Iraq repatriates more than 500 residents of Syria's Al Hol camp

Iraq repatriated more than 500 residents of Syria's Al Hol displacement camp that houses relatives of suspected ISIS extremists, the US army said in a statement on Monday.

The US military's Central Command, the headquarters of US forces in the Middle East, confirmed that “154 families, comprising of 582 people” were transferred by the Iraqi authorities to the Jeddah-I camp on February 26.

The Jeddah-I camp is near the northern city of Mosul and has been described by Iraqi authorities as a “rehabilitation” centre for those returning from Syria.

“Iraq continues to make progress in the repatriation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of Iraqis residing at the Al Hol camp for displaced persons in north-east Syria,” the Central Command said on Twitter.

Gen Michael Kurilla, commander of the Central Command, commended the Iraqi government for its “constructive and courageous role in this repatriation”.

Gen Kurilla said Al Hol “has long served as a flashpoint for human suffering and a recruitment opportunity for ISIS. This is why repatriation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of these residents is crucial for Iraq, the region and for the enduring defeat of ISIS”.

Since May 2021, hundreds of Iraqi families have been transferred from Al Hol to Jaddah-I.

For years, Iraqi authorities have attempted to close Al Hol camp citing security concerns.

Iraq’s National Security Adviser Qassem Al Araji has been pushing foreign governments to repatriate their citizens from Al Hol, and has urged rapid dismantlement of the camp.

Mr Al Araji's calls were reiterated by Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein who said last year that Baghdad was determined to repatriate all the families in the Syrian camp after security checks were completed.

Since last year, Iraq, whose border with Syria is more than 600km long, has started to build a wall to stop members of ISIS from infiltrating into its territory.

The Kurdish-run Al Hol camp is home to more than 50,000 people, including family members of suspected ISIS militants, as well as displaced Syrians and Iraqi refugees.

It is the largest camp for displaced people who fled after ISIS was dislodged from its last stronghold in Syria in 2019 and remains one of the biggest unresolved humanitarian issues in the region.

People residing in the camp are either banned from leaving the tent city, where they live in squalid conditions, or have nowhere else to go.

Al Hol is considered to be one the biggest overcrowded camps in the region and is fewer than 10km from the Iraqi border.

ISIS seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014 and ruled brutally until local forces with the help of an international coalition managed to oust the terrorist group.

Iraq declared victory against ISIS in late 2017 but fighters loyal to the group have continued to conduct attacks across the country.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'

Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.

Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.

"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.

"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.

"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."