Interagency SOPs for child protection case management in the Kurdistan region of Iraq
Department of Labour and Social Affairs, ACTED, IRC, INTERSOS, Kurdistan Save The Children, Save The Children, STEP, Terre des hommes, Triangle, UNICEF and UNHCR
Highlights
The Child Protection Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) concern all children in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), including children displaced as a result of ongoing events in Iraq, and refugee and asylum-seeking children from Syria and other countries. The humanitarian situation in Iraq is one of the most severe and rapidly deteriorating crises in the world. Escalations in conflict across northern and central Iraq has led to unprecedented displacement of more than three million people since the beginning of 2014 that has eclipsed the existing refugee crisis. Over 249,000 refugees fled to Iraq to seek shelter and protection following the outbreak of conflict in 2011 according to UNHCR statistics. There are an estimated 1.5 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) children (47% of the total IDP population) and 101,000 refugee children (41% of the total refugee population) who are in need of protection and assistance. Despite the geographical distribution, most child protection interventions have been focused in camps in the KRI.
These SOPs include an overview of international and regional legal and humanitarian framework, definitions and guiding principles of child protection case management, roles and responsibilities of stakeholders and case management steps.
