Case No. UKUT-00544-(IAC)

44. The UNHCR’s view on returns to Iraq is set out in its position paper of 27 October 2014, the conclusion to which reads: “[27] As the situation in Iraq remains highly fluid and volatile, and since all parts of the country are reported to have been affected, directly or indirectly, by the ongoing crisis, UNHCR urges States not to forcibly return persons originating from Iraq until tangible improvements in the security and human rights situation have occurred. In the current circumstances, many persons fleeing Iraq are likely to meet the 1951 Convention criteria for refugee status. When, in the context of an adjudication of an individual case of a person originating from Iraq , 1951 Convention criteria are found not to apply, broader refugee criteria as contained in the relevant regional instruments or complementary forms of protection are likely to apply. In the current circumstances, with massive new internal displacement coupled with a large scale humanitarian crisis, mounting sectarian tensions and reported access restrictions, particularly into the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, UNHCR does in principle not consider it appropriate for States to deny persons from Iraq international protection on the basis of applicability of an internal flight alternative or relocation alternative.”