Question Period Note: Canada's Humanitarian Response in Iraq

Ongoing violence in Iraq has affected millions of Iraqis since early 2014 and has resulted in acute humanitarian needs.

• The focus of the crisis in Iraq is shifting to support the return of millions of displaced people. Canada continues to advocate for the voluntary, safe and dignified return of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people.

• Canada is providing $183.3 million in humanitarian assistance funding for Iraq over three years (2016-2019), including significant support for food assistance, child protection, and gender-based violence services.

• Canada's humanitarian partners will continue to provide lifesaving assistance to meet basic food, water, shelter, education and protection needs of the crisis-affected population.

Two years on from the end of combat operations against Daesh, Iraq continues to face significant humanitarian challenges. While approximately 4.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned home since the beginning of the crisis in 2014, more than 1.4 million Iraqis remain displaced due to insecurity, lack of services and lack of livelihoods in their places of origin. In 2020, some 4.1 million Iraqis will continue to require life-saving humanitarian assistance.

A key priority for the humanitarian community moving forward is to find durable solutions for those who have been displaced and to ensure that any returns are voluntary, safe, and sustainable. Beginning in August 2019, the Government of Iraq has proceeded to consolidate and close a number of IDP camps, with a stated goal of all IDPs returning home by the end of 2020. The conditions for IDPs to return in safety and dignity are, however, still not in place in some areas in Iraq. Explosive hazards, movement restrictions imposed by security actors, and inter-communal tensions in areas of origin remain primary obstacles to return. UN population movement data indicates this campaign has resulted in considerable secondary displacement to existing and new sites, including out-of-camp locations with no services. Humanitarian actors are providing protection and assistance to those still displaced and to those newly returning to their places of origin.

As part of Canada's renewed Middle East Strategy, Canada is providing $65.2 million in humanitarian assistance funding for Iraq over three years (2019-2021) [unannounced], in addition to $183.3 million previously provided from 2016 to 2019. Through partners, Canada is supporting vulnerable groups, such as conflict-affected women and children, with: food assistance for up to 250,000 people; critical water and sanitation interventions for up to 970,000 people; emergency education for up to 200,000 children; structured and sustained psychosocial support for 135,000 girls and boys; sexual and reproductive health services for up to 742,000 women and girls; and gender-based violence services for up to 296,000 women and girls.

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