Exclusive: International conference in Kirkuk to tackle displacement crisis, says Migration Minister

Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, Minister of Migration and Displacement Evan Faiq Jabro announced that the ministry will host an international conference in Kirkuk involving donor countries to tackle the issue of displaced persons.

Jabro told Shafaq News, "The Ministry of Migration and Displacement is set to convene the High Committee for Displaced Affairs conference in Iraq, to be held in Kirkuk, under UN sponsorship, with the involvement of donor countries providing financial support for projects aimed at assisting displaced persons."

Moreover, she noted, "Kirkuk has hosted about 37,000 displaced persons from Nineveh, Diyala, and Saladin, some of whom have returned to their areas while others remain in Kirkuk.”

“We are working with the provincial administration and council to implement a program for the voluntary return of those willing."

The minister pointed out, "Holding the conference in Kirkuk will support international projects and programs that assist displaced persons in returning.”

“The ministry is monitoring the displaced persons issue in Turkiye and Syria, working to return those willing to their areas, and providing support and grants for their return through a dedicated government program,” she added.

Between 2014 and 2017, more than 6 million people were displaced as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters took control of 40 percent of Iraq, including Mosul, the country’s second-largest city. Since then, 80 percent of the displaced have returned to their homes. However, among the current displaced population, 250,000 individuals are considered ISIL-affiliated, primarily residing in camps and reliant on humanitarian aid, according to UNDP.

Based on a 2023 CSIS report titled “Iraq 20 Years After the Invasion: Humanitarian, Displacement, and Climate Change Challenges”, “The US-led coalition invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003, and withdrew in 2011, costing an estimated half a million Iraqis their lives, causing at least 9.2 million to be displaced, and resulting in more than 4.7 million to experience moderate or severe food insecurity. Today, 20 years after the initial invasion, the large-scale conflict has ended, yet Iraq remains at perennial risk of crisis.”