Challenges of Displaced Iraqis Lacking a Legal Status in Jordan

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1 MOST Policy Brief Challenges of Displaced Iraqis Lacking a Legal Status in Jordan Dr. Gerladine Chatelard Oroub El-Abed Kate Washington The Management of Social Transformation (MOST) Programme's primary purpose is to transfer relevant Social Sciences research findings and data to decision-makers and other stakeholders. MOST focuses on building efficient bridges between research, policy and practice. The ideas and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of UNESCO. The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

2 Addressing the Challenges of Displaced Iraqis Lacking a Legal Status in Jordan Dr. Gerladine Chatelard Oroub El-Abed Kate Washington A large segment of the Iraqis who have been displaced to Jordan by the recent conflict in their home country lack a formal legal status as legal aliens under a Jordanian migration regime even when registered as asylum seekers or refugees under the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This population, received as temporary guests by the Government of Jordan, is facing several protection and livelihood challenges due in particular to the urban context of settlement. Short-term humanitarian approaches focussed on relief are, by nature, insufficient for addressing the long-term challenges posed by this particular displacement situation. An alternative approach is suggested based upon four key principles - restoring mobility, restoring families, restoring communities and restoring livelihoods. 1. Urban refugees and their vulnerability As compared to those hosted in camps or specific settlements, so-called urban refugees are self-settled in urban areas mostly for two reasons: Urban areas offer better livelihood, social and self-sufficiency opportunities than refugee camps, usually located in remote areas; Host countries do not have a legal framework for refugee reception, or, if they do, they have no specific structures to host refugees. Many urban refugees find themselves in situations of vulnerability comparable to that of other irregular or undocumented migrants, living and working in potentially exploitative informal sectors. Unlike irregular or undocumented migrants, urban refugees cannot durably return to their home country in conflict or due to the traumas of violence. Without an official recognized Géraldine Chatelard is a Research Fellow at the French Institute for Near East (IFPO) in Amman. Both Oroub El-Abed and Kate Washington are Associate Researchers at IFPO in Amman. Oroub El-Abed presented a research paper entitled as Addressing the challenges of displaced Iraqis lacking a legal status in Jordan in a regional research meeting on The Role of the State in Social Development (Beirut, Oct.1-2, 2009), jointly organized by UNESCO Beirut, Arab Sociological Association and Doha International Institute for Family Studies and Development at Qatar Foundation. 1

3 status as refugees by a host country, they may face expulsion back to their home country on the assumption of their being mere irregular labour migrants. 2. Migration patterns and legal status of Iraqis in Jordan Iraqi migration to Jordan is and has been for decades a mixed migration, originally of members of the urban elite, and, more recently, of the urban middle class. Involuntary migrants have come to Jordan alongside many voluntary ones. A large number of Iraqis are circular or transit migrants, which may entail stays of several months in Jordan before returning to Iraq or stays of several years before secondary migration generally to a Western country. The mixed nature of Iraqi migration to Jordan and the high mobility of part of the migrants, make an evaluation of the size of this population extremely complicated. The only reliable figures are: 1/ the cumulative number of those registered with the UNHCR (including a small number before 2003) that amounts to roughly 55,000; 2/ the 25,000 one-year residence permits granted to Iraqi holders of capital, professionals and students by the Jordanian authorities. In the absence of a domestic asylum regime, the government of Jordan applies to all Iraqis who are not under a residence permit an Arab customary but non-legally binding framework of hosts-and-guests relations. Those who overstay their visit permits, however, become irregulars and trapped inside Jordan as they refrain from going back to Iraq for fear of not being allowed re-entry in Jordan. The unknown number of Iraqis considered guests, be they or not registered with the UNHCR, are those who best meet the definition of urban refugees. 3. Iraqis displaced in Jordan The majority of Iraqis displaced in Jordan originate from urban areas in central Iraq (primarily from Baghdad) and belong to the educated middle-class. In many cases, entire families have emigrated out of Iraq. With the scattering of family members among numerous countries, female-headed households become more prevalent. Many families have been left stranded with time, unable to go back to Iraq because of widespread insecurity, exhausting their savings and facing painful new prospects and realities such as social downfall and isolation, poverty and lack of resources to meet basic needs, family break-up or separation, all of which make them constantly change their plans. Today, they are self-settled in major urban areas, with a majority in Amman, where they find better opportunities for housing, informal jobs and access to services. Those most vulnerable are under the guest status. 4. Impeded social citizenship and mobility of displaced Iraqis under the guest status Their lack of status beyond guest is a significant exclusionary obstacle impeding the Iraqis access to social and economic resources in Jordan. For many Iraqi guests daily subsistence is now shouldered by the whole family, including children. Iraqi women and men, due to their irregular status accept often exploitive and abusive (physically and sexually) working conditions as domestic workers or day labourers in the construction sector. The life of Iraqis under the guest status is unstable as they are obliged to move from one area to another in search of cheaper accommodation, a reality that limits their accessibility to potential basic services through NGOs and community centres. 2

