Iraq
National and Regional Laws and Policies on Internal Displacement: IRAQ
Laws and Policies
Iraqi National Policy on Displacement
Purpose: The Iraqi National Policy on Displacement seeks to achieve durable solutions for those displaced inside Iraq and give effect to protection from displacement set forth in Article 44 of the 2005 Constitution. The Policy creates a framework that addresses the needs of displaced Iraqis before, during and after displacement, due to conflict or natural disaster. Furthermore, it serves as a means for the government to reconstruct the Iraqi state and create conditions for an end to displacement.
Responsibilities: The government of Iraq acknowledges its own legal responsibility to protect both IDPs and returnees under the 2005 Iraqi Constitution and the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. Line ministries and institutions are responsible for the implementation of the National Policy. The Policy also obliges the international community to intervene and help support the Iraqi government in addressing the needs of IDPs.
Content: The Iraqi policy embraces both protracted and recent IDPs, and elaborates a plan to address a wide scope of displacement. Displaced persons and host communities are encouraged to participate in the planning and designing of strategies and programs affecting their return, integration and/or resettlement. The government also promotes reconciliation through dialogue among IDPs, returnees and host communities in order to reduce tensions and minimize potential for violence.
Other provisions of note include:
- Protection of the Right to Property [5.4]
- Recognition of the Right to Protection against Arbitrary Displacement [6.3]
- Provision of necessary documentation by the government to IDPs. [6.4]
- Provision of compensation for lost property in the event of displacement. [6.5]
- Use of public awareness campaigns to enhance the concept of national reconciliation. [6.8]
- Recognition of the Right to Freedom of Movement [6.9]
- Protection of the integrity of the family and community. [6.10]
- Development of a policy to control rent costs for IDP returnee tenants. [7.2]
- Provision of social and psychological counseling programmes for IDPs [7.3]
- Facilitation of reintegration of IDP children in schools [7.4]
- Facilitation of the granting of loans to previously self-employed IDPs to set up small enterprises. [7.7]
1Unofficial English version - Translated from Arabic by the Reparations Programmes Unit, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Geneva, Switzerland