I . POST-FEBRUARY 22 IDP ASSESSMENTS: BACKGROUND
An alarming increase in displacement after the Samarra shrine bombing in February 2006 has highlighted the need for in-depth needs assessments of recently displaced populations. IOM conducts assessments in the central and southern 15 governorates, complementing the registration work conducted by other entities, such as the Ministry of Displacement and Migration.
IOM monitors use IDP Rapid Assessment Templates created in coordination with Cluster F (1) and the IDP Working Group. Monitors gather information from IDP MoDM, tribal and community leaders, local NGOs, local government bodies, and individual IDP families. Based on this information, IOM is distributing Iraq Displacement Assessments and Statistics reports, Governorate Assessment Profiles, and Displacement Year in Review reports.(2)
This information is assisting IOM and other agencies to prioritize areas of operation, plan emergency responses, and design long-term, durable solutions programs.
IOM's assessment efforts are ongoing; this should be kept in mind when reading statistics that are represented over time. Also, some statistics represent questions that allowed multiple responses.
II . IDP OVERVIEW
Percentages on map show distribution by district of the IDP population covered by IOM's assessment.
| Capital: | Baghdad |
| Districts: | Adhamiya, Abu Ghraib, Al Resafa, Karkh, Taji, Tarmia, Mada'in, Mahmoudiya |
|
Population (as per 1997 census): |
6,500,000 individuals |
|
Total IDPs post-Feb. 2006(3) : |
25,000 families (est. 150,000 individuals) |
|
Total IDP and IDP returnees pre-Feb. 22, 2006 (4) : |
4,192 families (est. 25, 152 individuals) |
1. Governorate Background
The Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MoDM) estimates that almost 25,000 families, or an estimated 150,000 individuals, have been displaced since February 2006 (5), making Baghdad the governorate with the highest number of displaced in the country.
Although situated in a predominantly Sunni Arab region, Baghdad Governorate contains a mix of Iraq's various communities: Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Christian Assyrians, and Sunni and Shia Muslims. This complicated makeup of ethnicity, religion and sect, combined with Baghdad's attraction as the Iraqi capital and the home for many international and national entities, makes it especially diverse and as a result, volatile.
IOM's assessments cover 21,087 families (6); average family size is 6 persons, yielding an estimated total of 126,522 individuals assessed. (Note that these are numbers of IDPs assessed by IOM, not total per governorate. Please refer to the Cluster F Update for total displacement figures.)
2. IDP Entry into Governorate:
There are currently no official restrictions on IDP entry into Baghdad, although the unstable security situation and frequent checkpoints and roadblocks prevent freedom of movement.
3. Ethnicity and Religion:
IDPs assessed in Baghdad represent two ethnicities (Arab and Kurd) and three religious identities (Shia Muslim, Sunni Muslim, and Yazidi).
Notes
(1) The UN Country Team cluster for IDPs, Refugees, and Durable Solutions, of which IOM is Deputy Cluster Coordinator.
(2) Available at http://www.iom-iraq.net/idp.html
(3) As per Ministry of Displacement and Migration. See latest Cluster F Update on IDPs, 15 May 2007
(4) As per IOM's Phase II monitoring, December 2005
(5)Cluster F Update on IDPs, 15 May 2007
(6) The monitors use templates for both IDP groups and individual IDP families; therefore, information obtained from group templates applies to multiple families.