Assessment Report

Since 2014, the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) unit in Iraq has collected information on internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees using a network of key informants across the country.1 Data for this round were collected from 1 September to 31 December 2023.

This in-depth qualitative study of areas of limited and no returns in Sinjar district and Qahtaniya subdistrict seeks to uncover specific barriers to durably resolving the displacement of affected people and potential ways forward in unlocking those barriers. Doing so is a critical step in broadly implementing the Joint Government of Iraq, Kurdistan Regional Government and United Nations Roadmap for the Acceleration of the National Plan pursuant to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement. The study also aims to improve the political dialogue in the country on how to provide a voluntary and informed choice of residence to people who are experiencing longterm displacement. Findings are drawn from separate focus group discussions with Yezidi, Kurdish and Sunni Arab internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Sinjar district and Qahtaniya subdistrict and key informant interviews with representatives from: the Ninewa Governor’s Office, Sinjar authorities in Dohuk, Sinjar and Qahtaniya authorities within these areas, members of political parties in Sinjar, civil society leaders and activists, tribal leaders, national and international peacebuilding and human rights experts, United Nations personnel and donors.1 Sinjar district and Qahtaniya subdistrict are considered together here, given their similar populations and recent conflict dynamics, connected histories and legacies of violence, as well as geographic proximity to one another and to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Syria and Türkiye

The Women Navigating Durable Solutions report explores what factors influence decision-making during the durable solution process, as well as women’s agency to overcome reintegration barriers. The objective of this study is to investigate the experience of displaced women and their reintegration in areas of origin. It examines female-related vulnerabilities and obstacles that affect their reintegration

In order to contribute to the measurement of local integration of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq, IOM Iraq, the Returns Working Group, and Social Inquiry implemented an in-depth study of 14 urban locations in the country hosting a high density of families displaced due to the ISIL conflict.  A complementary forthcoming study on Urban Displacement in Iraq, by IOM Iraq DTM, explores protracted urban displacement, including an examination of IDP intentions. Utilising data collected on IDPs' perceptions and living conditions in displacement (1,382 respondents) and on those of host community residents (1,437 respondents) in the same neighbourhoods as well as key informant interviews with local authorities and policy-implementers (40 interviews) in these areas, this work seeks to identify which factors help or hinder local integration – and those locations that are more (or less) conducive to this outcome. This study is predicated on the understanding that local integration is not only based how on IDPs perceive their own belonging in the hosting location, irrespective of any stated intentions to stay or return, but also how host communities feel about accepting them. Further to this, these feelings may themselves be influenced by the character of the urban areas where IDPs and host communities reside as well as the regulatory environment surrounding them.

This report is part of a larger research project, Cities as Home, carried out by IOM Iraq, the Returns Working Group, and Social Inquiry, that explores both drivers and deterrents of integration across 14 urban locations that still host the largest share of IDPs in the country. The outputs of this project also include factsheets for each location, four detailed case studies, and a brief on COVID-19 regulations and implications for local integration

In order better to understand what the local integration of internally displaced persons (IDPs) may look like in Iraq, IOM Iraq, the Returns Working Group (RWG), and Social Inquiry implemented a targeted in-depth study in Sulaymaniyah and Baghdad Governorates. Utilizing data on IDPs’ perceptions and living conditions in displacement from those displaced more than three years (762 respondents) and data collected among host community residents (800 respondents) in the same neighbourhoods and towns in these governorates, this work seeks to identify which factors help or hinder local integration.

The findings presented herein highlight that socioeconomic, cultural, and spatial factors at the individual and structural levels matter for integration and acceptance. Most of the evidence collected here points to the fact that better integration and acceptance is found among more socioeconomically equal communities, those with strong but more elastic social cohesion, and in places where host communities feel historical grievances related to violence and conflict have been dealt with satisfactorily

This brief is part of a larger research project, Cities as Home, carried out by IOM Iraq, the Returns Working Group, and Social Inquiry, that explores both drivers and deterrents of integration across 14 urban locations that still host the largest share of IDPs in the country. The outputs of this project also include an analysis report on determinants of integration for IDPs and host community members, factsheets for each location, and four detailed case studies.

