Help Iraq / Privacy Notice

Privacy Notice

Who is UNHCR?

UNHCR is the United Nations refugee agency which is mandated to protect the rights and improve the well-being of refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons, returnees and stateless persons. To improve its services, UNHCR has developed the My Services portal, a digital self-service platform designed to give its users greater control over their personal data. The platform acts as an entry-point for refugees, displaced and stateless people to exchange information directly with UNHCR and receive protection and assistance services.

My Services enables you to:

  • Request to register with UNHCR
  • Update your phone number
  • Add new family members
  • Request and manage appointments
  • Fill in questionnaires / surveys
  • Contact UNHCR about your queries, complaints, and/or feedback

This Privacy Notice explains how and why we collect, use, store, share and protect your personal data through the Digital Gateway. It outlines the purposes for which we use your data, how we ensure its security, and your rights regarding the information we hold. Additionally, it provides the contact details of the Personal Data Controller should you wish to exercise any of your rights. UNHCR collects and uses personal data in accordance with its General Policy on Personal Data Protection and Privacy and Policy on the Protection of Personal Data of Persons of Concern to UNHCR.

How Is Your Personal Data Collected and Used on the My Services Portal?

UNHCR collects and processes personal data through the My Services portal to facilitate user registration and support the provision of assistance and protection interventions in line with UNHCR’s mandate. Your personal data is collected and processed when you interact with the platform, including:

  • Account creation and registration, this applies whether you are registering for the first time or are already registered with UNHCR and creating an account on the My Services portal, when you share your personal details such as your name, contact information and UNHCR registration group number,
  • Account management, such as when you update your contact details,
  • Booking appointments with UNHCR
  • Completing forms or surveys,
  • Submitting requests, such as feedback, inquiries and/or complaints.

What personal data do we process?

If you are registering with UNHCR for the first time or if you are updating your information, the following personal data shall be provided by you about yourself and your family members through the My Services portal:

  • Basic bio-data: First name, middle name, last name, sex, date of birth, country of origin, marital status, national ID number (where available), date of arrival, religion, ethnicity, date of arrival.
  • Family Information: Names of family members, their age, and relationship to you.
  • Contact Details: Email address and phone number.
  • Photo: A passport size photo / selfie.
  • Document Uploads: ID card, passport, family documents.
  • Location Details: Address including city, state, and country of origin and asylum.
  • Appointment Details: Location, type of appointment, and user identification.
  • Specific Needs (where applicable): Safety concerns, advanced pregnancy, disability, serious health problems.
  • Ad Hoc Requests Details: Personal identification, request details, status updates.
  • Complaint/Feedback Data: Any information you choose to provide through the portal
  • Device information: IP address

The legitimate basis for UNHCR to process your personal data is to perform our mandate, i.e., it is necessary to process your personal data to provide international protection and assistance to forcibly displaced and stateless people.

UNHCR will seek to provide you with protection and assistance services relevant to your situation on the basis of the information you provide to UNHCR. Therefore, it is important to provide true and accurate data to the best of your knowledge, and to keep it updated. If you provide inaccurate or false information, it may negatively affect your eligibility for protection and assistance services.

How long will we retain your personal data for?

UNHCR will keep your data in the portal to register you in UNHCR’s case management system proGres during your registration appointment. Once your registration is completed, we will continue to keep your data in the portal to enable you to view the data we have stored on your behalf, and to update your contact information through the portal. For more information about how your data is processed in proGres, please see Information Notice on UNHCR Iraq Help page available in 6 languages.

If you do not visit UNHCR for a registration interview within a period of 12 months after creating an account in the portal, your account and associated personal data will be deleted from the portal, unless you have a valid registration interview appointment.  

Your account will also be deleted if you do not apply for a registration interview within six months after you created your account, or if you do not enter any personal data in the portal within four weeks after account creation.  

Who will have access to your personal data?

UNHCR treats your personal data with confidentiality. Where it is necessary, to provide protection and coordinate assistance services, your personal data, may be shared with:

UNHCR Partners

  • For provision and coordination of services including the call centre and legal aid services.

Authorized Service Providers

  • Including call centre operators and providers of technical support, system maintenance, and upgrades.

What are your rights as a data subject?

UNHCR would like to make sure you are fully aware of the following rights:

  • You have the right to access your personal data as well as information on how UNHCR collects, processes and stores it.
  • You have the right to correct or update your personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
  • You have the right to ask to delete your personal data if its processing is no longer necessary or where there is no legitimate basis for processing.
  • You have the right to object to the use of your personal data for legitimate grounds, including sharing with certain third parties.

You or your chosen representative can exercise these rights by contacting us through the channels provided below. These rights are not absolute and may not apply in every situation. Requests related to exercise of your rights may be subject to verification and assessment by UNHCR on a case-by-case basis.

Please note that personal data is necessary for UNHCR to provide protection and coordinate assistance. Therefore, if you do not provide personal data or if you object to the use of personal data, you may not benefit from protection and assistance services.

How can you contact us?

If you have questions or concerns about how UNHCR collects and processes personal data, or if you would like to make a request or lodge a complaint you can do so by:

  • Approaching UNHCR offices 
  • Requesting an appointment titled as “Concerns about My Data and Privacy” with UNHCR through your My Services account.

If you believe there may have been misconduct by UNHCR in relation to personal data processing, you may also write an email to UNHCR Inspector General’s Office.

All complaints are treated with strict confidentiality, meaning that all data is kept confidential, securely stored and used only for the mentioned purposes (protection, upholding rights, assistance service delivery). Only authorized staff will have access to this data for the mentioned purposes.

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Changes to this privacy notice

UNHCR keeps its privacy notices under regular review and places any updates on its official webpage. This privacy notice was last updated on 11 December 2026.