UNHCR’s Operation
in Iraq
IRAQ
UPDATE
29 September 2003
Villagers in Dengawa near Erbil laying the foundations for their houses. UNHCR/ F. Del Mundo.
Protecting Afghans I Background
When the United Nations re-entered Iraq in early May, UNHCR set to work to establish a
presence throughout the country so it could monitor conditions in areas of potential return,
and assist and offer protection to refugees and returnees.
By mid-August, UNHCR had nine offices open in Iraq, with 42 international staff and 98
local personnel. Staff were located throughout the country, operating out of three regional
centres located in Baghdad, Basra, and Erbil.
On 20 August, following the previous day’s tragic events in Baghdad, the United Nations
security management team agreed to evacuate all but the most essential international UN staff
from Baghdad and Basrah. All international staff members working in the north were
relocated to Erbil. Subsequently, however, the security situation deteriorated and it was
agreed to reduce the number of internationals in the north as well. UNHCR currently has a
total of three international staff members in Iraq, one in Baghdad and two in Erbil. It still has
118 national staff in the country, most of whom have been encouraged to take leave or stay at
home for security reasons. National staff concentrate on undertaking the most essential tasks,
working in in coordination with local partners, local communities and structures, and the
authorities.
Like other UN organisations, UNHCR has relocated most of its international staff to Amman,
in neighbouring Jordan. It is setting up a small, flexible unit to support the operation, pending
improvement of the situation inside Iraq and the gradual resumption of activities. Staff will
rotate from Amman into and out of Iraq on a regular basis to monitor the situation of refugees
and returnees and link up with partners such as the Iraqi and Palestinian Red Crescent
Societies and with staff inside the country. One priority is also to ensure that national staff
members are fully briefed and supported. A smaller international team has been based in
Kuwait City to organise cross-border operations into southern Iraq.
Through its presence in Iraq, and by sending staff into the country on mission, UNHCR aims
to maintain coordination of activities that benefit refugees, returnees, and IDPs – both those
for which sub-agreements have already been signed and (to the extent possible) new projects
too.
The organisation agreed on 9 September to maintain this modus operandi for two months. It
will then be reviewed in light of related political, military and security developments, and the
UN’s ability to move about and interact with beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, UNHCR Senior Field Safety Advisors, in close coordination with
UNSECOORD, analyse the situation as it evolves to advise staff on security matters and
adopt security plans accordingly. Like its sister agencies, UNHCR is currently obliged to
invest in new, upgraded security equipment, reinforcing offices and residential
accommodation around the country.
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Iraq Update 29 September 2003
Protecting Afghans I The Initial Phase
When UNHCR launched its Revised Appeal for Iraq in July 2003, it highlighted four
objectives:
1. Coordinate and facilitate the voluntary, safe and orderly return of Iraqi refugees and
asylum seekers, promoting their sustainable reintegration in their communities of
origin.
2. Provide protection and assistance to refugees living in Iraq, and where appropriate,
facilitate their voluntary repatriation.
3. Contribute to orderly and sustainable return and reintegration programmes for
internally displaced persons in designated areas of return.
4. Promote the reduction of statelessness as well as a secure status for stateless persons,
including through legislative advice.
Over the following six weeks, the operation began to make progress on the first three
objectives. From the beginning, staff prioritised the establishment and strengthening of links
with local partners, as well as with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and other UN
organisations. Support from community leaders has proved essential in, for example, defusing
tension between refugees and local residents, and in designing projects to support the
reintegration of returnees. In addition, local NGOs have been tasked with the implementation
of a number of activities.
Between the end of July and late August, UNHCR facilitated the voluntary return via Kuwait
of more than 800 Iraqi refugees who had been living in the Rafha camp in Saudi Arabia. At
the same time, agreements were brokered between the authorities in the Islamic Republic of
Iran and in Iraq regarding the repatriation of Iraqis from western Iran to non-contentious
destinations. Some 5,600 Iraqis have been living in the Rafha camp for more than 12 years
now, and are now desperate to leave. Many of the 200,000 in Iran are equally insistent that
they want to return from camps in Iran.
