Country Position Paper: Statelessness in Iraq “In Iraq, a nationality certificate, Civil ID card, housing card and food ration card (PDS) are required to access essential services and public goods – including medical care, education, food rations, employment and government social welfare schemes – as well as to register for compensation entitlements”.32 3.2 Areas Not Under Government Control Between 30 December 2013 and 17 November 2017,33 some areas of Iraq fell in and out of the control of state authorities, which resulted in further documentation challenges. For example, those who lived in militant-controlled areas may have either been issued with documents that are not recognised by the Iraqi Government, or may not have had documents issued at all.34 In some cases, the lack of civil documentation in these areas may be attributed to a government policy to withhold documents: “[p]ersons associated with actual or perceived ISIS members are denied civil documentation on account of their imputed political opinion.”35 “Iraqi families with perceived ISIS affiliation, usually because of their family name, tribal affiliation or area of origin, were denied security clearances required to obtain identity cards and all other civil documentation. This impacted their freedom of movement, right to education, right to work, and right to apply for welfare benefits and obtain birth and death certificates needed to inherit property or remarry.”36 3.3 Difficulties Experienced by IDPs when Accessing Civil Documentation There are an estimated 1,774,980 IDPs in Iraq and many face obstacles in accessing and navigating the civil documentation system.37 Civil registration processes differ between different governates, especially as to what documents are needed in order to complete procedures and to acquire other documents. In addition, there are significant barriers to accessing civil documentation, as IDPs are “…expected to present themselves at the office in their governorate of origin. They are also subjected to complicated procedures, fees, administrative backlogs and a high burden of proof.”38 Given this, “…many IDPs and returnees do not hold critical documentation, restricting access to basic services, limiting freedom of movement, and increasing the risk of arbitrary arrest.”39 32 Humanitarian Practice Network, Identity crisis? Documentation for the displaced in Iraq, October 2015, available at: https://odihpn.org/magazine/identity-crisis-documentation-for-the-displaced-in-iraq/ 33 The Wilson Center, Timeline: the Rise, Spread, and Fall of the Islamic State, 30 April 2019, available at: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/timeline-the-rise-spread-and-fall-the-islamic-state. 34 Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Country Information Report – Iraq, 9 October 2017, at 5.27, available at: https://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Documents/country-information-report-iraq.pdf. 35 UNHCR, International Protection Considerations with Regard to People Fleeing the Republic of Iraq, May 2019, at 48, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5cc9b20c4.html. 36 Human Rights Watch, World Report 2019 – Iraq, 17 January 2019, available at: https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2002196.html 37 UNHCR, Fact Sheet – Iraq, April 2019, available at: http://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/UNHCR%20Iraq%20Factsheet%20-%20April%202019.pdf. Note, IOM estimates the number of IDPs in Iraq as of April 2019 to be 1,665,108, see: IOM, Displacement Tracking Matrix – DTM Round 109, April 2019, available at: http://iraqdtm.iom.int/Downloads/DTM%202019/April%202019/DTM%20109%20Report%20English.pdf. 38 Humanitarian Practice Network, Identity crisis? Documentation for the displaced in Iraq, October 2015, available at: https://odihpn.org/magazine/identity-crisis-documentation-for-the-displaced-in-iraq/ 39 UNHCR, International Protection Considerations with Regard to People Fleeing the Republic of Iraq, May 2019, at 48, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5cc9b20c4.html. 9