IRAQ UNHCR IDP OPERATIONAL UPDATE 16-31 January 2015
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IRAQ UNHCR IDP OPERATIONAL UPDATE 16-31 January 2015 KEY FIGURES HIGHLIGHTS 600,000+ During the reporting period, UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie visited Syrian IDPs provided with shelter and core refugees and internally displaced Iraqis living in an informal settlement and relief items since January 2014 several camps in Duhok Governorate, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I). The Special Envoy called for international leadership to end suffering caused by the regional conflict. 877,253 The estimated number of internally displaced Iraqis now exceeds 2.25 million. IDPs reached through protection monitoring 30,358 Families approved for cash assistance 48,335 Individuals received special needs support 48,335 People provided with legal assistance FUNDING USD 348million requested for the operation NB: This map reflects IDP figures as of 25 January. Population of concern Over people of concern (Source: IOM-DTM 29 January, 2015). 2,255,148 There are also 59,500 IDPs in the five southern governorates according to local authorities, not included below. Kurdistan Region of Iraq 791,766 PRIORITIES Baghdad 155,952 . Registration and needs profiling Diyala 119,856 . Increase access to legal assistance Najaf 77,304 . Prioritize the most vulnerable Karbala 69,042 . Reduce risk of SGBV Babylon 45,708 . Provide essential CRIs . Winterization support Ninewa 174,144 . Service providers in camps Salah-al-Din 64,560 . WASH facilities in camps Anbar 386,904 Kirkuk 303,588 1 UNHCR IDP Operational Update - Iraq UPDATE ON ACHIEVEMENTS Operational Context The estimated number of internally displaced Iraqis now exceeds 2.25 million, according to IOM’s January Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM). IDPs have settled in 2,282 locations across the country; approximately 791,766 of them are in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I). Conflict has displaced thousands of people from Maktab Khalid via Kirkuk to Suleimaniyah. Many of the displaced families originate from the Yathrib sub-district in Salahaddin Governorate. Throughout central Iraq, internal displacement continues in areas where international agencies have limited access. Conflict in the Anbar Governorate still causes displacement near the cities of Heet, Al Baghdadi, Ramadi, and Fallujah; these areas reportedly lacking fuel, food and medicine. Haditha remains inaccessible and is in dire need of essential fuel, food and medicine. With the prices of basic commodities having risen, the need for cash assistance throughout Anbar is greater than ever. The overall security situation in the city of Kirkuk and its surrounding areas remains volatile, with reports of clashes in the south and south-west of the city. All UN personnel were relocated from Kirkuk to Erbil on 4 February. Protection In line with the protection cluster strategy, the monitoring teams of UNHCR and its partners have reached a total of 877,253 individuals throughout Iraq, to determine needs, vulnerabilities, registration status, demographic information, and accommodation circumstances. CAMP Achievements and Impact UNHCR protection teams continue to carry out regular visits to IDP camps and urban areas throughout Iraq for monitoring and direct service provision. Community mobilisation to establish camp committees and women committees in the Garmawa, Chamishku, Kabarto, Bajet Kandala and Dawodia camps continues. Coordination of those activities with the camp managers is expected to facilitate recognition and acceptance of those committees by camp management authorities. In Erbil Governorate, an awareness session and Q&A session focusing on civil documentation Constructing tents donated by the Switzerland in Arbat IDP Camp. UNHCR/R.Naylor procedures was held in the Baharka IDP camp. Qandil lawyers answered questions from participants on how and where documents can be renewed and obtained, in order to raise awareness among female camp residents of their rights and legal procedures. In Suleimaniyah Governorate, 4,958 families comprising 24,000 individuals have been registered after the recent influx of IDPs. UNHCR is supporting the process of registration through its partner CDO. The total of registered IDPs in this Governorate is now 34,414 families comprising 165,130 individuals. Identified Needs and Remaining Gaps An assessment was conducted in Debagah, Erbil Governorate, where IDPs from the Gayara and Makhmour districts were displaced earlier in the month. An inter-agency mission comprising UNHCR, UNDP, UN-Habitat, IOM, UNICEF and the Erbil Refugee Council took place to assess proposed sites for setting up an IDP camp. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – www.unhcr.org 2 UNHCR IDP Operational Update - Iraq The upsurge in the number of new arrivals in Arbat IDP camp requires humanitarian actors to provide urgent additional services for education, health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). 