Country Position Paper: Statelessness in Iraq were excluded from the nationality process. 62 Bidoon in Kuwait were subsequently rendered stateless with limited rights and freedoms. Despite this, “Bidoon made up the majority of the Kuwaiti army” and following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, “…they became an easy scapegoat for their country’s capitulation to the rapidly advancing Iraqi army.” “Bidoon were dismissed en masse from the army, and some were tried in military courts for collaboration… [with] approximately 10,000 bidoon deported”.63 UNHCR estimates that 125,000 bidoon either fled or were deported to Iraq following the Gulf War. 64 Most bidoon communities in Iraq reside in Basrah, Dhi Qar, Wassit and Qadisiyah Governorates. There is a lack of accurate data on the number of bidoon in Iraq and whether some have been able to obtain nationality.65 The most recent figures from 2006 estimated that 54,000 bidoon resided in Iraq at the time, mainly living as nomads in desert areas or governates in the south of the country.66 It is believed that a majority of these individuals are stateless and undocumented. There are reports of some bidoon travelling to city centres for a number of reasons, such as drought, to obtain food rations and civil status documentation.67 However, bidoon continue to live on the margins of society in Iraq and in 2019 UNHCR confirmed that “[a] number of…Bidoon also remain stateless and consequently without official documentation”.68 For further information on the treatment of bidoon, please refer to the Kuwait Country Position Paper. 4.3 The Dom (Roma) The Dom (also referred to as Roma) who identify themselves through tribal affiliations rather than the derogatory Arabic words they are commonly called in Iraq including ‘Kawliyah’, ‘Qawliya’, ‘Ghagar’, ‘Ghajari’ or ‘Gypsies’.69 While there are no accurate figures for the number of Dom in Iraq, estimates suggest the population is around 60,000, primarily residing on the outskirts of Baghdad, Mosul and Basra. 70 Other reports suggest the Dom population is between 50,000 and 200,000. 71 UNHCR reported in 2019 that “…members of the Roma community are reportedly stateless or at risk of 62 Minority Rights Group International, Kuwait: Bidoon Profile, 2017, available at: https://minorityrights.org/minorities/bidoon/. See also Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion and European Network on Statelessness, Statelessness in Kuwait: Country Position Paper, May 2019, at 6, available at: https://statelessjourneys.org/wp-content/uploads/StatelessJourneys-Kuwait-FINAL.pdf 63 Minority Rights Group International, Kuwait: Bidoon Profile, 2017, available at: https://minorityrights.org/minorities/bidoon/. 64 UNHCR, International Protection Considerations with Regard to People Fleeing the Republic of Iraq, May 2019, at 79, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5cc9b20c4.html 65 UNHCR, International Protection Considerations with Regard to People Fleeing the Republic of Iraq, May 2019, at 79, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5cc9b20c4.html 66 US Department of State, Human Rights Report – Iraq 2018, 13 March 2019, at 40, available at: https://www.state.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2019/03/IRAQ-2018.pdf 67 US Department of State, Human Rights Report – Iraq 2018, 13 March 2019, at 40, available at: https://www.state.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2019/03/IRAQ-2018.pdf 68 UNHCR, International Protection Considerations with Regard to People Fleeing the Republic of Iraq, May 2019, at 78-79, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5cc9b20c4.html 69 Institute for International Law and Human Rights, Iraq’s Minorities and Other Vulnerable Groups: Legal Framework, Documentation and Human Rights, May 2013, at 126, available at: http://lawandhumanrights.org/documents/MinorityHB_EN.pdf. Also see, Minority Rights Group International, Alternative Report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination – Review of the Periodic Report of Iraq, 2018, at 23, available at: http://bit.ly/2VKsoYo. 70 Institute for International Law and Human Rights, Iraq’s Minorities and Other Vulnerable Groups: Legal Framework, Documentation and Human Rights, May 2013, at 126, available at: http://lawandhumanrights.org/documents/MinorityHB_EN.pdf 71 Minority Rights Group International, Iraq: Roma, November 2017, available at: https://minorityrights.org/minorities/roma-21/ 13