Inside Iraq, efforts had been stepped up to assist different groups of refugees (including
Palestinians, Iranian Arabs, Syrians) who were facing increasing difficulties following the
collapse of the previous regime which had provided a high level of assistance and support, in
particular to Palestinian refugees. UNHCR had, for example, registered several thousand
Palestinian refugees, starting with those who had been evicted from their homes in Baghdad.
The organisation was negotiating with the Coalition Provisional Authority to find
accommodation for these people and had drawn up a project to rehabilitate apartments in
government-owned buildings in the capital. Work on this issue has continued since 19 August
(see below).
UNHCR was also preparing a comprehensive plan of action to ensure a coordinated approach
to resolving the situation of the Iranian Kurd refugees living in the Al Tash camp and in No
Man’s Land between Iraq and Jordan. The idea is to set up a pilot Convention Plus project,
which would involve improving basic services at the camp, pursuing the relocation to and
local integration in Northern Iraq, advocating for repatriation to Iran, and initiating the
resettlement of refugees who are found to be eligible. Even before 19 August, the Al Tash
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Iraq Update 29 September 2003
area had been classified as Phase 5, making it very difficult for UNHCR to visit its
inhabitants.
A series of UNHCR-implemented pilot projects for the return and reintegration of refugees
and IDPs was launched in villages in the northern governorates of Erbil and Dohuk where no
major ethnic or property disputes could be identified. These aimed to provide shelter kits to
returnee families and to upgrade water supplies both for returnees and the host communities.
Additional projects were set in motion, carried out by NGO partners, local and international.
UNHCR was also assessing the situation in parts of Mosul and Suleimaniya with a view to
initiating similar activities in suitable villages here.
Protecting Afghans I The Situation Today
Despite the hazardous operating environment, UNHCR continues to strive to meet the
objectives set earlier in the summer, continuing to support voluntary repatriation and provide
care and maintenance to Iraqi refugees in neighbouring countries, to assist both refugees in
Iraq, and to contribute to the orderly and sustainable return of IDPs. To support all these
activities, UNHCR will endeavour to build Iraqi capacity to take part in these programmes. At
the same time, it is reorganising working arrangements so that staff safety is maximised, as
well as building up and maintaining logistical arrangements and supply depots throughout the
region.
Voluntary repatriation
Voluntary repatriation convoys are continuing from Rafha; the fourth convoy (some 450
people) returned from a 12-year sojourn in the Saudi camp on 23-24 September, bringing the
total number of returnees from Rafha to 1,200. Returnees are registered by UNHCR and
transported back to Iraq on Saudi trucks. UNHCR staff accompany the convoy as far as the
border with Kuwait. Once in Iraq, the CPA provides an escort and the returnees are met by
UNHCR staff. Access to food and other assistance is assured by the voluntary repatriation
form the returnees fill out before departure. The CPA has agreed that this document should
not only serve as a travel document but also as a temporary national identification card. Some
2,300 Iraqis have registered with UNHCR to return from Rafha.
Plans for the first organised repatriation movement from Iran were put on hold following 19
August. Some people continue to make their own way home from Iran, however, and a small
number report to UNHCR on arrival.
Monitoring of both registered and spontaneous returnees is virtually non-existent at present,
due to restrictions on the movement of both international and national staff, an issue that is of
great concern to UNHCR.
The overriding concern for returnees (and for the local population) is the availability of water
and housing – both of which are in chronically short supply. UNHCR is therefore prioritising
activities in both sectors. Work has started on the rehabilitation of water systems in two areas
in southern Iraq, Al Tanouma and Medaina. Refugees have already returned from Iran to both
these areas, where water systems have collapsed over the past decade. A sub-agreement has
been signed with an international NGO (Intersos) to refurbish way stations and transit centres
for returnees.
