A displaced Kurdish Yezidi family in Khanki camp in Duhok Governorate.

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, (gov.krd) - Iraq’s non-membership in the International Criminal Court hinders the efforts to internationally recognise the crimes committed by the Islamic State terrorist organization, ISIS, against the civilian population in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, as genocide.

The Kurdistan Regional Government, KRG’s Minister of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs, Mahmoud Haji Salih, who is also the head of the KRG Committee on International Recognition of ISIS’s Crimes as Genocide, particularly those committed against religious and ethnic groups, reaffirmed this fact. He said, “So far Iraq is not ready to become member in ICC, therefore the legal procedures for the genocide recognition is passing through a difficult path”.

In an interview with KRG website, Minister Salih said, “The main condition for internationally trying the terrorist organization, ISIS, for genocide against Yazidi Kurds and other religious groups, is Iraq’s membership in the International Criminal Court. However, following our committee’s discussions with three Iraqi ambassadors in European countries, we got to the conclusion that Iraq is not ready to become member in ICC”.

He added that Baghdad’s stance on this issue “hinders even local efforts to set up relevant courts in Iraq or Kurdistan Region, since there is no article in the Iraqi laws that refer to genocide. The only solution is to convince the Iraqi government to treat this case individually and approve it with the International Criminal Court so that it investigates the case. For this, great deal of efforts needs to be exerted by the officials representing Kurdistan Region in the Federal Government in Baghdad”, Minister Salih told KRG website.

Following the capture of the city of Mosul and its surrounding areas in June last year, ISIS led mass-killing campaigns against the Yazidi Kurds and other religious groups living in those areas. The Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs established a centre in the city of Duhok in charge of investigating and collecting evidences of ISIS crimes. The centre has so far documented more than 300 cases, 65 of which are ready to be submitted to the International Criminal Court.

Minister Salih elaborated that the reason why Iraq is not eager to become a member at the International Criminal Court is because its membership entails great deal of responsibilities that Iraq may not be able to shoulder. He added that “if the current efforts did not succeed in recognizing the genocide against the victims of ISIS, then perhaps the UN Security Council can issue a resolution about it or a special tribunal to be established similar to the one established for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.”

He also said that the committee he heads plans to send a delegation to Baghdad to consult with the presidencies of the Republic, Parliament, Prime Minister, Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Justice to further discuss this issue.

Minister Salih also criticised those parties and individuals who have been trying, for political reasons, to separate Yazidis form Kurds, speculating that the Yazidis are not Kurds but a different ethnic group.

Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq (KRG.org) – Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani today received Cardinal Fernando Filoni, special envoy of Pope Francis, and his accompanying delegation.

The envoy conveyed the Pope’s greetings and gratitude to Prime Minister Barzani for the help and support provided by the government and the people of the Kurdistan Region to displaced Christians. Most of the Christians came from the Ninevah plains and Mosul. The delegation also applauded the KRG effort to protect all other internally displaced people fleeing terrorists.

Prime Minister Barzani reiterated that it is the duty of the KRG to protect and support displaced Christians, Yezidis, and other religious and ethnic groups seeking refuge in the Kurdistan Region. He said he would mobilise all resources to support them; however, given the number of refugees and displaced people, the KRG cannot provide adequate assistance. It is therefore necessary for the Iraqi government and the international community to promptly provide humanitarian assistance.

The Prime Minister added that Christians, Yezidis, and other minority groups are natives of the area, with historic roots in the region. They need physical protection from the terrorists, not only verbal support, because the terrorists target churches, mosques, and shrines. Prime Minister Barzani noted that the terrorists now constitute an army and include individuals from all over the world, so the international community, in coordination with the KRG and the Government of Iraq, must confront them together.

In the meeting both sides agreed upon the importance of international protection for all ethnic and religious communities native to the Ninevah plains, including Christians, Yezidis, Shia, Sunnis, Turkmen, Shabak, Kurds, and Arabs. Both parties agreed to exert pressure at the global level to assure international protection from the terrorists.

