Iraq

​On 28-30 June, PRIO co-organized a conference in Beirut on Societal Inclusion and Reconciliation: Two Pillars for Building a Better Future in Iraq. Iraqis from different regions, political orientations,  and religious communities attended the event, along with participants from Britain, Iran, Lebanon, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States.

​​​​​Erlend Paasche has successfully defended his doctoral thesis today, 7 October, at the University of Oslo. His thesis is titled Return Migration and Corruption: Experiences of Iraqi Kurds​. Congratulations!

​​​Opponents

• ​​​Professor Emeritus Ronald D. Skeldon, Department of Geography, University of Sussex
  
• Associate Professor Arjen Leerkes, Erasmus University Rotterdam
• Professor Mette Andersson, Department of Sociology and Human Geography at UiO

Leader of defense

• ​​​​Kristian Stokke, Department of Sociology and Human Geography at UiO​

Supervisors

• ​​Jørgen Carling, PRIO
  
• Katrine Fangen, Department of Sociology and Human Geography at UiO​​

​The 'Erbil Declaration' on Inclusive Citizenship in Iraq sums up the joint recommendations of a group of intellectuals and religious leaders from a wide range of Iraqi communities and several European countries. It resulted from a conference that took place in Erbil on 2-4 June 2016.​

​​Many asylum seekers who opt for assisted return come home to countries ruined by war and conflicts. More than half of the persons who return to countries like Afghanistan and Iraq plan to remigrate. A new evaluation of assisted return programms shows that small and uncostly changes can increase the chances that people stay.