4 Moreover, due to the fines overstayers have to pay in order to exit, many Iraqi guests have found themselves confined in Jordan, unable to make return visits to their home country without jeopardizing their situation in Jordan. The impeded social citizenship and mobility of Iraqis under the guest status need a thorough review not only from a human rights perspective but also from a security perspective. Being isolated, Iraqi guests may face more difficulties to access resources, which may lead to a heavier reliance on socio-religious networks or sex labour among destitute female. Unschooled youth, on the other hand, may become disenfranchised and resort to crime. At present, the majority of Iraqi guests continue to maintain regular contacts with relatives and social circles in Iraq, who may be sending money, temporarily caring for their homes or businesses. Some academics, journalists and other professionals, maintaining employeremployee communications through continuing their desk-based work in Jordan. Also, Iraqis in more distant emigration countries send remittance to family members in Jordan. Remittance flows as well as the circulation of information among communities scattered in different countries are vital for the survival of Iraqis in Jordan. 5. Secondary migration and the future of Iraq In the current context, Iraqis under the guest status find it difficult to maintain access to their personal, financial and professional resources in Iraq while remaining in Jordan because of security concerns. As a result, secondary emigration is a more appealing option for many displaced Iraqis, especially those who have the greatest educational and/or financial capital and sufficient social ties with the large Iraqi diaspora in the West. This trend of secondary migration implies that, in the medium term, those who will remain in Jordan will be the least likely to contribute productively to the Jordanian economy and society. Secondary migration also fuels the brain drain of the Iraqi educated middle class away from the Middle East with little prospect to return to Iraq when better security conditions arise. Indeed, the ability (or lack thereof) of many Iraqis to maintain ties within their home country is of utmost importance for the future of Iraq. Increasing the dissipation of the middle class through migration will leave Iraq with no critical social mass upon which to develop a non-sectarian civil society and a stable polity, ultimately bearing consequences, not only for Iraq, but for all countries in the region. Jordan as a host government may consider measures to allow those Iraqis under the guest status to become temporarily self-sufficient in Jordan and maintain their ties with Iraq in view of return. 6. Possible host-state interventions Based on a rights-based approach, the following policy recommendations address the role of Jordan as a host state in developing interventions to meet the needs of Iraqis lacking a stable legal status. 6.1 Granting temporary residence with a right of re-entry to Jordan In view of restoring their mobility, Iraqi guests need to access a more stable legal status as temporary residents securing their right of re-entry to Jordan, be it from Iraq or any other countries. This could be achieved by: Regularizing Iraqi under a guest status based on the model of previous campaigns for migrant workers, waving overstay fines and making no distinction between those who arrived in Jordan before or after the April-2003 regime change in Iraq; Introducing regulatory changes to the existing Law of Residence and Foreign Affairs, Number 24, 1973 and its amendments. 3

5 6.2. Family ties and the right to community life A status as temporary residents would furthermore meet the following needs of Iraqis: Restore the unity and integrity of families by facilitating reunification across borders; Support the rights of children to education and the prevention of child labour; Restore Iraqi communities in Jordan by granting the right to form non-political associations; Give a space for Iraqis to speak for themselves and develop their own social, educational, recreational and other activities. 6.3 Iraqis as economical asset in the region Iraqis should be allowed the possibility to become self-sufficient through economic initiatives with a view to rebuilding the economy and society in Iraq. This can be achieved by: Supporting the creation of joint Iraqi-Jordanian community based organizations (CBOs) to develop initiatives that support the self-sufficiency of Iraqis (vocational training, micro-credit schemes etc.) ; Allowing Iraqi investors who operate productive businesses in Jordan to recruit a quota of Iraqi employees; Allow Iraqi to be self-employed. 6.4 Prepare preconditions for return Return should be envisioned as a process to be comprehensively prepared over time that will entail several steps including preliminary return visits and in which the governments of Jordan and Iraq and the UNHCR should collaborate. In view of return, the concerned institutional actors should: Inform the displaced of the legal, institutional and security contexts relevant for their reinstallation in Iraq; Enhance possibilities to concurrently maintain livelihoods and educational opportunities in Jordan as instrumental preconditions to durable return to Iraq in the future; Facilitate short return visits to Iraq to evaluate the conditions for return while securing the right od re-entry into Jordan. 7. Suggested readings Chatelard, G., Washington, K. & El-Abed, O. (2008) An assessment of services provided for Iraqis in Jordan, Report for Austcare. Duncan, J., Schiecher, D. & Khalil, A. (2007) Iraqi asylum seekers in Jordan, a report of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC)-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) mission to assess the protection needs of Iraqi asylum seekers in Jordan, ICMC. Fabos, A. & Kibreab, G. (2007) Editorial Essay: Refugees in Urban Settings of the Global South, Special Issue of Refuge. Canada s Periodical on Refugees, No. 24. Jacobsen, K. (2006) Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Urban Areas: A Livelihoods Perspective, Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol. 19, No. 3. Olwan, M. (2007) The Legal Framework of Forced Migration and Refugee Movements in Jordan. Saif, I. & M. DeBartolo, D. (2007) The Iraq war s impact on growth and inflation in Jordan, Center for Strategic Studies, University of Jordan. UNESCO Beirut, 2011 LB/2011/SS/PI/56 UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States - Beirut Sports City Avenue, Bir Hassan, P. O. Box , Beirut - Lebanon Tel: /4/ Fax: beirut@unesco.org Website: 4