Since the start of conflict in Iraq in 2003, the country’s minorities have suffered disproportionate levels of targeted violence because of their religions and ethnicities. Inside Iraq they continue to suffer this violence. Outside, they form a large proportion of those displaced, either by fleeing to neighbouring countries or seeking asylum further afield. But as this report clearly shows: having passed Iraq’s borders is no guarantee of safety. Asylum-seekers risk being turned back at the Greek border; if they continue into other member-states of the European Union they face increasingly restrictive asylum policies. For minorities the ramifications of this are stark. If rejected, they risk being sent back to Iraq. Dispersal policies which divide refugees of the same nationality between cities and towns have a serious impact on minority communities whose numbers may already be at the limits of sustainability. Such policies also ignore the needs of minorities, especially the need to maintain, as a community, their cultural identity and religious practices. There is also a tendency to ignore the plight of Muslim ethnic minorities in reporting and processing asylum claims. Drawing on numerous first-hand interviews with Iraq’s minority communities across the Middle East and Europe, this report details the considerable difficulties they face in the struggle to gain safety. It highlights that, for many minorities, return to the extremely precarious existence they face in Iraq is an impossible prospect. As asylum countries continue to use a combination of voluntary incentives and force to return Iraqi rejected asylum-seekers and refugees, this report offers an urgent analysis of the impact of such measures on minorities. It calls on the Government of Iraq and the international community to give greater consideration to the specific needs of Iraq’s religious and ethnic minorities in all matters of asylum, resettlement and return.

The Routledge Handbook of Minorities in the Middle East gathers a diverse team of international scholars, each of whom provides unique expertise into the status and prospects of minority populations in the region. The dramatic events of the past decade, from the Arab Spring protests to the rise of the Islamic state, have brought the status of these populations onto centre stage. The overturn of various long-term autocratic governments in states such as Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, and the ongoing threat to government stability in Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon have all contributed to a new assertion of majoritarian politics amid demands for democratization and regime change. In the midst of the dramatic changes and latent armed conflict, minority populations have been targeted, marginalized, and victimized. Calls for social and political change have led many to contemplate the ways in which citizenship and governance may be changed to accommodate minorities – or indeed if such change is possible. At a time when the survival of minority populations and the utility of the label minority has been challenged, this handbook answers the following set of research questions.What are the unique challenges of minority populations in the Middle East? How do minority populations integrate into their host societies, both as a function of their own internal choices, and as a response to majoritarian consensus on their status? Finally, given their inherent challenges, and the vast, sweeping changes that have taken place in the region over the past decade, what is the future of these minority populations? What impact have minority populations had on their societies, and to what extent will they remain prominent actors in their respective settings? This handbook presents leading-edge research on a wide variety of religious, ethnic, and other minority populations. By reclaiming the notion of minorities in Middle Eastern settings, we seek to highlight the agency of minority communities in defining their past, present, and future.

A decade into the new century sees religious minorities confronting serious violations of their rights around the globe. Following the violent attacks of 11 September 2001, governments of every political hue have used “war on terror” rhetoric to justify the repression of religious communities. Other religious minorities have faced a violent backlash, often unjustly accused of siding with belligerents. In Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, armed conflict and land seizures have forced minority and indigenous communities away from locations central to their religious beliefs. Europe has witnessed gains by extreme right-wing political parties which are targeting religious minorities with their inflammatory language. In Central Asia, governments have introduced tough new registration requirements for religious communities and prevented the building of places of worship. In State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2010, Minority Rights Group International offers a comprehensive overview of the situation faced by minorities in a world increasingly divided along religious lines. It includes: - An analysis of government initiatives that contribute to the marginalisation of religious minorities, such as religious profiling and registration laws. - First-hand accounts, from around the world, of the discrimination and exclusion faced by those belonging to minorities who wish to exercise their right to freedom of religion and belief. - An exploration of grassroots efforts through interfaith dialogue to ease tensions, overcome conflicts, and promote peaceful and equitable development. - An overview of the human rights situation of minorities and indigenous peoples in every major world region. - The unique statistical ranking and analysis, Peoples under Threat 2010. An invaluable reference for policy makers, academics, journalists and everyone who is interested in the human rights situation of minorities and indigenous peoples around the world.

Minority rights in the Middle East are subject to different legal regimes: national law and international law, as well as Islamic law. This book investigates the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in the region both from a historical and contemporary perspective, before addressing three case studies: Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.

In many societies, histories of exclusion, racism and nationalist violence often create divisions so deep that finding a way to deal with the atrocities of the past seems nearly impossible. These societies face difficult practical questions about how to devise new state and civil society institutions that will respond to massive or systematic violations of human rights, recognize victims and prevent the recurrence of abuse. Identities in Transition: Challenges for Transitional Justice in Divided Societies brings together a rich group of international researchers and practitioners who, for the first time, examine transitional justice through an 'identity' lens. They tackle ways that transitional justice can act as a means of political learning across communities; foster citizenship, trust and recognition; and break down harmful myths and stereotypes, as steps toward meeting the difficult challenges for transitional justice in divided societies.

Since the start of conflict in Iraq in 2003, the country’s minorities have suffered disproportionate levels of targeted violence because of their religions and ethnicities. Inside Iraq they continue to suffer this violence. Outside, they form a large proportion of those displaced, either by fleeing to neighbouring countries or seeking asylum further afield. But as this report clearly shows: having passed Iraq’s borders is no guarantee of safety. Asylum-seekers risk being turned back at the Greek border; if they continue into other member-states of the European Union they face increasingly restrictive asylum policies. For minorities the ramifications of this are stark. If rejected, they risk being sent back to Iraq. Dispersal policies which divide refugees of the same nationality between cities and towns have a serious impact on minority communities whose numbers may already be at the limits of sustainability. Such policies also ignore the needs of minorities, especially the need to maintain, as a community, their cultural identity and religious practices. There is also a tendency to ignore the plight of Muslim ethnic minorities in reporting and processing asylum claims. Drawing on numerous first-hand interviews with Iraq’s minority communities across the Middle East and Europe, this report details the considerable difficulties they face in the struggle to gain safety. It highlights that, for many minorities, return to the extremely precarious existence they face in Iraq is an impossible prospect. As asylum countries continue to use a combination of voluntary incentives and force to return Iraqi rejected asylum-seekers and refugees, this report offers an urgent analysis of the impact of such measures on minorities. It calls on the Government of Iraq and the international community to give greater consideration to the specific needs of Iraq’s religious and ethnic minorities in all matters of asylum, resettlement and return.