Iraq's Federal Supreme Court is set to rule on Sunday regarding the closure of internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in the Kurdistan Region. This decision follows a lawsuit filed by Iraqi Minister of Migration and Displaced, Evan Faeq Jabro, mandating the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to enforce the Iraqi Council of Ministers' directive to close the camps.

"If no developments affect the court’s opinion, the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court will make a final decision on the closure of the camps today," Ali Abbas, spokesperson for Iraq’s ministry of migration and displaced, told Rudaw’s Nahro Mohammed.

Baghdad has already shut down most IDP camps within its jurisdiction and set a deadline of July 30 for the Kurdistan Region to do the same. However, the KRG has resisted forcibly closing the camps, resulting in Jabro's legal action against the Kurdish administration.

The Kurdistan Region is home to over 630,000 IDPs, most of whom reside outside the 23 established camps across Duhok, Erbil, and Sulaimani provinces. This number has significantly decreased from several million at the peak of the conflict with the Islamic State (ISIS). According to Iraqi officials, over 30,000 IDPs from southern and central provinces are currently living in these camps.

To encourage returns, Baghdad has offered four million dinars to families who relocate to their original homes by the July 30 deadline, after which federal aid for IDPs will be discontinued. Recently, 734 IDPs from Ashti camp in Sulaimani province returned to their hometowns in Salahaddin and Nineveh provinces, receiving financial incentives and household appliances. Additionally, around 1,000 IDPs from Duhok province's Sharia and Khanke camps returned to Shingal (Sinjar) in Nineveh.

Despite these incentives, many IDPs are hesitant to leave due to ongoing violence in their hometowns, inadequate reconstruction of their homes, and a lack of basic services. Some families who attempted to return have been forced back to the camps due to unlivable conditions.

The KRG's IDP camps are also struggling with funding shortages. In December, a migration department official from Sulaimani announced that residents of Arbat camp were relocated to Ashti camp to cut costs following a reduction in aid.

Human rights advocates have raised concerns over Iraq's efforts to close the camps, emphasizing that any return of IDPs should be voluntary. As the court's decision looms, the fate of thousands of displaced families in the Kurdistan Region hangs in the balance.