Erbil – August 2015

Minorities rights is considered as one of the critical issues in Kurdistan region and the region in general, where the debate is about the extent of political representation, and how to contribute to public life and to manage the region.And more recently, specifically in May 2015, Kurdistan Parliament issued a law on this subject with the name “The Rights of National and Religious Minorities Protection Law in Kurdistan – Iraq”.

Both, the peace and freedom organization and Al-Mesalla Organization for Human Resources Development which are based in Erbil, issued a reading of this law in order to present the opinion of the civil society and to review the guarantees covered in the law.

The reading includes a brief on the current political representation of the components of “minorities” in the region, whether they are national minorities such as Turkmen, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Syrians, Armenians, or religious minorities such as Christians, Mandaeans, Yazidis, Kaka’is, Shabak, Faili and Zoroastrians.

The study points out that the new law confirms to ensure cultural and political rights for these components, and records the evolution of that expansion in the recognition of national and religious minorities live in Iraqi Kurdistan, compared with the previous laws and policies.

Nevertheless, the study indicates that the law omitted, for example, the mechanics of political representation, as well as how to ensure the contribution of these components in the police and security services and the Peshmerga in the region.

The study allows for those interested and involved to review this law and to build an idea about the rights of minorities in the provinces of Kurdistan.

To review the study in English, click here

Proposals on ensuring the rights of minorities in the Constitution of Kurdistan Region

In the same context, the two organizations issued a set of recommendations on ensuring minority rights in the Constitution of Kurdistan region, where a debate is going on in the region about the new constitution, expected to be released in the near future.

To review the recommendations in Kurdish, click here

To review the recommendations in English, click here