Housing, Land and Property rights in Iraq - An assessment of progress towards durable solutions in line with the Pinheiro Principles

Since the 1960s, housing, land and property (HLP) challenges faced by the people of Iraq have varied throughout different waves of conflict and displacements. These problems worsened during the period of conflict with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) between 2014 and 2017 when the widespread destruction, looting and illegal seizure and confiscation of housing was a key strategy employed by ISIL. This was a major factor leading to the displacement of around 6 million Iraqi Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

In 2021, during the fourth year since the Government of Iraq declared defeat over ISIL, HLP issues represent major barriers to returning home for the remaining 1.2 million IDPs, and also pose significant challenges for re-integration amongst the 4.9 million returnees who have arrived home. This report presents a range of secondary quantitative data under each of the “Pinheiro Principles” – the key global tool used to monitor HLP issues in settings of internal displacement, which assert the HLP related rights of displacement-affected communities. Under each principle a range of indicators are presented, to identify progress and gaps, and inform targeted HLP strategy and programming in areas of displacement and return across the country.