KRG accuses Baghdad of changing demography of Christian, Yazidi areas

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region’s interior ministry on Thursday accused Iraq’s migration and displacement ministry of working to change the demography of the predominantly Christian and Yazidi areas by disallowing its original inhabitants who have resided in the Kurdistan Region's camps from returning to their regions once overrun by the Islamic State (ISIS), urging the federal government to take action as swiftly as possible to reverse alleged decision.

In a meeting on Wednesday, the Higher Committee for Relief and Support of Displaced Persons under the leadership of Iraq’s Migration and Displacement Minister Ivan Fayaq “discussed considering the families living in the camps as integrated and settled within society, in preparation for permanently closing the displacement dossier by the end of 2025,” according to a statement from the ministry.  

The development, however, immediately drew the ire of the Kurdistan Region’s interior ministry, deeming such a move “unconstitutional”, and against “basic human rights,” as well as an attempt to change the demography of the “Yazidi and Christian-inhabited areas,” part of which fall within the boundaries of areas disputed by Erbil and Baghdad. 

“Until now, more than 600,000 displaced persons who have resided in 18 IDP camps have not been able to return to their areas, waiting for stability to restore so they could safely and honorably return,” the Kurdistan Region’s ministry of the interior said in a statement.

The statement slammed Fayaq and her ministry’s higher committee for trying to prevent the IDPs from returning to their original regions, “irrespective of studying and consulting” the repercussions of the idea. 

“Instead of supporting voluntary return and participating in paving the way for a stable situation, the Minister of Immigration and Displacement… deprives the displaced persons of returning to their homeland and forces them to remain as residents outside their homeland,” the Kurdish ministry said.

The ministry urged the federal government to step in and interfere in the migration ministry’s plans.

In a statement following the Wednesday meeting, the Iraqi migration ministry said that the approach they would pursue was "in line with the requirements of the public interest and aims to bring an end to the displacement file in Iraq, while helping these families achieve stability, return, and social integration.”

Ali Abbas, spokesperson for the federal migration ministry and a member of the higher committee, told Rudaw on Thursday that the ministry will work on ending the dossier in coordination with the Kurdistan Region. 

Eighteen of the 22 camps in the Kurdistan Region still house a significant number of IDPs, according to data by the Iraqi migration and displacement ministry.

All IDP camps in Iraq had to be closed in six months after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani took office in October 2022. 

The KRG’s interior ministry urged Baghdad, UN and international organizations to push for the implementation of the Shingal Agreement to pave the way for the resolution of the IDPs’ issues. 

The Shingal Agreement, brokered between Baghdad and Erbil in October 2020 with backing from the United Nations, aimed to remove non-state armed groups from the district and restore federal control, paving the way for the return of thousands of displaced Yazidis. However, implementation has been slow.

The Iraqi government last year said it would give four million dinars (about $3,050) to each returning family, one of several measures to encourage people to leave the camps. Other incentives include providing job opportunities in both the public and private sectors, providing monthly social security stipends for low-income and needy individuals, and offering interest-free bank loans.

Dozens of thousands of families, including Yazidis and Christians, fled their homes in the disputed areas when ISIS attacked them in 2014. Despite the incentives from Baghdad, many families are reluctant to leave the camps because of continued violence in their home areas, a lack of reconstruction following the destruction of their houses, and little in the way of basic services. Some who voluntarily left the camps have been forced to return.