Iraqi MP urges action on Feyli Kurdish genocide ruling, rights remain stalled
Shafaq News– Baghdad
A Feyli Kurdish lawmaker on Friday urged Iraq’s parliament and key ministries to implement long-standing court rulings and government decisions restoring rights to the Feyli Kurds, after years of delay following official recognition of past abuses as genocide.
Haider Ali, who represents the Feyli Kurdish quota in parliament, told Shafaq News his legislative agenda for the new term would prioritize restoring citizenship, recovering confiscated property, and securing political representation for the community.
Efforts would include the formation of joint committees involving the Interior Ministry, the Human Rights Directorate, and Feyli Kurdish representatives to oversee the transfer of Feyli case files from the foreigners’ registry back to their original provinces, Ali explained, in addition securing Feyli representation through special-grade government posts and inclusion in the next cabinet.
Feyli Kurds, a Shiite Kurdish minority in Iraq, were subjected to mass deportations, revocation of citizenship, property confiscation, and killings under the former regime, particularly during campaigns in the 1970s and in 1980.
In November 2010, the Iraqi High Criminal Court ruled that the displacement, disappearances, and confiscation of Feyli Kurdish property constituted genocide, obligating the state to restore rights and compensate victims, according to the court’s published judgment.
Following the ruling, Iraq’s government and parliament issued decisions in December 2010 and August 2011 committing to remove the legal and administrative consequences of those policies, including restoring nationality, addressing missing persons’ files, and compensating victims, official government statements and parliamentary records show. Implementation has since remained incomplete.
Tariq Al-Mandalawi, an adviser to the prime minister on Feyli Kurdish affairs, has previously said that 16,350 Feyli Kurdish victims are officially registered with Iraq’s Martyrs Foundation.
Read more: Stateless at Home — The forgotten fate of Iraq’s Feyli Kurds