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Iraq Update 29 September 2003
Support to Refugees in Iraq
UNHCR is also responsible for protecting and assisting refugees living in Iraq. Registration
of Palestinian refugees continues, via a team of registration clerks monitored by senior
national UNHCR staff. By mid-September, some 4,000 families had been registered. Some
400 evicted Palestinian families continue to live in the Haifa Sports Club. Although UNHCR
provides basic services such as tents, drinking water, primary healthcare, and sanitary
facilities via the Palestinian Red Crescent, living conditions are not acceptable. Plans to move
these people to a nearby apartment complex have now been stalled, as UNHCR has learnt that
the building is not likely to be available in the near future. UNHCR aims, however, to provide
an entire residential site for the Palestinians, with houses, water supplies, sewage, drainage,
electrical lines, internal roads, schools, a recreation area and market place.
Syrian refugees remain a priority for UNHCR. Registration has been carried out and the
Office has provided attestation letters to some. The process was interrupted by the relocation
of international staff from Baghdad but will resume in the coming weeks. UNHCR will also
provide material assistance to registered refugees.
Iranian refugees living in Al Tash and Dujaila camps visit the UNHCR offices in Baghdad.
UNHCR staff cannot travel to the camps themselves. Concerned about its inability to contact
these refugees directly (access was difficult even before the events of 19 August) UNHCR is
discussing ways of assisting the residents of Al Tash with other organisations and hopes that
agreement will be reached on this very soon. Looking further ahead, the long-term plan is still
to implement a “Convention Plus” project for the Al Tash population. Refugee
representatives from Dujaila tell UNHCR that people continue to return to Iran spontaneously
from the camp, and that the situation is generally calm and the most essential humanitarian
needs being met. UNHCR is, however, looking for ways to provide stoves and blankets as
well as equipment for income-generating projects over the next few weeks.
Projects in the north continue, largely carried out by NGOs (local and international) with
whom sub-agreements were signed in August. As well as assisting Turkish refugees in
Makhmour camp, UNHCR is focussing on activities to assist returnees, initially IDPs.
Ongoing projects include renovation of water supplies and a number of housing projects for
returnees in Dohuk and Erbil, as well as some income generation activities. UNHCR also
hopes that it will be possible to undertake some more projects in Suleimania shortly –
including interventions to support people relocating from Al Tash. The office is currently
finalising a sub-agreement for a project to rehabilitate ten villages in Suleimania with an Iraqi
NGO, and completing plans to fumigate 36 villages in Dohuk and rehabilitate health clinics in
the area.
Capacity Building
It is important to build local capacity to contribute to, and eventually take responsibility for,
activities in all these areas. UNHCR has welcomed the recent appointment of the Minister for
Refugees and Migration and will now devise a strategy to support the new ministry, by
building capacity and providing input to the new nationality law soon to be enacted, as well
as on other related legal issues. In this context, the Office plans to offer training courses in
Amman for key government officials dealing with refugees and displaced peoples.
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Iraq Update 29 September 2003
Support to Iraqi Refugees in Neighbouring Countries
UNHCR is also providing assistance and protection to refugees in countries of asylum, under
its Iraq programme. Most of these refugees have been in exile for many years, notably in Iran,
Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, where UNHCR maintains field offices to provide legal and
material assistance. Others arrived more recently, as result of the intervention in Iraq earlier
this year when more than 1,000 fled to Jordan. A further 1,200 remain stranded in No Man’s
Land between Iraq and Jordan. In addition to carrying out care and maintenance and
protection activities in camps and refugee communities, staff are registering potential
returnees for eventual repatriation, and surveying refugee groups to assess their needs.
Protecting Afghans I
Funding Situation
As of 24 September 2003, donors had contributed some USD 63.2 million in support to
UNHCR’s Iraq operation. This includes contributions made against the emergency
preparedness phase of the operation.
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Iraq Update 29 September 2003