Baghdad needs to step up support for IDPs: Kurdish official

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani discussed better coordinating the responses of their two governments to address the needs of 1.74 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) during a meeting in Erbil on April 23. Kurdish humanitarian workers say Baghdad is not doing enough to help the displaced Iraqis.

Halbousi and Barzani "emphasized the significance of assistance from the Baghdad government and the international community for displaced Iraqis so they can return home. They also urged the reconstruction of areas damaged by war," read a statement from the KRG.

Vala Fared, speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament, also attended the meeting.

A total of 1.74 million Iraqis are still displaced from their homes, according to the International Organization for Migration. A large number of those are from northern Iraq, especially Nineveh province, which was heavily damaged in the war to oust Islamic State (ISIS) from the towns and cities.

The Kurdistan Region currently hosts 1.1 million displaced Iraqis, according to the KRG’s Joint Crisis Coordination Center (JCC) that handles the government’s humanitarian response.

The KRG has shouldered the lion’s share of the financial burden – paying 75 percent of the $162 million monthly costs. International organizations cover the remaining 25 percent.

JCC's head Hoshang Mohammed told Rudaw English that they have asked Baghdad to help. In their most recent meeting with Iraqi government officials on February 24, his office submitted a recommendation calling for "financial support for the IDPs, building houses for them, hastening the extension of services back in their areas, and the provision of security."

Slow reconstruction of war-damaged areas and persistent insecurity are the main factors preventing IDPs from going home. Some families who went home to Mosul have returned to the camps, where they say life is better.

In March, 932 people, mostly from Mosul, returned to the camps, said Mohammed.

He accused the Iraqi parliament and government of having "no plans" for the IDPs. "No money has been allocated for IDPs affairs in the [2019] budget law," he said, explaining that at least one or two percent of the budget should have been dedicated to helping the displaced families.

The KRG will not force the IDPs to go home, he said.

Halbousi arrived in the Kurdistan Region Monday evening. This is his second visit since he became speaker of the parliament last year. In his meeting with Barzani, they discussed Erbil-Baghdad relations in general.

Head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Masoud Barzani hailed the “positive atmosphere” that has emerged in relations between the federal and regional governments after Iraq’s election last May. Halbousi met with Masoud Barzani on Monday.

"Voices plotting to disturb the positive atmosphere must be silenced because the improvement of Erbil-Baghdad relations brings about stability," read a statement from Masoud Barzani’s office.

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