Duhok migration director denies Kurdistan Region request to shutter camps

DUHOK, January 11– The Director of Migration in Duhok has refuted claims made by the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement regarding the Kurdistan Region’s purported request to close camps housing internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Director Pir Dayan Jaafar said that contrary to earlier statements by the Iraqi ministry’s spokesperson Ali Abbas, no such request had been submitted by Kurdish authorities.

“We have not made any such request. [IDPs] have the autonomy to decide on their return, without coercion,” Jaafar said, adding that officials would facilitate returns based on when individuals decided to leave.

The Iraqi Council of Ministers issued a decree on June 30, 2023 closing all IDP camps, including those in the Kurdistan Region.

A number of camps remain open, despite repeated announcements by the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement ordering the closure of all camps by the end of 2023.