Content Menu
Assistance urgently needed for Syrian refugees in the Kurdistan Region

Assistance urgently needed for Syrian refugees in the Kurdistan Region

The KRG’s Joint Crisis Coordination Centre (JCC) appeals to the United Nations and international agencies to assist in helping Syrian refugees and other displaced people who reside in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Today, the Kurdistan Region hosts more than 1.4 million displaced individuals of which roughly 250,000 are refugees. Overall, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq hosts up to 97% of all Syrian refugees in Iraq and 40% of all internally displaced Iraqis. Today, 37% of Syrian refugees reside in nine refugee camps across Erbil, Duhok and Sulaimani governorates of the KRI; the remaining Syrian refugees are hosted within local communities.

The KRG practices a rights-based policy, which sees refugees and internally displaced persons given the same rights as their host communities. This rights-based policy affords refugees and internally displaced persons within Kurdistan-Iraq:

  • Freedom of movement
  • Residency and work permits
  • Free access to the region’s healthcare
  • Access to education services.

 

The KRG is committed to maintaining its rights-based policy that has become vital for the safety and social cohesion of all people living in Kurdistan. Nevertheless, there are enormous strains on the KRG’s ability to provide full services and opportunities for all. The financial crisis has crippled the Kurdistan Region, resulting from the cost of the war, the humanitarian crisis, the crash in oil prices, and the federal government’s decision to withhold Kurdistan’s share of the Iraqi national budget since 2014.

Moreover, the Syrian Refugee and Resilience Response Plan (3RP) continues to be severely underfunded. Our partners have appealed for 226.8 million USD for Syrian refugees in Iraq for 2018. As of the date of this statement, only 11.3% (25.7m) of the appealed amount have been provided by the international community. This amounts to an annual distribution of $17 per refugee. The JCC would like to alert the federal government as well as the international community that without increased funding, the KRG and our national and international partners will not be able to cope with the pressure and will not be able to provide crucial assistance and services to the refugee population.

The Kurdistan Regional Government appeals to the donor countries, UN Agencies and international NGOs to pay attention to the Syrian refugees in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and to invest in the sustainable and rights-based model that the KRG has adopted. The KRG needs international assistance in order to continue alleviating human suffering and provide services and opportunities, health care, education and livelihood to the population under its protection.

For the full text of the JCC statement, please click here (hyperlink) http://cabinet.gov.krd/a/d.aspx?s=040000&l=12&a=56760

The Joint Crisis Coordination Centre is directorate of the Ministry of Interior established in September 11, 2014 in response to growing refugee and displacement crisis of Kurdistan. For more information please visit the official website of the JCC at http://jcc.gov.krd/ .