The arrival of Iraqis continued unabated throughout 2015. On 12 February 2015, the Government adopted a circular granting Iraqi nationals who arrived in the country after 1 May 2014 the option to apply for a one-year renewable humanitarian residence permit or international protection, with both options providing similar access to basic services such as health, education, social assistance and employment.
By the end of 2015, the total number of Iraqis registered with UNHCR was 118,605 individuals, half of whom (57,237) were registered in 2015 alone. Nearly 12,000 resided in camps in the southeast of Turkey. In 2015, UNHCR prioritized the capacity building of its registration partner ASAM and ensured 100 per cent registration of Iraqi applicants.
UNHCR’s protection interventions to identify specific needs of Iraqis included outreach activities, field missions and the screening for individual with specific needs. 5,449 Iraqis were identified as having specific needs and referred to resettlement, including victims of torture, survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), serious medical cases, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, and religious and ethnic minorities.
In addition, counselling services were delivered to 17,686 Iraqi individuals. At the same time, UNHCR conducted protection interviews with 10,006 Iraqi individuals for the identification of vulnerabilities and referrals to social support mechanisms, including child protection institutions, women’s shelter, medical clinics, psychologists and psychiatrists. The number of unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) increased among Iraqis. Accordingly, specific protection interventions for UASC, including Best Interest Assessment (BIA) and Best Interest Determination (BID) interviews, counselling, placement at national institutions, were undertaken for 1,311 UASCs and other children at risk.
In order to harmonize its approach to Syrians and non-Syrian refugees, UNHCR provided one-time winterization assistance to both population groups.