Legal assistance provides relief to asylum-seekers and refugees in Baghdad

On a typical Wednesday evening during Ramadan, Ali was visiting a friend in a nearby neighbourhood in Baghdad when he was unexpectedly arrested. As a Syrian asylum-seeker who had been living in Iraq for the past year and a half, Ali was registered and documented with UNHCR. However, when security forces approached, he wasn’t able to show the standard residency documentation that is expected from foreign citizens living in the country.

“We were 11 Syrians who were arrested,” Ali explains. “Even though some of us had the UNHCR certificate, the security forces didn’t accept that as a valid form of documentation.”

Ali and his friends were taken to the local police station and detained overnight. The next day, however, he grew increasingly worried about being deported back to Syria. “I fled to avoid military conscription, but I still don’t consider it safe to go back. I am from Lattakia. There are still problems there.”

When Ali was summoned to court, he explained to the investigation judge that he was a Syrian asylum-seeker registered with UNHCR. He was subsequently assigned a lawyer – Raghad – to support with his case.

As a lawyer working for UNHCR’s legal partner, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Raghad explains that some judges know to contact her when they come across cases of refugees and asylum seekers who have been arrested on immigration-related charges.

“Sometimes we get contacted by the refugees themselves or their families via our hotline, sometimes the police station informs us, or other times the investigation judge, either way we can then step into provide legal representation for the detained individual.”

In Iraq, refugees and asylum-seekers should be exempt from the provisions of the Residency Law as per Article 8 of the 1971 Political Refugee Law. However, despite having documentation identifying them as refugees or asylum-seekers, individuals like Ali sometimes end up being detained inadvertently and require legal support.

In these circumstances, lawyers such as Raghad, working for UNHCR’s legal partner, are assigned to different administrative areas. They are ready to assist when called upon and also work proactively to identify those in detention, providing support where needed. Last year, over 1,800 refugees required this assistance.

Ahmed, a Syrian asylum-seeker from Hama, is another of Raghad’s clients.

“I was detained for 16 days because I didn’t have a residency card,” Ahmed recalls. “I had applied to register with UNHCR, but the appointment had not yet been set so I also didn’t have a UNHCR certificate. After three days of being arrested, Raghad was assigned as my lawyer to help.”

In Ahmed’s case, the police station initially reached out to flag that they had a potential Syrian refugee who needed support. “After I made the statement in front of the judge to explain Ahmed’s situation, he was released on bail. I made the statement on Wednesday, and he was released the next Sunday,” Raghad recounts.

Ahmed has since completed the UNHCR registration process as an asylum-seeker and holds a UNHCR certificate .

Behind the scenes, however, Raghad says that cases such as these require a large amount of paperwork. “I have to document everything before I give my statement to the judge.”

In addition to this day-to-day legal work, UNHCR is also providing technical support to the Government of Iraq to update the current 1971 Iraqi Political Refugee Law, to bring it more in line with international refugee law and standards. An updated legal framework would also be an important step towards preventing some of the arrests and detention of asylum-seekers like Ali and Ahmed on immigration related charges in Iraq.

So far in 2025, UNHCR has prevented the potential refoulement of over 300 asylum-seekers and refugees through its legal intervention. Most are Syrian nationals. This work is generously funded by the Italian Development Agency, EU Humanitarian Aid and the Netherlands through the PROSPECTS partnership. UNHCR for the time being continues to call on States not to forcibly return Syrian nationals to any part of Syria.

Another important aspect of UNHCR’s legal programme is raising awareness among legal actors and authorities about the rights asylum-seekers and refugees should enjoy during their stay in Iraq, mitigating against the risk of detentions. Raghad says she is seeing progress in this area.

“Initially the police and judges are surprised when we introduce ourselves and our work. Some of them are not familiar with the refugee law, but gradually they are becoming more understanding.”

For the time being, however, UNHCR’s legal programme remains a necessary reality. The dedication and tireless efforts of Raghad and other lawyers like her continue to make a significant difference in the lives of asylum-seekers and refugees.