Germany deported 36 refugees to the Kurdistan Region via Baghdad International Airport on October 22, marking the second such operation under a recently revealed secret agreement with Iraq's central government.

The deportations come as EU countries take an increasingly restrictive stance toward Kurdish asylum seekers from Iraq, citing peaceful conditions in their home region, unlike their counterparts from Iran and Syria. Iraqis have made their way through several European countries to countries like Germany in increasing numbers in recent years, including through the so-called well-established "Balkan route." In contrast, other people have made their way from Russia and Belarus but faced a significant backlash from the European Union. 

"We previously requested the Federal Court to prevent the Iraqi government from taking back refugees because many of them suffer from social problems," Bakr Ali, head of the European Association for Returning Refugees in Kurdistan Region, told Kurdistan 24.

More than 1.14mn people filed applications for international protection in the European bloc in 2023, according to Eurostat data, indicating an 18% increase compared wih the previous year. Refugee applications were the highest since 2015-16, when 1.3mn people sought refugee status across the 27-member bloc.

Germany remained the number one destination for refugees, with officially those claiming Syrian citizenship as the biggest group. However, defining the nationality of different refugees has been notoriously difficult. 

The deportees included families from Dohuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah regions. Ali called on the Iraqi government to "oppose the agreement and decision to forcibly return refugees again, similar to Turkey and Egypt."

 Kurds have grown into being the largest ethnic refugee group in Germany, as well as one of the largest of all foreign immigrant groups to reside in the country both legally and illegally.

An investigation by German broadcasters NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung revealed that German and Iraqi officials met in early 2023 to draft the deportation agreement, which remains largely confidential.

About 26,000 Iraqis faced deportation orders from Germany by end-October 2023, according to the Interior Ministry. However, only 77 were directly deported to Iraq in 2022, with many others receiving "Duldung" tolerance permits that provide minimal social assistance without work rights.

These permit holders exist in a legal grey area, subject to sudden deportation despite some living in Germany for over a decade. The situation has reportedly contributed to informal economies and gang activity in some European communities where they previously moved freely across Schengen borders.

Ali referenced other European asylum policies, noting Italy's controversial agreement with Albania to detain migrants in offshore camps. "Germany is now planning to make a similar agreement with Italy," he said.

He also cited Britain's abandoned Rwanda deportation scheme, saying: "Britain tried to send 118,882 refugees to Rwanda but the case was closed after the Labour Party took power, and now the Labour Party has decided to settle 62,800 of these refugees."

The German-Iraqi agreement aims to establish legal migration pathways while promoting voluntary returns. "Legal migration is beneficial to both societies and strengthens relations between the countries," the agreement states, according to investigation documents.