The Iraqi Internal Displacement Crisis: Impacts of the 2003 Iraq War

The magnitude of internally displaced persons (IDPs) is globally increasing and the results are a tragic, modern threat to stability. In Iraq, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that IDPs increased from 900,000 in 1999 to over two million in 2007. The 2003 Iraq War resulted in an avoidable internal Iraqi displacement crisis by the US-led coalition. Coordination between UNHCR and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was lacking. UNHCR rightfully established a Temporary Protection Regime (TPR) to save the lives of millions of fleeing Iraqis, but the TPR holistically frustrated the resettlement process until UNHCR established the "prima facie" refugee regime in January 2007. Moreover, the US-led coalition should have appropriately addressed the Iraqi IDP crisis before 2007, retained the majority of Iraq's military as a security force, and empowered previous members of the Ba'ath Party whom supported regime change. These factors led to instability, a general lack of internal security in Iraq, mass killings, early returns of displaced persons, border closures, and prolonged the war. This paper proposes that an Internally Displaced Persons Convention (IDPC) must be established to formalize temporary protection, prohibit the generalized discrimination against members of previously ruling parties, and retain host nation security forces to promote and expedite stability efforts resulting from armed conflict.