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Abbreviations and glossary


A • B • C • D • E • G • H • I • J • K • L • M • N • P • Q • R • S • T • U • V • W • X • Y • Z 


A

AQ-IAl-Qaeda in Iraq
AsayishIntelligence services of the KRG

C

CAT: Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
CJEU: Court of Justice of the European Union
COI: Country of origin information

E

EASO: European Asylum Support Office
ECHR: Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights), as amended by Protocols Nos. 11 and 14, 4 November 1950
ECtHR: European Court of Human Rights
EU: European Union

F

fasliyaA traditional practice, whereby family members, including women and children, are traded to settle tribal disputes
FGM/C: female genital mutilation/cutting

I

IDIdentification documentation
IDP(s)Internally displaced person(s)
IEDImprovised explosive device
IILHRInstitute for International Law and Human Rights
INSOInternational NGO Safety Organisation
IOMInternational Organisation for Migration
IPAInternal Protection Alternative
ISFIraqi Security Forces
ISIL: The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Islamic State, or Daesh
ISISThe Islamic State of Iraq and Syria; see also ISIL

J

jizya: a tax to be paid by Abrahamic non-Muslims, such as Christians and Jews. Imposed by ISIL in areas it controlled

K

KDPKurdistan Democratic Party
KRGKurdistan Regional Government
KRIKurdistan Region of Iraq – refers to Dahuk, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah governorates

L

LGBTIQ: LGBTIQ people are people:
■  
who are attracted to others of their own gender (lesbian, gay) or any gender (bisexual);
■  
whose gender identity and/or expression does not correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth (trans, non-binary);
■  
who are born with sex characteristics that do not fit the typical definition of male or female (intersex); and
■  
whose identity does not fit into a binary classification of sexuality and/or gender (queer).

M

mukhtarlocal community leader

N

NGO: Non-Governmental Organisation

P

PDSPublic Distribution System
PeshmergaMilitary forces of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
PJAKKurdistan Free Life Party (Partiya Jiyana Azad a Kurdistanê)
PKKKurdistan Worker’s Party
PMFPopular Mobilisation Forces
PMUPopular Mobilisation Units, also called Popular Mobilisation Forces, or al-Hashd al Shaabi
PUKPatriotic Union of Kurdistan

Q

QD (Qualification Directive): Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted

S

Sharia: the religious law of Islam, Islamic canonical law

T

Takfiri or Takfiran Arabic word meaning ‘unbeliever’;
Extremist Islamist ideology employed by ISIL to declare individuals as apostates or impure, used against those who do not pledge allegiance
TMTribal Mobilisation (militias)

U

UN: United Nations
UNAMI: United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq
UNHCR: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF: United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund
UNOCHA: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
UNRWA: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
urf: tribal customary law; also known as aadat or al-qada al-asha’iri
US: United States of America
USDOS: United States Department of State

V

VBIED: Vehicle-borne improvised explosive device