This set of factsheets provides a localised understanding of how conducive each of the 15 urban locations in Iraq hosting the largest share of out-of-camp internally displaced persons (IDPs) are for local integration. The inclusion of four case studies provides further insights into particular locations of interest.  This interpretation of local integration takes into account the IASC Framework for Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons criteria and expands upon it to include more subjective measures as well as the wider community in which the displaced live. 2 IDP and host community population figures referenced in the factsheets and case studies come from the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix Masterlist Round 113, which corresponds to when nearly all data collection took place. Given COVID-19 restrictions, data collection in Sulaymaniyah City occurred in May 2020. The analysis presented here is predicated on the understanding of local integration as stemming from IDPs’ feelings of belonging to the hosting location as well as host community members’ acceptance of them over the long term and the regulatory landscape that surrounds both.1 It is based on an overall quantitative analysis of these locations, the household-level data collection of which took place between December 2019 and February 2020, conducted for the wider Cities as Home research project that identified the individual and place-related factors that drive or deter belonging and acceptance. These factors include societal, institutional, cultural, and socioeconomic indicators of the hosting locations and their populations. This analysis was further supplemented by detailing the instructions, regulations, and laws that are specifically related to the ability of non-camp IDPs to reside in cities in the country and enjoy the same rights as the host community.

This report, Protracted Displacement in Iraq: Revisiting Categories of Return Barriers, is the second in this series and draws upon new literature and data that has been collected since Categorizing Protracted Displacement in Iraq was published. The aim of this report is to provide an updated evidence base to inform continued strategy development and monitoring relating to the resolution of IDPs in protracted displacement, through: • Providing an updated overview of the current IDP context in Iraq  Providing an updated categorization framework and highlighting the different types of barriers faced by IDPs in returning to their areas of origin

This brief is part of a larger research project, Reimagining Reintegration, carried out by IOM Iraq and Social Inquiry, that explores the sustainability of returns across 14 districts hosting the largest shares of returnees in the country. These are, in descending order of returns, Mosul, Ramadi, Falluja, Telafar, Tikrit, Heet, Hawija, Hamdaniya, Shirqat, Kirkuk, Baiji, Sinjar, Khanaqin, and Balad. The findings presented here are drawn from an original household survey and roster of 2,260 returnee respondents in these districts collected between March and April 2022. The survey included a household module (applicable to the overall household situation), a personal module (gathering perceptions of the respondent), and a roster module (collecting personal characteristics of each household member), covering topics related to demographics, displacement and conflict history, safety and security, adequate standards of living, livelihoods and economic conditions, housing condition/restitution and tenure security, civil documentation, social cohesion and public participation, and remedies and justice. The outputs of this project also include an analysis of sustainable reintegration in districts of return and another brief on differences between male- and female-headed households and their implications for sustainable return.

This brief is part of a larger research project, Reimagining Reintegration, carried out by IOM Iraq and Social Inquiry, that explores the sustainability of returns across 14 districts hosting the largest shares of returnees in the country. These are, in descending order of returns, Mosul, Ramadi, Falluja, Telafar, Tikrit, Heet, Hawija, Hamdaniya, Shirqat, Kirkuk, Baiji, Sinjar, Khanaqin, and Balad. The findings presented here are drawn from an original household survey and roster of 2,260 returnee respondents in these districts collected between March and April 2022. The survey included a household module (applicable to the overall household situation), a personal module (gathering perceptions of the respondent), and a roster module (collecting personal characteristics of each household member), covering topics related to demographics, displacement and conflict history, safety and security, adequate standards of living, livelihoods and economic conditions, housing condition/restitution and tenure security, civil documentation, social cohesion and public participation, and remedies and justice. The outputs of this project also include an analysis of sustainable reintegration in districts of return and another brief on the impacts of conflict, climate change and the economy on agriculture in districts of return