The Cardinal requested the KRG to identify solutions for housing and accommodation for the displaced, as well as an arrangement for students so that they would not lose an academic year. The Prime Minister promised to follow-up on this request and coordinate with relevant KRG authorities to implement appropriate measures.

During the meeting it was decided to establish a committee in Erbil between KRG authorities and relevant Christian community leaders to respond to the immediate needs of displaced people, with similar committees to be formed in other provinces.

The delegation stated that Christians will never forget the support provided by the government and the people of Kurdistan, and that history will record these actions. Prime Minister Barzani urged the delegation to mobilise the Vatican’s international influence to support the Kurdistan Region and the displaced families it is hosting.

Erbil, Kurdistan Region – Iraq 

August 14, 2014

The European Union.

Kurdistan Region has been an outstanding model of stability, democracy and peaceful coexistence in Iraq during the last decade. Kurdistan has been a safe haven for all Iraqi components such as, Arabs, Turkomen, Christians, and others. Since 2006, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi internally displaced people have taken shelter in Kurdistan fleeing violence and bloodshed in the other parts of Iraq. 

Currently, this safe haven is under a serious danger by the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS). Last week, the ISIS militants launched a wide spread attack against the Kurdistan Region territories, especially in Sinjar, which is dominantly inhabited by Yazidis and areas to the east and north part of the city of Mosul, which have been the homeland of Christians for thousands of years. The recent ISIS aggression on the Kurdistan Region resulted in the killing of hundreds of people and displacement of around one million people. 

Despite facing serious humanitarian and security challenges, the Iraqi government has only played a very limited role in supporting the Kurdish Peshmerga forces and alleviating the suffering of the refugees and IDPs. Thus, the KRG is under huge humanitarian and security pressure. The KRG is doing whatever it can to provide humanitarian relief for the refugees and IDPs and at the same time the Kurdish Peshmerga forces are fighting ISIS militants on behalf of the world. While we appreciate the support we have received from our friends and allies, we call upon international community to provide further humanitarian and military assistance. 

The Kurdistan Region Government respectfully requests the members of the European Union to urgently come forward and offer humanitarian aids to the IDPs who have taken refuge in the Kurdistan region. It is worth mentioning that the displaced people are suffering severely due to the lack of shelter, food and other basic needs. Urgent aids are needed to save lives of thousands of people. We also call upon the members of the EU to provide the peshmarga forces with necessary arms to deter ISIS offences and protect civilians and displaced people. The Kurdish forces are in an asymmetrical warfare against an organized and well-armed terrorist group. With no doubt, rapid equipment of Peshmarga forces with heavy and sophisticated weapons will change the equation in the battlefield in favor of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces. 

We hope that the members of the European Union will urgently and positively respond to our request. 

Sincerely, 

Fuad Hussein 
Chief of Staff
Kurdistan Region Presidency

(courtesy Reuters / Rodi Said)

The Telegraph

by Aram Shakaram

Mothers cradle crying babies, children look forlornly across the sweltering room to the world outside, knowing too well that this isn’t a summer holiday, while their parents try desperately to work out their next move.

Most here are seeking whatever help they can get, having fled the fighting further west as it was upon them, fortunate to escape with their lives – let alone any supplies or possessions.

But these are the lucky ones. They fled towns like Qaraqosh – the scene of bloody violence, now under the control of armed groups – in cars, driving to the Kurdish capital.

Outside the city boundaries there are still hundreds and hundreds of people waiting along the road, many of whom travelled by foot, desperately hoping to be let in.

Every abandoned building or unused shelter I see seems to be housing people who have fled the fighting.

Some are waiting to get into Erbil, others are in transit to other parts of the country.

Next to an abandoned building on the main road into town, a pregnant mother about to give birth sits nervously with her husband, who feels decidedly helpless. The mother tells us she could feel her baby’s heartbeat getting weaker and weaker.

