IOM IRAQ DISPLACEMENT REPORTS SPECIAL FOCUS—DISPUTED INTERNAL BOUNDARIES November 2010 International Organization for Migration (IOM) monitoring and needs assessment field staff are located in every governorate in Iraq. These monitors conduct individual interviews with internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnee families, as well as consult local government and community sources for information on displacement and priority needs. The disputed territories within Iraq continue to pose a challenge to the country’s long term stability, not least for the families who live within them. Although the security situation in these areas may have improved in recent years, the families who left their homes and those that return to them struggle to rebuild their lives. KEY FINDINGS In summary, findings show that compared to Iraq-wide averages, families displaced from the DIBs are: → More ethnically and religiously diverse than elsewhere in Iraq → Nearly 10% more likely to cite food as a priority need → Less likely to live in rented homes (42%) than the nationwide average (71%) and more likely to reside in the houses of hosts, public buildings and tents → Twice as likely to state “direct threats to life” and “generalized violence” as their reason for displacement → More than seven times more likely to cite “armed violence” as their reason for displacement → More likely to be displaced within the same governorate, or to neighboring governorates close to their homes Returnees in the DIBs are: → Twice as likely to have been displaced outside of Iraq than other returnees in the country → More insecure. When asked about their feelings of personal security, 80% of returnees in the DIBs say they feel safe “only sometimes” compared to just 21% of returnee families across Iraq. Interviewed Identified Gover- Gover- District IDP District Returnee norate norate Families Families Diyala Baladrooz 4,230 Diyala Baladrooz 881 Diyala Khanaqin 2,188 Diyala Khanaqin 977 Diyala Kifri 454 Diyala Kifri 27 Erbil Makhmur 102 Erbil Makhmur 1 Ninewa Akre 1,037 Ninewa Akre 5 Al- Al- Ninewa 2,226 Ninewa 21 Hamdaniya Hamdaniya Ninewa Al-Shikhan 1,239 Ninewa Al-Shikhan 1 Ninewa Sinjar 212 Ninewa Sinjar 1 Ninewa Telafar 484 Ninewa Telafar 1115 Ninewa Tilkaif 2,518 Above: An IDP family headed by an unemployed widow Ninewa Tilkaif 4 during an assessment in the Shorjah quarter of Kirkuk city Kirkuk Al-Hawiga 2,566 (photo taken by IOM monitors in September 2010) Kirkuk Al-Hawiga 2032 Kirkuk Dabes 496 Kirkuk Dabes 98 Kirkuk Daquq 3,894 Kirkuk Daquq 821 Kirkuk Kirkuk 9,723 Kirkuk Kirkuk 2038 Total 31,369 Total 8,022 1 IOM IRAQ DISPLACEMENT REPORTS SPECIAL FOCUS—DISPUTED INTERNAL BOUNDARIES November 2010 IRAQ’S DISPUTED INTE RNAL BOUNDARIES IN PERSPECTIVE Though 2006 marked a sharp increase in the pace of displacement across Iraq due to the TIMELINE sectarian violence following the bombing of the Al-Askari Mosque, the population move- ments in the north were caused by a range of other factors. Many of the „push‟ factors which prompted families in the north of Iraq to leave or return to their homes have their origins further back in the country‟s history. As such, the families displaced in and return- March 1970 ing to the disputed territories represent a complex group of individuals in need. This report Iraqi government and Kurdish uses data by IOM monitors to describe who those families are and how their needs may at parties agree to a peace ac- times differ from those of other displaced families across Iraq. cord, granting the Kurds limited autonomy and recog- The problems of the disputed internal boundaries are rooted in a complex history. The nizing Kurdish as an official brutal suppression by the previous Iraqi regime, most acute during the 1988 “Al Anfal language. Campaign” and the 1991 uprisings, is well remembered by the regions‟ Kurds who were its 1988 principal, but not exclusive, target. Kurds, as well as other non-ethnic Arabs including Turkmen and Assyrians, were systematically targeted and forced into displacement. The "Al Anfal Campaign" led by Iraqi forces against the Since 2003, major progress has been made to resolve differences between groups in the Kurds begins as the Iran-Iraq war ends. Tens of thousands north and achieve some degree of political independence, culminating in parliamentary and of Kurdish civilians and fight- presidential elections last year. Nevertheless, tensions remain between the authorities in the ers are killed, and hundreds of north and those in Baghdad. Though the 2005 Iraqi constitution recognizes the Kurdish thousands forced into exile. Regional Government‟s (KRG) authority over Dahuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, the status of Kirkuk as well as 11 districts in Diyala, Erbil, Ninewa and Salah al-Din remains contest- 1991 ed. Land and property disputes, high levels of unemployment and recent droughts have Uprisings against the Ba’ath exacerbated many of these tensions. party regime take place in Kurdish