KRG delegation participates at 2023 Global Refugee Forum

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region interior minister is leading the Iraqi delegation to the 2023 Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland.

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Interior Reber Ahmed is the head of the Iraqi delegation to the quadrennial conference, which is described as “the world’s largest international gathering on refugees,” by the United Nations Refugee Agency, also known as the UNHCR.

Kurdish Region Minister of Education Alan Hama Saeed is also taking part in the conference along with other KRG representatives.

Minister Hama Saeed is expected to deliver remarks at Securing Sustainable Futures: Towards a Shared Responsibility to Uphold the Right to Education and Include Refugee Children in National Education Systems on Wednesday.

The conference aims to discuss wide-ranging topics concerning boosting the self-reliance of refugees and easing pressure on host communities as well as the challenges.

Privileged to lead the Iraqi delegation at the Global Refugee Forum in #Geneva. Committed to promoting cooperation with international community, sharing insights, and advancing solutions for the global refugee crisis, especially those in #Iraq, including #Kurdistan Region.… pic.twitter.com/oN8yZ3puvA

— Rêber Ahmed (@RayberAhmed) December 13, 2023

Kurdistan Region has once hosted over two million Syrian refugees and Iraqi internally displaced persons (IDPs).

In an exclusive interview with Kurdistan24 aired in early December, Jean-Nicolas Beuze, the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Iraq, hailed the KRG’s efforts to host the displaced communities.

Read More: Kurdistan Region hosts nearly 250,000 refugees, reveals UNHCR representative

Syrian refugees and Iraqi IDPs can have access to education and healthcare systems in the Region.

The cost of hosting an internally displaced person or Syrian refugee is 2.6 dollars a day, which is covered by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), a crisis management official told Kurdistan recently.

Read More: KRG pays $2.6 a day to host a displaced individual, says official

Out of 9,13,311 refugees and IDPs registered in the Kurdistan Region, more than 6,24,161 of whom are Iraqi IDPs while the rest are refugees from Syria, Turkey, Iran, Palestinian Territories, and other places, according to the official.

While the Iraqi government has shut down most of the camps under its control in a bid to "end" displacement issues in the country, the Kurdistan Region has maintained its long-standing position that the return of refugees and IDPs should be voluntary and free of coercion, KRG officials have said on numerous occasions.