Iraq to shutter displacement camps
Iraq is working on closing all displacement camps this year and to return the displaced people to their homelands.
As the holy month of Ramadan starts, and the hot summer weather is just around the corner, the Iraqi government is putting the final touches on the issue of closing displacement camps in a number of Iraqi provinces. However, some obstacles have been impeding this goal, which Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi included in his government platform and promised to achieve.
On April 11, the Ministry of Immigration and Displacement held a conference on facilitating the return of the displaced to their homes called “Our Displaced: Challenge and Achievement.”
Evan Faiq, the minister of migration and displacement, said in a statement opening the conference, "The government’s measures to accelerate and facilitate the return include “providing income-generating projects, especially for families headed by widowed women, in addition to coordinating with the concerned authorities and international organizations regarding rebuilding and restoring destroyed homes and advancing services and the urban reality in the liberated areas.” He added, “It is time for the displaced to return to their areas of origin.”
In June 2014, Iraq experienced a large wave of migration and internal displacement after the Islamic State (IS) seized about a third of the area of Iraq, forcing over 6 million people to flee their homes and communities.
