

Profile of Internal Displacement: Iraq (February 2004)

The collapse of the regime of Saddam Hussein following the US-led war in Iraq in March 2003 created the political conditions for the 800,000 Kurds who had been forcibly displaced under a brutal policy of “Arabisation” to return to their homes.

Country Profile | 25 February 2003

Profile of Internal Displacement: Iraq

As many as 900,000 people could be displaced within Iraq as a result of a military intervention, according to UN estimates (UN OCHA 7 Jan 03, p10). The majority of the displaced would probably flee from the centre and the south of the country to northern Iraq, in the zone controlled by Iraqi Kurdish authorities. Internal displacement could result from fighting, but also from deliberate war strategy. The Iraqi regime could force people living in the South to flee, for instance by spreading the rumor that weapons of mass destruction will be used to generate panic and instigate large scale flight (CHC 23 Dec 02).

Country Profile | 10 June 2002

Profile of Internal Displacement: Iraq

Iraq is host to the highest number of internally displaced people in the Middle East. Between 700,000 and 1 million people are estimated internally displaced in Iraq. Ethnic Kurds, Assyrians and Turkmen have suffered from several waves of displacement over the past two decades, mainly due to repression by the Iraqi government and to a lesser extent to inter–ethnic Kurdish fighting. Shia Arab populations in the south of Iraq have also been displaced from their homes due to government actions, particularly since 1991.

Country Profile | 25 July 2001

Profile of Internal Displacement: Iraq (July 2001)

From a security perspective, Iraq has been de facto divided since 1991 in two areas, northern Iraq, under Kurdish administrative control, and the rest of the country, under government control. USCR estimated that about 700,000 persons were internally displaced at the end of 2000, i.e. 600,000 in northern Iraq and about 100,000 in the government-controlled area (USCR 2001, p.179). Due to lack of information, there is however no reliable figure on internal displacement in Iraq.

Country Profile | 06 February 2001

Profile of Internal Displacement: Iraq (February 2001)

There are several causes of internal displacement to and within northern Iraq and today 800,000 persons are considered displaced in the north (USCR 2000, p.187). The most serious cause has been Iraqi government actions.

Blog Post | 03 July 2014

Iraq: The displacement crisis that was waiting to happen

With over 500,000 people fleeing Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city in June and more than 700,000 people internally displaced in the rest country since January 2014, IDMC breaks these figures down to show the deeper dynamics affecting this current crisis.

Map | 30 June 2015

Internal displacement in Iraq

This map shows the internal displacement in Iraq as of June 2015

Map | 01 November 2005

Internal displacement in Iraq