ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Ministry of Migration and Displacement does not have the cash to pay promised funds to more than 3,000 internally displaced Iraqi families who have returned to their homes, a ministry spokesperson told Rudaw on Saturday.
“More than 13,000 displaced families have received their four million dinars [around $3,000], but more than 3,000 other families are still to receive it,” said Ali Abbas.
He said the reason for the delay is a lack of cash and they are waiting for the federal finance ministry to provide the funds. "Whenever the finance ministry disburses the money, we will immediately begin distributing the financial assistance,” he said.
The annual budget of the Ministry of Migration and Displacement is 276.9 billion dinars (nearly $1.4 billion), of which 15.9 billion dinars ($12.2 million) cover the salaries within the ministry.
Baghdad wants to close all camps housing internally displaced persons (IDPs).
In a meeting late last month, the Higher Committee for Relief and Support of Displaced Persons under the leadership of Migration and Displacement Minister Evan Faeq “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.
This immediately drew the ire of the Kurdistan Region’s Interior Ministry, which said closing the camps is “unconstitutional,” against “basic human rights,” and 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 be restored so they could safely and honorably return,” the Kurdistan Region’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.
There are more than one million IDPs in Iraq, including 104,000 people living in 20 camps within the Kurdistan Region, according to the United Nations.
Other incentives offered by Baghdad to encourage people to return to their homes include providing job opportunities in both the public and private sectors, monthly social security stipends for low-income and needy individuals, and offering interest-free bank loans.
Thousands of families, including Yazidis and Christians, fled their homes in the disputed areas when the Islamic State (ISIS) attacked 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 of their destroyed communities, and little in the way of basic services. Some who voluntarily left the camps have been forced to return.
Nahro Mohammed contributed to this article.
