It is estimated that one in five Iraqis — nearly five million people — has been displaced from their home. Due to the improved security situation and the increased difficulty of displacement, Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people are beginning to return, only to find their homes destroyed or occupied by others. In the past four months, the Iraqi Government has shifted from a policy of criminal sanction of the secondary occupants to a system of incentives; from a court-centered process to an administrative approach to property return. The USIP Rule of Law Program and the International Organization for Migration have been working with Iraqi Government actors to facilitate the development of policies and mechanisms to resolve property claims and find durable solutions for the displaced. This event will assess the policies in place and identify remaining challenges to ending the displacement crisis.

Archived Audio

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Speakers

• Elizabeth Ferris
  Co-Director, Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement
• Peter Van der Auweraert
  Senior Legal Advisor, International Organization for Migration
• Deborah Isser
  Senior Rule of Law Advisor, Rule of Law Program, U.S. Institute of Peace
• Neil Kritz, Moderator
  Associate Vice President, Rule of Law Program, U.S. Institute of Peace