The IRC in Iraq
Photo: Sasha Pippenger/IRC
More than 1.5 million Iraqis — close to 5% of the population — who fled or were forced from their homes following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 are still displaced. The International Rescue Committee continues to support their safe return and to ensure that they are protected wherever they may be. Uprooted women and children are especially vulnerable and are at the forefront of our efforts.
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How We Help
- The IRC rebuilds schools damaged by war, and trains teachers, reaching close to fifty-thousand students at 130 Iraqi schools.
- We provide free legal assistance to thousands of returnees and displaced persons.
- We help displaced community leaders develop their skills in identifying and addressing essential community needs.
- We promote healthy families and women’s well-being by providing health, legal and psychosocial services.
- We help displaced young people find work and become self-sufficient through savings and credit associations and job training.
- The IRC ensures that displaced school children have access to clean water and proper hygiene facilities.
- The IRC is also working with Syrian refugees at the Domiz and al-Qu'am camps in the west of Iraq. There, we are providing workshops and other awareness-raising to address problems of violence against women and girls. At Domiz camp we are providing furniture and other items to help launch a refugee school.
Iraqis in Crisis
The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq left behind a major crisis in the region—with three million Iraqis displaced and desperate and tens of thousands of others in danger because they worked for the U.S. military. The IRC is providing vital aid and calling the world's attention to their plight.
Inside our Work in Iraq
The IRC focuses on supporting those uprooted or impacted by decades of conflict. We arrived in Iraq shortly after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, but, were forced to pull out due to escalating violence three years later. In 2008, we returned, and since then, have worked in two-thirds of Iraq’s 18 provinces, reaching more than 100,000 of those in the greatest need of help.
Research
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In The Media
February 14, 2013 | The Huffington Post
February 1, 2013 | The Huffington Post
December 14, 2012 | The Guardian
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