UNHCR, through its returnee assistance and monitoring programmes, has been working with the Government of Iraq to establish the conditions necessary for a safe, dignified and voluntary return of Iraqi refugees. The Office has also built upon Government Order 101, stipulating the establishment of centres to assist returnees in achieving sustainable return and integration. UNHCR conducted returnee protection-monitoring programmes and addressed identified needs through a broad protection network. UNHCR also continued to support self-reliance and integration activities as well as access to basic rights and services particularly for vulnerable returnees, through targeted advocacy with the Government of Iraq and other organizations. Border monitoring procedures, information gathering, and sensitization of border officials about arrivals and departures of refugee returnees were enhanced.
Despite the relocation of border staff due to instability in Anbar and Ninawa Governorates, monitoring of the Iraqi-Syrian border is maintained in liaison with border authorities. UNHCR conducted border monitoring activities in Al Waleed, Rabiaa, Al Qa’im and two border points in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I), Peshkabour and Sehela and Trebil (bordering with Jordan). Information gathered at the border ensured that arrivals, departures and returns were appropriately recorded, referred to the relevant authorities in the neighbouring country of asylum and profiled, enabling UNHCR and the Ministry of Migration and Displacement (MoMD) to target assistance and protection services to those most in need. UNHCR’s network of 10 Protection Assistance and Reintegration Centres (PARCs) and its mobile teams monitored and addressed the needs for all population groups in coordination with Reintegration Community Centres (RICCs) across ten Governorates (Baghdad, Al Anbar, Diyala, Salah Din, Wassit, Kirkuk, Ninawa, Najaf, Karbala, Babil), benefitting more than 500 returnees.
In 2013, the Iraqi Parliament approved a supplementary compensation scheme for former Iraqi refugees registered in the Rafha camp in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia following the first Gulf War. One of the conditions for former Rafha residents to access this compensation scheme was proof of residence in the camp, making an attestation of presence from UNHCR a key document. A verification scheme for the Rafha population was agreed between UNHCR and the Ministry of Human Right (MoHR) in 2014. Since April 2014, the verification of 5,262 former residents in Rafha camp was completed, out of which 4,067 cases have been approved. With the consent of applicants, all the verified cases were submitted to the Government of Iraq’s designated authorities: the Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Political Prisoner Foundation (PPF). The verification exercise will be completed in June 2015.
Limited funding means that several identified needs of refugee returnees cannot be adequately addressed. Education is a primary area of concern and presents major unmet needs as many families are unable to affording sending their children to. Additional support for persons with special needs, including cash assistance, is paramount. Projects, such as the assistance scheme for extremely vulnerable individuals, need to be enhanced with more funding. Further capacity building and reform is needed to ensure that the MoMD effectively utilizes and channels existing financial and human capital, improves inter-governmental coordination and information sharing, and increases the scope of intervention to provide assistance beyond registration and financial incentives in order to promote durable solutions for returnees.