40 cases of scabies were reported in Garmawa IDP camp in Ninewa Governorate. During the reporting period, UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie visited Syrian refugees and internally displaced Iraqis living in several camps and informal settlements in Duhok Governorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I). The Special Envoy called for international leadership to end suffering caused by regional conflicts. At Khanke camp, which now accommodates more than 20,000 people from the Yazidi minority who fled Sinjar and surrounding areas in early August 2014, Ms. Jolie spoke to people with dramatic stories of escape, including people who managed to flee their imprisonment by walking through the night and hiding by day. She also met elderly women who were among the 196 Yazidis recently released by insurgents and now staying in the informal settlement at Khanke. Videos are available for download at the following links: https://www.wetransfer.com/downloads/8707ca11928cd8106ee0808b2f12b3f920150210094738/decbb8 https://www.wetransfer.com/downloads/48b2f953f136b60a6d736d11de1d0c8520150208174411/82add5 NON-CAMP Achievements and Impact To date, 12,977 IDP families have received cash assistance from UNHCR across Iraq: 5,727 families in the KR-I and 7,250 families in the central and southern governorates of Iraq. Cash assistance to families in the KR-I is being distributed as part of UNHCR’s winterization strategy. Over 290 Iraqi nationals who have left Iraq due to the conflict have crossed back into the country from Turkey, via the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing in Duhok Governorate. Child Protection partners are continuing to provide psychosocial support to the IDP, refugee and host community children, both in and out of camps, through child/youth friendly spaces. Mobile and static Child Protection Units are providing services as well as referrals to other specialised services in both camp and non-camp locations in the KR-I. In Diyala Governorate, the PARC teams in Khanaqeen conducted field visits to various villages to identify protection needs and provide legal assistance. Identified Needs and Remaining Gaps Hundreds of IDP families in the urban areas of Suleimaniyah have reported they cannot send their children to school because of lack of resources for transportation. With an increasing number of IDP families and a limited number of child protection actors, the unmet protection needs of children are significant. Children living out of camps remain hard to reach, and there are increasing reports of protection concerns, including child labour and early marriage. Adolescents can be particularly vulnerable, with limited access to education. On 27 January, UNHCR and PARC staff conducted a visit to Bozan and Shekhka, two villages 50 km north of Mosul. 100 families are living in an unfinished building in dire conditions, lacking basic services. Access through the checkpoints into the KR-I remains a major issue for IDP families from outside of the region. Shelter and NFIs As the inter-agency Shelter/NFI Cluster lead agency, UNHCR is implementing the national Shelter/NFI Cluster shelter and winterization strategy, to complement the work of local authorities and other humanitarian actors in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable IDPs throughout Iraq. Assistance gives priority to those people living outdoors, in sub-standard structures, in Kerosene distribution to newly arrived IDPs UNHCR/K.Ali United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – www.unhcr.org 3 UNHCR IDP Operational Update - Iraq colder climatic conditions, or with particular individual vulnerabilities. CAMP Achievements and Impact YAO distributed core relief items (CRIs) to 675 newly displaced IDP families in the Arbat IDP camp who had arrived from Salahaddin. The distribution also included tents and tent insulation kits (padding and inner liners). 20,000 litres of kerosene have also been distributed by YAO. The distribution covered 400 IDP families in Arbat IDP camp. In Bajet Kandala IDP camp, KURDS has constructed 236 kitchen units. The construction of a primary health centre (PHC) by PUAMI in Bajet Kandala is also complete. Lastly, the Swedish Kurdish Association (SKA) has opened a functional PHC in Bajet Kandala 2. The extension of Garmawa IDP camp is on-going and 702 concrete slabs are complete. The planned construction will provide an additional 1,320 family tents with concrete slab bases. The construction of the rub-hall in Berseve 2 IDP camp is complete. The first phase of concrete slab tents was completed in the Sharia IDP camp. Phase 2 will start in February, with a plan to cover the whole camp. In Baharka IDP Camp, UNHCR has started the construction