populated northern Overcoming these challenges is critically important to Iraq‟s future stability. The petroleum Iraq as well as in the south of the country. They are violent- sector is still a central component of Iraq‟s economy, yet the management and develop- ly suppressed resulting in the ment of oil and gas resources, particularly in the KRG, is a constant source of disagree- exodus of over 10% of the ment between the KRG and the Government of Iraq (GoI). Moreover, since the demo- country’s population. Iraqi graphic composition of and demographic changes in these areas are highly charged issues, government forces eventually the disputed internal boundaries have contributed to further delays in the Iraqi census, pre- withdraw from some areas and Kurdish peshmerga forc- viously scheduled for October 2009. Whilst a comprehensive agreement remains elusive, es take control of Erbil and families living in the DIBs must contend with problems of political instability in addition Sulaymaniyah. to the often harsh living conditions. For map detail 1992 The following report is based on IOM assessments please see back A regional government is of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and page established in Iraqi Kurdistan. returnee families living in the regions 2004 defined as “Disputed Internal Boun- The CPA’s Transitional Ad- daries” (DIBs) within Iraq. Identifying ministrative Law defines the which areas are „disputed‟ is itself a co- KRG—demarcated by the ntested question. The families analyzed Green Line—as territories in here were displaced from those areas the govenorates of Dahuk, considered in a recent UN report on Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk, DIBs.1 Diyala and Ninewa. 2005 Far from being part of the problem, these families are an essential part of the solution for long-term stability Parliamentary elections are held in the governorates of in Iraq. Without addressing the needs of the families that Dahuk, Erbil and Sulaymani- left their homes in the disputed areas, as well as those that return yah. to them, the area will continue to be as insecure as the families that live within it. 2009 Parliamentary elections are again held in the region, this 1 Further to United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1770 and 1830 and their report published in 2009, the United time with separate presiden- Nations has considered the following districts as possible DIBs: Baladrooz, Khanaqin, Kifri, Makhmur, Akre, Al- tial elections. Hamdaniya, Al-Shikhan, Sinjar, Telafar, Tilkaif, Al-Hawiga, Dabes, Daquq and Kirkuk. 2 IOM IRAQ DISPLACEMENT REPORTS SPECIAL FOCUS—DISPUTED INTERNAL BOUNDARIES November 2010 INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS IN DISPUTED INTERNAL BOUNDARIES The IOM definition of internal displacement has two distinctive features: 1) the population movement is coerced or involun- tary, and 2) the movement occurs within national borders. Both of these are highly evident in the disputed internal bounda- ries before and after 2003. Since 2003, in the DIBs as elsewhere in Iraq, one year has stood out as being a benchmark in terms of displacement - 2006. Since 2006, IOM monitors have conducted in-depth assessments of 31,369 families in the areas defined as DIBs, representing approximately 188,214 individuals. Many of these families originally came from Diyala and Baghdad (9,619 and 7,314 respec- tively) which are also the two governorates from which the highest numbers of IDPs originate nationwide. However 6,747 families also come from Ninewa (of which 5,370 are from Mosul) and 4,427 families come from Kirkuk. The fact that so many families were displaced to DIBs from disputed territories or areas close to them reflects the tendency to stay close to areas where familial or tribal support is available. IOM teams in Iraq also state that families who moved to the north during the previous regime and who were displaced by Kurdish forces after 2003 are inclined to stay close to their homes under the hope that at some point they may be able to reclaim these properties. At the time of publication, a new wave of Christian dis- placement is occurring in Iraq, and IOM monitors are reporting these movements both in the DIBs areas and elsewhere in the country. IOM is monitoring the situation and will release in-depth assessments of these newly displaced families. For more information, see the IOM Emergency Needs Assessment “Christian displacement to the North of Iraq”, 29 November. The families displaced since 2006 come from a range of ethnic and religious backgrounds. Many are Arab Sunni Muslim (38%) or Kurd Sunni Muslim (16%) but significant numbers of families displaced from the DIBs are also Arab Shia Muslim (13%) or Assyrian Christian (13%). IOM monitors reported last month that incidents such as car bombs and suicide attacks, although less frequent than in previ- ous years, do continue to occur. This is reflected partly in the reasons for displacement which IDP families cite.