Post-Return Practices and Experiences of Returnees in Iraq

Authors:

William Khamo Warda, Pascale Warda, Mohammed Kazem Al-Maeeni, Khalid Abdul Al Bayati, Mohammed T Al-Obaidi | Hammurabi Human Rights Organization (HHRO)

Executive Summary:

This report analyses post-return practices and experiences of Iraqi migrants who returned from European countries within the framework of the GAPs project, based on survey data from 250 returnees across 11 governorates and complementary qualitative insights. It shows that, despite an expanded legal and institutional framework for return governance, weak coordination, limited financial and psychosocial support, and scarce employment opportunities leave many returnees in poverty and psychological distress, even as they report moderate levels of hope and resilience grounded in family and religious resources. The findings highlight the prevalence of forced and constrained returns, declining incomes, unmet basic needs, and persistent aspirations for legal re-migration, and call for rights-based, trauma-informed, and sustainably funded reintegration policies that align return governance with returnees’ lived realities and human rights.

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