Nearby, a father who had a stroke, has diabetes and high blood pressure says all reasons for optimism are gone.

The tension is palpable and the devastation everywhere.

I’m an Iraqi national who has been working with Save the Children here for 17 years. I was displaced too back in 1988 after fleeing and surviving a chemical attack on my town, Halabja. But in all my time I could never have imagined a crisis like this – so many people fleeing so suddenly, such terror in people’s eyes.

I fear for my nation’s future, and for communities like the Yazidis, many of whom have only just been freed from Mount Sinjar after their ethnic stronghold of Sinjar fell. Now some of them are fleeing into Syria.

Dozens of children died on that mountain from dehydration, a most horrible and preventable way to go.

Just days ago a teary eyed Yazidi politician told parliament how her people were being slaughtered, and that their ancient minority religion, which derives from Zoroastrianism, was “being wiped off the face of the earth”. Women were being enslaved as “war booty”, she said.

Religious and ethnic minorities like the Yazidis are the latest victims in this rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis in Iraq, which has seen more than 1.2 million people – more than half of them children – displaced in just over two months. That’s a rate of about 20,000 per day.

This is on top of the 230,000 Syrians who have fled to Iraq because of the war across the border.

And it’s all happening in the middle of summer, when Iraqi children should be playing in the streets, kicking footballs and hanging out with their friends. Families should be holidaying in towns like picturesque Shaqlawa, known for its cool summer climate, lush gardens and hot springs.

Instead, Shaqlawa is among a number of host communities for people fleeing the violence. Families who once holidayed there are back again, this time seeking refuge and relying on aid agencies like Save the Children.

The children’s agency has already reached more than 100,000 displaced Iraqis this year, including 14,000 in the past week alone. Our workers have handed out water, sleeping kits and hygiene items like soap and toothbrushes.

But the level of needs is growing rapidly, pushing the crisis to breaking point.

The sheer speed at which events unfolded was impossible to predict, meaning that many agencies are already running low or have run out of pre-positioned aid stocks.

Several camps scattered along the border of Kurdistan are also poorly resourced. Some have become the front line of fighting and have emptied as a result, while others have only just gained access to clean, running water, basic health services and security.

These are problems that can only be fixed with more funding and resources, and now is the time to respond.

Not only are the displaced battling to survive each day, they don’t know how long they can stay wherever they are, if they will need to flee again or if their lives will ever return to normal.

When and how this ends, nobody knows. What we do know is that humanitarian aid is desperately needed to keep people alive.

The road ahead is long and the international community needs to step up now to save Iraq before it falls beyond repair.

Aram Shakaram is Save the Children’s Director of Program Development and Quality in Iraq

On 8/42014 Dr. Yusif Muhammad Sadiq, Kurdistan parliament president, received a delegation of Japan parliament. The delegation expressed their pleasure for visiting Kurdistan, and they hoped to have stronger relationship with the Kurdistan region in general and Kurdistan parliament in particular. 

On 8/8/2014 Dr. Yusif Muhammad Sadiq, Kurdistan parliament president, received UN representative in Erbil. Dr. Yusif explained the current events in Kurdistan; especially the war between Kurdish forces and the terrorist groups named ISIS, and also clarified the life condition of Izadis and Christians in Musil, Shangal, and Shekhan.

Regarding the Christian and Yazidi families who were forced to leave their living places, Dr. Yusif said, “I want UN to support those families as soon as possible because they live in a very difficult situation”. He added,” Terror is a serious threat not only for Kurdistan but for all the countries in the region; it has an international dimension now and is really dangerous for international community. For this reason international community should cooperate with Kurdish Peshmarga in order to beat terrorists.

Showing his pleasure for the meeting and the information given by Kurdistan parliament president, Sokol Kondi, the representative of UN in Erbil said, “We as UN in the Kurdistan region never ignore the current events in Kurdistan and do our best to give necessary assistance to the refugees”.