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Iraqis (in Iran, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon)

 

In recent decades, Iraqis have become one of the largest refugee groups in the world. There are an estimated 1.6 million Iraqi refugees living outside their home country, with perhaps as many as 1,000,000 living in Syria, 500,000 in Jordan, 50,000 in Iran and 30,000 in Lebanon. Exact numbers, however, are difficult to confirm as many of the host states do not operate refugee status determination processes, and many Iraqis prefer not to seek help from the authorities out of fear of being deported back to Iraq.

In the 1970s, 300,000 Faili Kurds were stripped of their nationality and deported from Iraq. Further large-scale displacement occurred shortly before and after the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war in the early 1980s, and as a result of the regime's violent suppression of popular uprisings after the 1991 Gulf War. Over the years, thousands of people fled from persecution and human rights abuses. As the security situation in Iraq deteriorated after the U.S.-led 'Operation Iraqi Freedom' had overthrown Saddam Hussein's regime, widespread displacement occurred once again. Between one and two million Iraqis left their homes between 2006 and 2009, fleeing mostly to Syria and Jordan.

As the security situation in Iraq remains unstable and insecure, large-scale repatriation has not been implemented by UNHCR and is considered unlikely to be so in the near future. More than a million Iraqi refugees remain trapped in protracted displacement, many of whom have been in exile for decades.

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