Home Country Guidance Iraq 2022 5. Internal protection alternative Table of Contents Introduction Guidance note General remarks Actors of persecution or serious harm Refugee status Guidance on particular profiles with regard to qualification for refugee status Subsidiary protection Article 15(a) QD Article 15(b) QD Article 15(c) QD Actors of protection Internal protection alternative Exclusion Common analysis General remarks 1. Actors of persecution or serious harm Preliminary remarks Overview: areas of control/activity 1.1. The Iraqi State actors 1.2. Popular Mobilisation Forces and Tribal Mobilisation Militias 1.3. Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) authorities 1.4. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) 1.5. Tribes 1.6. Other non-State actors 2. Refugee status Preliminary remarks Analysis of particular profiles with regard to qualification for refugee status 2.1. Persons (perceived to be) affiliated with ISIL 2.2. Sunni Arabs 2.3. Human rights and political opposition activists and protesters 2.4. Journalists and media workers 2.5. Deserters from armed forces 2.6. Individuals approached for recruitment by armed groups 2.7. Former Baath party members 2.8. Members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), Peshmerga and local police 2.9. Individuals perceived to oppose ISIL 2.10. (Perceived) collaborators of Western armed forces, organisations, or companies 2.11. Humanitarian workers 2.12. LGBTIQ persons 2.13. Individuals perceived to transgress moral codes 2.14. Individuals considered to have committed blasphemy and/or apostasy 2.15. Religious and ethnic minorities, and stateless persons Minorities overview 2.15.1. Turkmens 2.15.2. Yazidis 2.15.3. Christians 2.15.4. Shabak 2.15.5. Kaka'i 2.15.6. Sabean-Mandaeans 2.15.7. Baha'i 2.15.8. Bidoon 2.15.9. Fayli Kurds 2.15.10. Palestinians 2.16. Women 2.16.1. Violence against women and girls: overview 2.16.2. Forced and child marriage 2.16.3. Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) 2.16.4. Women acting in the public sphere 2.16.5. Women perceived to have transgressed moral codes 2.16.6. Women perceived to be associated with ISIL 2.16.7. Single women and female heads of households 2.17. Children 2.17.1. Violence against children: overview 2.17.2. Child marriage 2.17.3. FGM/C 2.17.4. Child labour and child trafficking 2.17.5. Child recruitment 2.17.6. Education of children and girls in particular 2.17.7. Children born under ISIL who lack civil documentation 2.17.8. Children without a care-taker 2.18. Persons living with disabilities and persons with severe medical issues 2.19. Persons involved in and affected by blood feuds in the context of tribal conflict 2.20. Individuals accused of ordinary crimes 3. Subsidiary protection 3.1. Article 15(a) QD 3.2. Article 15(b) QD 3.3. Article 15(c) QD Preliminary remarks 3.3.1. Armed conflict (international or internal) 3.3.2. Qualification of a person as a ‘civilian’ 3.3.3. Indiscriminate violence Indicators of indiscriminate violence Indiscriminate violence in Iraq Assessment by governorate A-D Anbar Babil/Babylon Baghdad Basrah Dahuk/Dohuk Diyala E-M Erbil Kerbala Kirkuk (Tameem) Missan Muthanna N-W Najaf Ninewa Qadissiya Salah al-Din Sulaymaniyah incl. Halabja Thi-Qar/Dhi Qar Wassit 3.3.4. Serious and individual threat 3.3.5. Qualification of the harm as ‘threat to (a civilian’s) life or person 3.3.6. Nexus/’by reason of’ 4. Actors of protection 4.1. The State 4.1.1. The Iraqi State 4.1.2. Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) 4.2. Parties or organisations 5. Internal protection alternative Preliminary remarks 5.1. Part of the country 5.2. Safety 5.3. Travel and admittance 5.4. Reasonableness to settle 5.4.1. General situation 5.4.2. Individual circumstances 5.4.3. Conclusions on reasonableness 6. Exclusion Preliminary remarks 6.1. Relevant circumstances 6.2. Guidance with regard to Iraq Abbreviations and glossary Country of origin information references Relevant case law Share Print This chapter looks into the topic of internal protection alternative (IPA). The contents of this chapter include: Preliminary remarks 5.1. Part of the country 5.2. Safety 5.3. Travel and admittance 5.4. Reasonableness to settle 5.4.1. General situation 5.4.2. Individual circumstances 5.4.3. Conclusions on reasonableness Book traversal links for 5. Internal protection alternative Previous Parent Next