Immigration: Ending the refugee issue is up to the Kurdistan government

Immigration: Ending the refugee issue is up to the Kurdistan government

Iraq  10/11/2023
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sraa Al-Samarrai 

The Ministry of Migration and Displacement has made ending the displacement file contingent on the Kurdistan Regional Government resolving some outstanding problems, since the camps are administratively linked to it. 
Technical Undersecretary in the Ministry, Jassem Al-Attiyah, told Al-Sabah: The Ministry is determined to end the displacement file once and for all, and it is expected that this will happen during the next year, if all outstanding problems regarding voluntary return are resolved, especially in the camps of the Kurdistan region, because The camps are administratively affiliated with the regional government and the role of the Federal Ministry of Migration and Displacement lies in following up and providing food, health and financial support to these families and joint cooperation in supporting the displaced in their crisis and staying away from political tensions in order to achieve the goals of voluntary return.  
He noted that the return of the displaced and ending their file is exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Kurdistan Regional Government, calling on the Prime Minister of the Regional Government to intervene to resolve this file.  
He indicated that there is a special plan in coordination with the regional government to provide support to the displaced for a year after their voluntary return to their original areas of residence. 
Al-Attiyah pointed out that the Ministry was able to close more than 149 camps over the past years, leaving only 27 camps inhabited by about 34,000 families, distributed among 26 camps in the Kurdistan region, and one camp in southern Nineveh (Al-Hawl Camp), which is inhabited by families returning from Syria. 
Al-Attiyah praised the role of the regional government in accommodating these families during the displacement crisis, calling on the concerned authorities to cooperate with the ministry to resolve the outstanding problems in order to help them return to their areas. 
He continued that the closure of the Khazir, Hassan Sham and Zummar camps may take place soon, and coordination will be made with the Supreme Judicial Council in order to hold accountable some of the wanted persons residing in these camps, although they have been brought before the regional courts, but their problems are still pending in the federal government courts. Al-Attiyah noted the formation of committees by the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers and the Federal and Regional Ministry of Interior to develop a clear mechanism to resolve the issue of the displaced in the Khazir, Hassan Sham and Zammar camps.

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