23 July 2017
Baghdad
The Joint Monitoring and Coordination Centre (JCMC) at the Iraqi Council of Ministers, the JCC delegation, headed by Hoshang Mohamed, Director General of the Joint Crisis Coordination Centre (JCC) at the Ministry of Interior participated in a workshop organized by JCMC about the IDPs return policy in Baghdad.
In the workshop, the two Return policy papers presented which developed by Iraqi Ministry of Planning and UNHCR and UNHABITAT as a framework for helping IDPs to return homes in the liberated areas. Then, the participants exchanged their views and comments on the two frameworks.
Mr. Hoshang Mohamed, explained KRG’s policy on the return of the IDPs saying that KRG supports all voluntary return of IDPs with respect and dignity. He highlighted that majority of the IDPs have expressed their willingness to return to their homes but there are certain conditions to be met to enable them to return, Additionally, Mr. Hoshang stated that KRG Ministry of Interior neither supports nor facilitates the integration of IDPs with the host communities in their current location of displacement since it has critical consequences such as demographic changes, economic, social and political impact on the host communities as well as in the liberated areas as their land and properties will not remain un touched but will be occupied by those who returned and eventually, it will lead to another cycle of conflict.
Finally, the participants agreed that both frameworks be incorporated into one policy paper and be shared and adopted by the government and non-government stakeholders.
The workshop attended by Dr. Mahdi Al-alaq, the Secretary General of the Iraqi Council of Ministers Secretariat, with the participation of the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Migration and Displaced, a delegation from JCC as well as representatives of the governorates, UNHCR and UNHABITAT.
