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Several Syrian families have been detained for several months in the "Residences" prison in the Karrada area and the National Security prison in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The Iraqi government is conducting a widespread arrest campaign targeting those holding illegal residencies in its territories. It is noteworthy that many detainees have documented records from the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, recognizing them as refugees protected by the international community. Iraq is a signatory to the 1951[1] Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol[2] Relating to the Status of Refugees.
Nevertheless, the Baghdad government insists on their detention, citing that they violate residency conditions in Iraq. Regrettably, some have been deported to areas under the Syrian regime via Baghdad airport, leading to their arrest upon arrival in Damascus. The Baghdad government plans to deport the rest to Damascus, but the Assad government refuses to cover their transportation costs, providing funding only for those they wish to arrest. This is a calculated policy aimed at eliminating those fleeing from areas under the Syrian regime or attempting to push Syrian youth evading mandatory Syrian military service towards the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, to re-enlist for mandatory service after their arrest at Damascus airport.
According to the statistics of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, approximately 270,000 Syrian refugees[3] are living in Iraq, constituting 91% of the total nationalities residing in Iraq, estimated at around 300,000 individuals. Most of these refugees have settled in the cities of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. A significant number of Syrian families are residing illegally in Iraq, meaning they have not registered with the UNHCR, bringing the total number of Syrians in Iraq to nearly 280,000.
The majority of Syrians entered Iraq through tourist visas from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In reality, Kurdish Syrians have easier choices in finding work in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq due to Kurdish being the primary working language there. Consequently, a large portion of Arab Syrians who only speak Arabic have moved to predominantly Arab provinces in search of job opportunities, as well as for the ease of education in Arabic for their children.
According to the statistics of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, approximately 270,000 Syrian refugees are living in Iraq, constituting 91% of the total nationalities residing in Iraq, estimated at around 300,000 individuals. Most of these refugees have settled in the cities of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. A significant number of Syrian families are residing illegally in Iraq, meaning they have not registered with the UNHCR, bringing the total number of Syrians in Iraq to nearly 280,000.
The majority of Syrians entered Iraq through tourist visas from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In reality, Kurdish Syrians have easier choices in finding work in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq due to Kurdish being the primary working language there. Consequently, a large portion of Arab Syrians who only speak Arabic have moved to predominantly Arab provinces in search of job opportunities, as well as for the ease of education in Arabic for their children.
Legally, residents holding permits in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq are not allowed to travel to other provinces. However, widespread corruption within Iraqi institutions, particularly the military, has enabled many refugees to cross security barriers from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to Baghdad and Basra in exchange for financial payments agreed upon with smuggling networks associated with the leadership of those security barriers. This is indeed peculiar for a country that claims to be fighting terrorism, while also demanding the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq on the grounds that they have defeated the Islamic State, all the while having military checkpoints saturated with corruption.
Moreover, according to the law, refugees are not permitted to lease or own property in a province where they do not have legal documentation. Yet, the corruption circle has turned a blind eye to this matter, leading to many illegal refugees residing in predominantly Arab provinces with the knowledge of the governments of these Arab-majority provinces and municipalities in Iraq. Additionally, numerous refugees from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have integrated into the economic life and invested in sectors such as restaurants and tourism. With the increasing economic activity of refugees, especially Syrians, employment opportunities for Iraqis have become limited, causing a popular backlash against Syrians.
Exploiting this backlash, supporters of Shia parties have used the government to conduct widespread arrests against Syrians. They have publicly stated that these arrests do not target Syrians alone but rather all non-Iraqi individuals residing illegally in Arab provinces. It is notable that the majority of those detained among the Syrian refugees were of Sunni Syrian origin, with no Christian, Alawite, or Shia Syrians being detained. This sectarian dimension, even in the context of arrests, is evident, especially when the mechanism of arrest is linked to not giving the refugee the option to choose an alternative location suitable for their survival.
For instance, refugees legally registered in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq must be deported to areas within the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. However, the Baghdad government, which supports Iran and the Syrian regime, refuses this action and insists on deporting them to areas controlled by the Syrian regime, disregarding the commitment of the Kurdistan Regional Government to the refugee protection protocol. This gives the impression of a lack of coordination between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Additionally, the majority of Syrian refugees residing illegally are opponents of the Syrian regime, and the best place to deport them would be to areas affiliated with the Syrian opposition. However, the central government in Baghdad does not recognize the Syrian opposition, and its only option is to deport them to areas under the Syrian regime, potentially contributing to the elimination of these detainees by the Syrian intelligence services. If not eliminated by the Syrian intelligence, they will surely be detained for years and, upon release, classified as terrorists whose legal status has been settled, leading to a bleak future for them or anyone associated with them.
Currently, around 400 Syrians are at risk of deportation to regime-held areas, some possessing official documents from the Commission while others do not. Therefore, Iraqi human rights organizations and the Human Rights Commission must engage in dialogue with the government of Baghdad to find humanitarian solutions for these cases. This could include providing humanitarian asylum rights for those detained in Iraq due to the dangers they face in Syria or transferring them to the Kurdistan Regional Government with the condition that they are then handed over to Syrian opposition areas. Additionally, documented Syrian individuals listed by the Refugee Commission should be returned to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with the stipulation that the Kurdistan Regional Government does not relinquish them to any Syrian party.\
Furthermore, Iraqi institutions, particularly the Counter-Terrorism Forces, should crack down on corruption at security checkpoints between provinces. Addressing administrative violations promptly is much easier than dealing with them months later.
[1] United Nation, UNHCR/ The 1951 Refugee Convention, 1951.
https://www.unhcr.org/about-unhcr/who-we-are/1951-refugee-convention
[2] UN, Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1967
https://www.unhcr.org/media/convention-and-protocol-relating-status-refugees
[3] The UN refugee Agency/ Iraq report 2023
https://www.unhcr.org/countries/iraq
