This paper looks at how UNHCR has gone about creating;; maintaining and expanding protection space for Iraqi refugees in the context of the Jordan;; Syria and Lebanon. The paper is divided into two parts. The first touches on UNHCR's mandate and the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees;; which together provided;; for the first time;; a formal structure for the protection of refugees under international law. The second part of the paper turns attention to the Iraqi displacement to Syria;; Jordan and Lebanon. It begins by outlining the protection environment as regards refugees in the region and indicates the protection needs faced by Iraqi refugees;; or rather rights which remain be realized by Iraqi refugees in these countries.