Paperless people of post-conflict Iraq: Denied rights, barred from basic services and excluded from reconstruction efforts

This report, based on research conducted by NRC in partnership with DRC and IRC, through the Cash Consortium for Iraq (CCI)iii shows how a significant portion of Iraqi families living in urban areas formerly under IS control are being denied basic services because they are paperless. They are barred from accessing rights-based public services such as education, healthcare, the state justice system and social welfare. Lacking the proper papers also severely restricts their ability to recover and rebuild their lives following the war – it limits access to formal employment, government schemes for compensation for damaged housing, and opportunities to own or rent property. Adding to this, key human rights are also denied to people without papers, such as freedom of movement, and the risk of arbitrary detention and arrest is significantly increased. In short, the prospects for paperless people in post-conflict Iraq are disheartening. They risk becoming a new group of marginalised Iraqi citizens, isolated from the rest of society. The denial of their rights and resulting exclusion undermines opportunities for social cohesion and stability in Iraq.