By the end of 2021, there were almost 38,000 refugees and asylum seekers originating from countries other than Syria (non-Syrians) registered with UNHCR, representing 13% of total refugees, mainly Turkish (17,000), Iranian (10,000) and Palestinian (8,000). Forty-seven percent were female. In 2021, there were over 2,000 new registrations, of whom 350 were new arrivals, 200 new births, and 1,500 individuals registered in-situ.
Most refugees and asylum seekers have been in a protracted state of displacement for many years and reside in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas in five of the most populated governorates in Iraq. While the situation varies from one governorate to another, most refugees remain relatively well-integrated and generally enjoy access to public services, including education, health, and the right to work. To reduce protection risks and improve socioeconomic well-being, UNHCR continued to provide services including legal assistance and access to documentation, court representation, assistance for basic needs (in cash), child protection services, community empowerment, support to persons with specific needs (PwSN), and initiatives geared towards the prevention of gender-based violence.
Legal assistance, primarily for documentation, birth, death, and marriage registration, or residency related purposes, was provided to nearly 2,000 refugees and asylum seekers of nationalities other than Syrian. An additional 600 individuals benefited from awareness-raising sessions on legal services, refugee rights, procedures, and required documents for issuance of documentation, including assistance with family law cases and birth registration through civil courts.
UNHCR continued to advocate on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers arrested/detained and to promote access to asylum, in particular, through the re-opening of the Syria/KR-I crossing point, and respect for non-refoulement on behalf of those facing imminent risk of deportation with relevant government entities both at Federal and KR-I levels: 45 advocacy interventions were made to promote access to entry points and release from detention. The majority were released from detention, and planned deportations were halted.
UNHCR collaborated with the KRG MoI on the drafting of Administrative Instructions to harmonize and codify the procedures for issuing humanitarian residency permits extended to asylum seekers and refugees, thus enhancing predictability in terms of rights. Based on the request of KR-I authorities, UNHCR provided a re-draft of the Administrative Instructions to the Kurdish authorities in December 2021, with the aim of closely aligning the draft to international standards. The draft is due to be discussed and approved in 2022.
In a context of economic hardship, UNHCR continued to assist asylum seekers and refugees with basic needs support. To this end, UNHCR provided almost 2,000 non-Syrian households with monthly multi-purpose cash assistance, thus reducing the need to resort to harmful coping mechanisms – the PDM showed a reduced number of children working and decreased use of harmful food coping strategies. UNHCR also provided almost 10,000 households with winter cash assistance, supporting families to prepare for the cold temperatures experienced in Iraq.
UNHCR and partners continued to advocate for the inclusion of refugees within national systems, employment/livelihoods, and education, and strengthened partnerships with other actors such as the ILO and UNICEF. The Refugee Education Integration Policy was endorsed in the KR-I as a step towards integration of the previously parallel educational systems between refugees/asylum seekers and Iraqi nationals. Implementation of the policy is due in 2022 and will improve the quality of education for refugee children while furthering social cohesion.