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The Iraqi refugee situation represents one of the largest urban refugee populations that the UN system has ever been called upon to address, and poses an unprecedented load on the host countries’ economies and social infrastructure. Over the past few years, the humanitarian community provided protection and assistance to refugees to ensure that host countries continue to remain welcoming environments in which Iraqi refugees can live their lives in safety and dignity while awaiting return or resettlement and, where possible, are enabled to become as self-reliant as possible.
In 2009, Pillar II of the Iraq CAP will include common humanitarian response plans and projects from countries in the region surrounding Iraq that continue to host the vast majority of Iraqi refugees, in particular, the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Jordan), as well as Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Gulf States. The CAP may also include projects from refugee hosting countries further afield, as appropriate. By bringing together all of these countries within one overarching strategic planning process, the CAP provides an important opportunity for the humanitarian community to further harmonize and strengthen the refugee protection and assistance response across the region, including activities aimed at addressing the effects of the presence of refugees on host communities and national services.
The Pillar II CAP Secretariat is responsible for the overall coordination of Pillar II, including the development of overall strategic priorities, linkages to Pillar I, and the provision of technical guidance and assistance to facilitate the planning processes within each country. The Secretariat is based in the UNHCR Jordan Office in Amman, while two CAP Support Teams are supporting the process at the country level in Syria and Jordan. Both the Pillar II Secretariat and the CAP Support Teams are comprised of staff from OCHA, UNHCR, and other interested humanitarian partners. Other countries are being assisted by the Pillar II Secretariat as needed.
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