Iraqi Deputy Speaker vows to commemorate disappeared Faili Kurds

Shafaq News/ Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, First Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi House of Representatives, pledged to “honor” the memory of the disappeared Faili Kurds within Iraq and on the international stage.

In a statement on the International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearance, Al-Mandalawi highlighted the urgent need for global recognition and remembrance of the vanished Faili Kurds, whose “tragic fate continues to haunt the collective human conscience. Despite the passage of many decades, their absence remains a painful scar, deeply affecting their families.”

Al-Mandalawi emphasized that the world cannot “afford to look the other way any longer to the plight of the missing Faili Kurds.” He vowed to leverage his parliamentary position to mobilize legislative, political, and international efforts toward preserving their memory and upholding their legacy.

The Faili Kurds (also known as Feyli Kurds) are an ethnic group that inhabits the border region between Iraq and Iran.

Unlike most Kurds, generally Sunni Muslims, Faili Kurds are Shia Muslims.

The Faili Kurds have a long history of persecution and discrimination. In the 1920s, the Iraqi government passed a law that denied them citizenship. This law was based on the assumption that the Faili Kurds were not Kurds but Iranians. In the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq war, the Iraqi government launched a campaign of genocide against the Faili Kurds. Thousands of Faili Kurds were killed, imprisoned, or forcibly displaced.

The United Nations has called on the Iraqi government to take steps to protect the Faili Kurds. The government has taken some steps, such as issuing a decree in 2009 that granted Faili Kurds citizenship. However, more needs to be done to ensure that the Faili Kurds can live safely and securely.