IRAQ

GLTN/UN Habitat is supporting the implementation of the STDM in Erbil, Iraq since mid-2016 in the context of addressing Housing Land and Property (HLP) issues. GLTN/UN-Habitat is intervening in reconstituting and progressively normalizing the relationship between land and people, focusing on return.

STDM is being piloted as a land conflict and mediation tool, building up on lessons from other project sites where similar intervention has taken place such as in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia. Activities have begun in Sinuni, Sinjar to support the return, map the HLP rights of communities, issue occupancy certificates, and rehabilitate houses for over 600 households, in collaboration with local authorities, communities, UNDP, among other stakeholders. The STDM team in Iraq (GIS team) had previously attended STDM training in Nairobi. The project aims to bring forward the aspect of land rights mapping and build on it to progressively strengthen such rights and link them to the formal land registration system.

Key partners

UN-Habitat Office in Iraq, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, (UNHCR), United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) and Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).