IPA should only be examined after it has been established that the applicant has a well-founded fear of persecution or faces a real risk of serious harm and that the authorities or other relevant actors of protection are unable or unwilling to protect him or her in his or her home area. In such cases, if IPA applies, it can be determined that the applicant is not in need of international protection.
It should, however, be stressed that there is no requirement that the applicant has exhausted the possibilities to obtain protection in different parts of his or her country of origin before seeking international protection.
The analysis of IPA should be part of the assessment of the future risk of being subjected to persecution or serious harm. When assessing whether or not IPA applies, the burden of proof lies with the determining authority, while the applicant remains under an obligation to cooperate. The applicant is also entitled to submit elements to indicate that IPA should not be applied to him or her.
This chapter is structured following the elements of the legal provision of Article 8 QD:
These criteria under Article 8(1) QD reflect ECtHR jurisprudence, for example in the case of Salah Sheekh.[45]
In relation to these elements, when assessing the applicability of IPA, the case officer should consider the general situation in the respective part of Iraq, as well as the individual circumstances of the applicant.
This chapter analyses and provides guidance on the applicability of IPA in the southern and central parts of Iraq and in KRI, looking in particular at the following three cities as examples: Baghdad, Basrah and Erbil.
This is without prejudice to the possibility to apply IPA to other places in Iraq.