This working paper examines the impact of property rights on the return decisions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq following the 2014-2017 civil war against the Islamic State (IS). The conflict displaced over 15 percent of the Iraqi population, leaving a complex and uncertain property rights landscape.
The Iraqi government has implemented several formal legal institutions to address property rights issues in the aftermath of the conflict, but these institutions have been implemented unevenly, leading to a high degree of uncertainty. This uncertainty is further exacerbated by the destruction of land registries by IS, the challenges of proving ownership, and complex political dynamics at the national level. Additionally, long-standing discrimination against minorities’ access to housing, land, and property rights in Iraq has been amplified by the conflict, with minorities facing a lack of official documentation and a deep mistrust in the state’s ability to enforce their rights.
The analysis is based on: (1) a 2019 survey of 960 Iraqi IDPs and returnees, which includes data on the origin and destination of IDPs and returnees; (2) data from a survey of 1,474 Yazidi and Sunni Muslim IDPs and returnees originally from the area around Sinjar, including a conjoint and a vignette survey experiment to explore how differences in individual’s perceptions about property rights influence return decision making; and (3) panel dataset created by the International Organization of Migration (IOM) that includes a larger sample of Iraqi respondents from throughout the country.
Main findings:
- Ownership of property does not influence return movements, but destruction of property reduces the likelihood of returns.
- Secure property rights are strongly correlated with return. Individuals with written documentation proving ownership are 9 percentage points more likely to return, while property disputes decrease the likelihood of return by 14 percentage points.
- The conjoint experiment confirms that secure property rights are a key factor in return decisions, even when considering other factors like security, social networks, and economic opportunities. Secure property rights increase the probability of return by 6 percentage points. Respondents with weaker property rights security prioritize physical security more strongly. Yazidi respondents, on average, perceive secure property rights as more important than Sunni Muslim respondents.
The authors conclude that secure housing, land, and property rights play a vital role in population returns after violence. In particular, individuals are more likely to return to their former homes if they have written documentation of their rights and if their property is not disputed or damaged. The study highlights the importance of addressing property rights issues in post-conflict settings to promote equitable returns and prevent the perpetuation of social and political inequalities.