Actors of protection

• Author: European Asylum Support Office (EU body or agency)
• Pages: 157-161

Common analysis | Iraq

January 2021

157

4. Actors of protection

This chapter looks into the topic of protection against persecution or serious harm and analyses

whether the relevant actors in Iraq meet the requirements of Article 7 QD.

Article 7(1)(2) of the Qualification Directive

Actors of protection

1. Protection against persecution or serious harm can only be provided by:

a) The State; or

b) Parties or organisations, including international organisations, controlling the State or a

substantial part of the territory of the State;

provided they are willing and able to offer protection in accordance with paragraph 2.

2. Protection against persecution or serious harm must be effective and of a non-temporary

nature. Such protection is generally provided when the actors mentioned under points (a) and (b)

of paragraph 1 take reasonable steps to prevent the persecution or suffering of serious harm,

inter alia, by operating an effective legal system for the detection, prosecution and punishment of

acts constituting persecution or serious harm, and when the applicant has access to such

protection.

The contents of this chapter include:

The State: outlining and analysing the capacity of the Iraqi State and of the Kurdistan Regional

Government (KRG) to provide protectio n in accordance with Article 7 QD;

Parties or organisations, including international orga nisations: analysing whether other parties or

organisations could qualify as actors of protection under Article 7 QD.

The State

The term ‘State’ (Article 7(1)(a) QD) encompasses any organ exercising legislative, executive, judicial

or any other functions and acting at any level, be it central, federal, regional, provincial or local.

Sometimes, private entities may also be given State powers and made responsible for providing

protection under the control of the State.

In order to qualify as an actor of protection, the State has to be able and willing to protect persons

under its jurisdiction.

The protection in the country of origin has to meet three cumulat ive conditions. It has to be:

Figure 11. Requirements to the protection in the country of origin in accordance with Article 7 QD.

effective non-

temporary

accessible

to the

applicant