Protection Monitoring of Refugees in Response to COVID-19, 2020

As a result of COVID-19 movement restrictions and preventative measures, UNHCR initiated the remote protection monitoring exercise as an alternate modality to conduct targeted and systemized protection monitoring surveys for the refugee and asylum seeker population in Iraq. The survey was designed to provide an overview of how COVID and COVID related measures have affected protection concerns of refugees and asylum seekers over time and the continued impact on their access to rights, services, and coping mechanisms over the course of the year. The exercise was initiated in August 2020, covering all governorates of Iraq and surveying Syrian households and of other nationalities. A total 1,407 HH were interviewed in Round 3 (November-December 2020), complementing 1,605 HH interviewed in Round 2 (October 2020), and 1,653 HH interviewed for Round 1 (August-September 2020).