Kurdistan Region criticizes Iraq’s rapid camp closure push

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Kurdistan Region on Monday reiterated its refusal to prematurely close down displacement camps in areas under its control, criticizing the federal government’s rapid push to close the facilities.

“We have said this clearly to the United Nations, and the federal government, that we are not in favour of the closing of these camps,” said Rebar Ahmad, the Kurdistan Region’s Minister of Interior, at a press conference on Monday. “We are not in favour of the idea of forcing people back to places with no security and stability.”

The Iraqi government is on a push to shut down camps across the country, a move that has attracted criticism from rights groups. Baghdad has placed pressure on the autonomous region which has thus far not followed suit with the federal government’s rapid camp closure mission.

Officials have previously stated the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has “no intention whatsoever” of closing down displacement camps under its control in the near future, despite the federal government announcing the closures of camps in the Region.

“The Kurdistan Region has always been a safe haven for all Iraqis, and we ensure that it will remain that way, we cannot impose such a decision on people who have chosen the Kurdistan Region as their place of residence,” Ahmad added.

Many IDPs are reluctant to return home because of continuing violence in their home areas, a lack of reconstruction following the destruction of their homes, and little in the way of basic services. Some who voluntarily left the camps to salvage their homes and livelihoods have been forced to return to the camps, unable to piece together the basics.

The Iraqi government has cut aid to the camps of Hassan Sham, Khazir and Hassan Sham U2. The facilities have no electricity supply, which has worried some officials.

The Kurdistan Region is home to 35 IDP and refugee camps, which host more than 190,000 refugees and IDPs six years after the advance of ISIS that left millions of residents of northern and western Iraq displaced, according to data received from the JCC in January.

"The 26 camps for the displaced in the region have not been closed at the present time due to the obstacles set by the Ministry of Interior of the region,"

Iraq’s Deputy Minister of Migration and Displacement Karim Nuri said he feared the KRG’s ministry of interior was "exploiting the suffering of the displaced for electoral purposes," reported state media on Saturday — a claim the ministry has subsequently denied.

"We categorically reject this accusation altogether, and consider it a false accusation, with no connection to reality or the truth," reads a statement sent to Rudaw by Director General of the KRG Joint Crisis Coordination (JCC), Hoshang Mohammed on Monday in response to the deputy's statement.

Kurdistan Region criticizes Iraq’s rapid camp closure push

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