A/HRC/44/41/Add.1 II. Context of internal displacement in Iraq 6. As reported by previous mandate holders, Iraq has undergone several waves of internal displacement in its history due to armed conflict and ethnic and sectarian violence. The recent wave of displacement triggered by the conflict against the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the focus of the present report, was one of particularly large proportions, with about 6 million people internally displaced between 2014 and 2017.2 7. While displacement began in early 2014, the largest flow was in the second half of 2014 as ISIL took Mosul and several districts in northern and central Iraq. Military operations to retake control over these areas were launched by the Iraqi security forces, supported by the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, the Peshmerga (armed forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government), the Popular Mobilization Forces (an umbrella organization aggregating several armed groups), and local and tribal fighters. Such military operations led to additional waves of displacement as they advanced. The operation to retake Mosul lasted from October 2016 until July 2017; in December 2017, the Government declared the end of military operations against ISIL in Iraq. 8. Overall, most internally displaced persons fled to urban and peri-urban settings, and a minority to camps. In the earliest waves of displacement, all governorates of Iraq received internally displaced persons to some extent, with large groups hosted by the Kurdistan region of Iraq and the Baghdad and Anbar governorates. In later waves, governorates adopted stricter access policies; displacement flows were increasingly directed to camps established within the same governorate of displacement, leading to a rise in the percentage of internally displaced persons in camps.3 9. While some internally displaced persons returned to their areas of origin over the years as areas were retaken from ISIL, the largest flows were reported after December 2017. As at 31 December 2019, 4.6 million had returned. 4 The policies of the Government of Iraq have been instrumental in promoting the returns; however, premature, coerced and forced returns, in addition to blocked returns, have also been reported. 10. As at 31 December 2019, some 1.4 million people, comprising different groups that require targeted approaches to identify durable solutions to the obstacles they face, remained in internal displacement.5 Many of them had moved from one place of displacement to another, or had been displaced again after a failed attempt to return to their place of origin. Meanwhile, whether living inside or outside camps, many of them face discrimination, insecurity and dire living conditions, and struggle to meet basic needs. 11. Displaced populations have been subjected to extreme experiences of violence and war. The atrocities committed by ISIL, including killings, torture, rape and sexual slavery, child recruitment and use, forced religious conversion, the deliberate targeting of minorities, and severe punishment of the population, have been and continue to be documented. At the same time, insecurity in Iraq still poses a challenge to host communities, internally displaced persons, returnees and humanitarian actors, as remnant ISIL cells continue to carry out attacks. Adding to the complex security situation, armed groups are present in the country, some of which do not follow the command and control structure of the Popular Mobilization Commission under the Prime Minister as Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi security forces. III. National response to internal displacement 12. The Special Rapporteur commends the Government of Iraq for having taken a number of measures to address internal displacement in various ways. Institutionally, the existence of a dedicated ministry, the Ministry of Migration and Displacement, is in line with the general 2 3 4 5 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Iraq Humanitarian Needs Overview 2020, November 2019, p. 5. International Organization for Migration (IOM), Returns Working Group and Social Inquiry, Reasons to Remain: Categorizing Protracted Displacement in Iraq, November 2018. IOM, Displacement Tracking Matrix, November – December 2019, p. 1. Ibid. 3