Minorities in Iraq

Iraq is home to several religious minorities: including Armenian, Assyrian, Chaldean and Syriac Christians, as well as Baha’is, Jews, Mandaeans, Shabaks, and Yazidi. In recent years, central Iraq has experienced alarming levels of extremist violence directed against vulnerable communities. Systematic attacks and threats have driven more than 500,000 members of religious minorities into exile, endangering the survival of their ancient spiritual, linguistic and cultural heritage.

Many of those who try to escape ongoing ethnic and religious persecution in Iraq seek refuge in the northern provinces of the Kurdistan Region. An estimated 80,000 families of various ethnicities and religions have fled to this region, including approximately 20,000 Christian families from Basra, Baghdad and Mosul. While some of these victims of persecution have temporarily found a safe haven in the cities of Dohuk and Erbil, others are internally displaced persons living in the Nineveh Plains.

Protecting Pluralism

In June 2011, with the support of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria and the Foundation Wings of Hope, the Kirkuk Center launched a project for traumatized victims of persecution living in Dohuk, Erbil and the Nineveh Plains.

The project consists of two units: a rehabilitation center in Dohuk and a mobile team serving rural areas. Both units offer medical, psychological and social support to adults and children affected by violence. The program is carried out in close cooperation with local communities and serves victims regardless of their faith or ethnic affiliation.

Links

United Nations Dahuk Governorate Profile
http://www.iauiraq.org/documents/470/GP-Dahuk.pdf

United Nations Ninewa Governorate Profile
http://www.iauiraq.org/documents/477/GP-Ninewa.pdf