Duhok receives honorary award for welcoming refugees, IDPs

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region— Duhok province received an honorary award for its role in welcoming more than two million refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in South Africa on Saturday. 

The United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Peace Prize went to the Lebanese city of Arsal for " initiating and facilitating dialogues and mediation between Lebanese and Syrian refugees in a post-IS municipality."  

 Duhok received an honorary award alongside the cities of Bogota, Santiago de Cali and Manizales in Colombia for their different roles in promoting peace. 

The UCLG Peace Prize generates international public attention for the role local governments play in ensuring sustainable and peaceful development. 

Duhok was selected as a finalist for its hospitality in  "welcoming a huge influx of refugees and providing a safe haven with equal treatment and equal access to municipal and health facilities." 

Duhok set up the Board of Relief and Humanitarian Affairs (BRHA) to implement initiatives welcoming war-affected refugees and IDPs, a move which was recognized by the UCLG.

According to the board, Duhok governorate is home to 21 camps, 17 of which house IDPs.

"According to the criteria set  for winning the prize, Duhok province was deemed as the city of co-existence as it has managed to host, protect and serve hundreds of thousands of refugees and IDPs from various ethnic and national groups," Fahim Abdulla, head of the Duhok Provincial Council, told Rudaw on Saturday.

"Duhok now has around 2 million inhabitants (with many different religious backgrounds) who all live in peace together, which is a good reflection of [the] coexistence for which Duhok is famous," he added.

Since October 9 as many as 15,000 refugees fled northern Syria and crossed into Duhok amid the Turkish offensive on Kurdish forces, sparking mass displacement and a humanitarian crisis.

In a surprise visit last week, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani welcomed new arrivals escaping the violence in the Kurdish enclave known as Rojava.

"This is your home," he told them.