The effects of more than three years of occupation by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) continue to pose significant challenges for security, development, and social cohesion in Iraq. Pathways to Reintegration: Iraq focuses on the reintegration of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who are perceived to have family ties to ISIL, including the stigmatization these families may face while attempting to return to their communities. It provides an analysis of the current situation of families perceived as formerly associated with ISIL in Iraq, reviews a range of state- and local-level mechanisms that are being used to facilitate the reintegration of these families into their communities of origin and ultimately offers a set of recommendations to develop a framework for the successful return of ISIL-affiliated families. Recommendations are made at three levels: (1) national policies, (2) programming (including Local Peace Committees) and (3) international coordination and assistance.

As a comprehensive background related to the project launched in 2020 by UNDP Iraq on community readiness and reintegration of perceived ISIL-affiliated families, this report provides sufficient background on the issues these Iraqis may face, including within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. UNDP Iraq’s project on community readiness and reintegration is expected to reach 4,000 families in four locations of Ninewa, Salah al-Din and Anbar governorates, to be followed by more households. The project is built on the UN Iraq joint approach for community-based reconciliation and reintegration of persons perceived to be affiliated with ISIL/Da’esh in Iraq.