Internal displacement in Iraq: the process of working toward durable solutions

With increased levels of security in Iraq in 2008-9, displaced persons have begun to make decisions about their future, and the number of displaced Iraqis making settlement decisions is expected to increase. This research seeks to figure out how the government of Iraq can advance the process of achieving durable solutions to displacement. The final goal is to enable internally displaced persons (IDPs) to attain parity with the non-IDP population, both in terms of rights and socioeconomic conditions.

The paper tries to identify which framework criteria are most relevant to the Iraqi context – thus the areas in which Iraqi IDPs are vulnerable due to their displacement. Indeed, four criteria emerged as the most relevant in terms of the priority concerns of IDPs that impede achievement of durable solutions: harassment, protection, property and standard of living.

The main two findings of the paper are:

• shelter and education are areas where IDPs experience particular difficulties linked to their displacement status
• there are gaps in regards to political participation, access to property, documentation, lack of coercion, and the role of government

Accordingly, the paper presents the following recommendations:

• the government should establish and publicise a streamlined property restitution mechanism
• it should also tailor a national poverty reduction strategy to address IDP vulnerabilities
• the government should strengthen the judicial system
• international and national actors should build capacity of teh government to deliver services
• they should additionally provide community assistance to increase community absorptive capacity
• lastly, donors should maintain commitment to support efforts focused on resolving displacement through durable solutions

Yet, the paper concludes that the process of advancing durable solutions requires a community-based approach to target assistance in a way that best supports reconciliation.