Legal aid helps refugee families overcome challenges in Iraq

For years, Faisal and his brothers watched as other children in their neighbourhood walked past their window laughing on their way to school. Each morning they would turn to their father with the same question about why they couldn’t join. Abu Faisal describes how he choked up with tears every time, unsure of how to respond. “I felt I was to blame. Because I am a Syrian refugee, they didn’t have the papers they needed.”

Originally from Syria, Abu Faisal recalls how the last decade has been filled with challenges, including legal barriers that have affected his entire family. When he married his Iraqi wife in 2012, documenting their union seemed like a low priority while starting a new life together. Financial constraints and the fear of fines for late registration added to their hesitance as time went by.

The situation grew even more complicated in 2015, when Abu Faisal and his family fled Mosul during Da’esh’s occupation. They returned three years later, only to face additional barriers to register their marriage due to difficulties securing the documentation needed and the complexities of being a Syrian refugee married to an Iraqi.

As their children reached school-age, the consequences of the lack of a marriage certificate became even more pronounced. “I was not able to prove Faisal is my child, and it broke my heart,” Abu Faisal says. Without official documentation, his children struggled to access basic services like healthcare or education – a constant reminder of the impact of their displacement.

Desperate to change their situation, Abu Faisal turned to a trusted source of support: UNHCR’s partner, Terre des Hommes (TDH) which runs a community centre in Mosul where a range of protection services and support including legal aid are provided. Through TDH, Abu Faisal attended a counselling session where he was assigned a lawyer to help him navigate his complex legal process.

Securing a marriage certificate was the first step. Given Abu Faisal’s refugee status, this was not an easy task and involved first renewing his expired residency documentation with the Iraqi government. Only then could he proceed with a court case to get a judge to recognize his marriage. But with legal guidance, Abu Faisal persevered.

In the meantime, UNHCR also supported his children to enrol in school for the first time based on a declaration by the Ministry of Education in February 2024 that refugee children should be allowed to enrol in school using their UNHCR registration certificate. For Faisal, his eldest son, who stepped into the classroom for the first time at 11 years old, this was life changing.

In September 2024, Abu Faisal finally received his marriage certificate. With this document in hand, the family was able to update their residency records with the Iraqi government, officially uniting the mother, father, and their four children under the same file. The timing couldn’t have been better: his younger sons were able to start school that same year by simply showing their new identity documents (cards given by the Permanent Committee for Political Refugee Affairs of the Ministry of Interior of Iraq, known as PC-MOI cards). This enrolment process, requiring no support from UNHCR, marked a significant turning point for the family. It underscored their ability to independently access a range of public services in Iraq using their new documentation, restoring a sense of self-sufficiency and hope for the future for the family.

“Issuing my marriage certificate paved the way to secure documents for my children, allowing them to enrol in school and see a doctor when needed,” Abu Faisal says.

Abu Faisal hopes that his experience can inspire others facing similar struggles. “There are many families like mine who feel stuck because they don’t know where to turn for help,” he says. He now actively encourages others in his community to visit the TDH community centre, sharing his own experience as proof that change is possible with the right support. “If I can overcome this, so can they,” he adds with a determined smile.

Thanks to support from donors like Switzerland, Abu Faisal is among 13,500 refugees and asylum-seekers who have received legal aid services from UNHCR in 2024. These services include legal awareness sessions, counselling, and representation before legal and administrative bodies, helping refugees resolve critical legal matters.