Working Papers Global Migration: Consequences and Responses Paper 2020/33, January 2020 Refugee Protection Iraq Country Report William K. Warda & Hqamed Shihab Almaffraji Hammurabi Human Rights Organization © Hammurabi Human Rights Organization. This research was conducted under the Horizon 2020 project ‘RESPOND Multilevel Governance of Migration and Beyond’ (#770564). This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Commission. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the RESPOND Project consortium and authors can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. The European Union is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at: [email protected] This document is available for download at https://www.respondmigration.com Horizon 2020 RESPOND: Multilevel Governance of Migration and Beyond (770564) 2 CONTENT 3 Acknowledgement 4 List of tables 5 List of abbreviations 6 About the Project 7 Executive Summary 8 1- Introduction 9 2- Methodology 10 3- The national system for International Protection 11 3.1 Brief History of International Protection 11 3.2 The Legal and Political Framework on International Protection 13 3.3 The institutional framework and actors with regard to international protection 13 3.4 Definitions and Perceptions of Protection at the National Level. 14 3.5 Developments since 2011 17 4- Abiding by International Law 20 5- Implementing International Protection on the National level 22 5.1 Choosing Iraq as a country to take refuge in 22 5.2 The process of applying for asylum 22 5.3 Impressions from the viewpoint of refugees and asylum seekers regarding the procedures and the behavior of investigators 25 5.4 The role of non-state actors with regards to security 27 5.5 Family Unification 28 5.6 Detention, Deportation, Return, and Exposure 29 6- Examples of few positive national practices 31 7- Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs) Situation 32 7.1 The Implementation of IDPs Protection 33 8- Conclusion. 37 9- Recommendations. 39 10- Sources. 40 11- Appendix 42 3 Acknowledgement On behalf of the Iraqi research team, formed by the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization (HHRO) that worked collectively and tirelessly to accomplish this research, we would like to express our sincere thanks and gratitude to the Iraqi experts who gave us their advice and help in providing us with the required information, especially some of the experts of the Permanent Committee for Refugee Affairs. We would also like to express our thanks to Dr. (Mohamed Turki Al-Obaidi), director of the Human Rights Department at the Iraqi Ministry of Justice for reviewing this report and making valuable comments on it, and adding information related to international agreements and treaties that Iraq recently joined. We would like to thank Mr. Rabi Roil for his efforts in volunteering and the initiative to translate the report from Arabic into English, and at the same time we extend our sincere thanks to the effort and initiative of the volunteer who wanted to remain anonymous for the review and evaluation of the English language. In conclusion, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to Mr. Soner Barthoma and Mr. Onver A.Cetrez, who are the project coordinators for RESPOND, for their guidance and observations during our Skype meetings which were carried out during the reporting period. Special thanks to Dr. Ela GOKALP ARAS for her direct contact with as to communicate the valuable guidance of the team that works with her, which consists of Dr.Zeynep SAHIN MENCUTEK, Dr.Electra PETRAKOU, Ndina LIVADITI, Eva PAPATZANI, regarding the outlines and the structure of this research. 4 List of Tables: Table 1: The main UN conventions on human rights, to which Iraq acceded.……………………11 Table 2: The actual interviews for Syrian refugees………………………………………………… 42 Table 3: The actual interviews for IDPs ...……………………………………………………………43 Table 4 Other agreements on human rights and Iraq’s position on them…………………………44 5 List of Abbreviations JCC: Joint Coordination Center HHRO: Hammurabi Human Rights Organization IDPs: Internally Displaced Persons. IOM: International Organization for Migration MOMD: Ministry of Migration and Displacement UNHCR: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UPR: Universal Periodic Review WFP: World Food Program 6 About the Project RESPOND is a Horizon 2020 project which aims at studying the multilevel governance of migration in Europe and beyond. The consortium is formed of 14 partners from 11 source, transit and destination countries and is coordinated by Uppsala University in Sweden. The main aim of this Europe-wide project is to provide an in-depth understanding of the governance of recent mass migration at macro, meso and micro levels through cross-country comparative research and to critically analyse governance practices with the aim of enhancing the migration governance capacity and policy coherence of the EU, its member states and third countries. RESPOND analyses migration governance through a narrative which is constructed along five thematic fields: (1) Border management and security, (2) Refugee protection regimes, (3) Reception policies, (4) Integration policies, and (5) Conflicting Europeanization. Each thematic field is reflecting a juncture in the migration journey of refugees and designed to provide a holistic view of policies, their impacts and responses given by affected actors within. In order to better focus on these themes, we divided our research question into work packages (WPs). The present report is concerned with the findings related to WP3, which focuses specifically on asylum procedures and refugee protection. 7 Executive Summary This report is a study of the conditions of asylum seekers and refugees in Iraq, as well as covering data and scenarios on internally displaced persons, with regard to international protection and other types of protection, and knowledge of the extent of its adaptation to regional and international agreements, instruments and treaties related to the protection of refugees and everything related to human rights and protecting it. In this context, the scope of the report can be summarized as follows: • The legal, institutional and political framework regarding asylum seekers and refugees in relation to international protection, and it covers the limits of this protection for the period between 2011 and 2017. • The report presents perceptions, experiences and strategies facing actors at the micro and meso levels, in other words, policy implementers and policy beneficiaries in relation to international protection. • Policies to implement international protection and its implications, procedures, difficulties and problems, based on the field work carried out by the working group in Iraq through meetings with asylum seekers, refugees and displaced persons. • The nature of the work and coordination between governmental and non-governmental institutions and other actors that deal with international protection and the extent of their success in assigning work, coordination and cooperation, and the problems arising between these relevant bodies. • Providing solutions and recommendations within the framework of policies and best practices at the national and local levels. Therefore, the objectives of this report (WP3) can be summarized as follows: • Analyzing the international approach for asylum procedures and refugee protection, and the extent of their implementation and impact in Iraq. • Providing analysis based on analysis of macro-level encounters based on (WP1 national report) and micro-and intermediate (Meso) level analyzes through fieldwork. • Explaining and evaluating international protection systems at the national and local levels. • Analyzing the actors at the Meso-level, perceptions, actions and reactions of refugees and displaced persons to asylum procedures and policies and refugee protection. 8 1. Introduction The report aims to shed light on the international national protection of Iraq since the international community started to conclude international and regional agreements in this regard. The report also attempts to show the extent of Iraq’s commitment to the provisions of laws, customs and international agreements regarding refugees after it became a destination for them, especially in the period between 2011- 2017, as it received more than 250,000 Syrian refugees1. The number of Turkish refugees of Kurdish origin reaches 11,500, while Iranian refugees reach 8,500, and most of them are of Kurdish origin as well.2 Iraq has yet to legislate a law specific to refugees (humanitarian asylum) (Law No. 51 of 1971 on political asylum does not include provisions that include humanitarian asylum) despite the large numbers of refugees residing in it, especially from Syria, as mentioned above. The report questions whether Iraq has been able to provide adequate protection for refugees and to what extent was Iraq able to adapt its laws and legislations in accordance with the rules of international law and other international and regional standards, despite its limited experience in welcoming large numbers of refugees within a very short period? The report also seeks to reflect on the national protection in Iraq for internally displaced persons, especially since Iraq witnessed armed conflict in many cities and regions, especially in the years of 2005-2007, as well as exposure to violence and terrorism during the past ten years that affected