Iraq — Protracted Displacement Study: An in-depth analysis of the main districts of origin (May-December 2018)

In November 2018, the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Unit, the Returns Working Group (RWG), and Social Inquiry, with input and support from the Ministry of Migration and Displacement (MoMD) within the Federal Government of Iraq, published an in-depth analysis on “Reasons to Remain: Categorizing Protracted Displacement in Iraq”. The aim of this report was to build a categorization framework for protracted displacement as the basis for future study, monitoring and policy development in relation to the resolution of internal displacement across all populations affected by the conflict in Iraq.

While the report defined categories of obstacles to return and provided estimates of the proportion of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) falling in each of the categories, it did not identify where the IDPs facing these obstacles can be found, and most importantly, where they are from. To address this, IOM DTM completed an analysis on IDPs’ main areas of origin along multiple indicators, which allowed a better understanding of obstacles and reasons for non-return as well as the return outlook in these areas. DTM also completed a similar and complementary analysis on IDPs’ main areas of displacement, presented in the document “Protracted Displacement Study: An In-Depth Analysis of the Main Districts of Displacement”.

As IDPs originate from 49 districts, the analysis focuses solely on the districts where the majority of the IDP caseload come from. Using the latest available DTM dataset at the time of the analysis (Dec 2018), it was found that 92% of all IDPs originate from just 23 district across 7 governorates. Each district of origin has been analyzed separately and is presented in the format of a factsheet following a common structure to facilitate comparison. This reference note, containing an overall presentation of the analyzed indicators and key findings, aims to explain and complement the factsheets.