Kurdistan Region Presidency strongly condemns the cowardly, terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium today. In a statement, the Presidency expressed its condolences to the victims, the Belgium people and government. It added that terrorism is a global threat and confronting it needs collective action by the international community.

Brussels, Belgium (krg.org) – Minister Falah Mustafa, the Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, addressed a conference in the European Parliament on human rights in Kurdistan and Iraq during a two-day official visit to Brussels this week.

Minister Mustafa also met with members of the European Parliament,  government officials from the European Union and Belgium and visited both the Iraqi Embassy and Kurdistan Regional Government Representation to the EU. He was accompanied by the KRG Representative to the EU, Delavar Ajgeiy.

At the European Parliament, Minister Mustafa met separately with the Leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, MEP Hannes Swoboda. He aslo met MEP Charles Tannock who is the Conservative Foreign Affairs Spokesman in the European Parliament. In both meetings Minister Mustafa discussed a number of issues related to developments in Kurdistan, Iraq and the wider region. He also asked for their assistance in working towards recognition by the European Parliament of the crimes committed by the former regime against the Kurds as genocide.

Minister Mustafa also sought ways in which relations between the European Parliament and the Kurdistan Region can be strengthened. In his meeting with MEP Tannock, Minister Mustafa said, ‘We would like to see increased engagement from the European Parliament to help Iraq move in the right direction. We also hope that a friendship group focused on Kurdistan can be established inside the European Parliament.’ He reiterated the same message during his meeting with MEP Swoboda.

In his visit to the European Union offices, Minister Mustafa met with a group of officials from the European External Action Service headed by the Director for North Africa, Middle East, Arabian Peninsula, Iran and Iraq, Cristian Berger. During the meeting Minister Mustafa briefed the delegation on the significance of Iraq´s parliamentary elections, the current issues between Erbil and Baghdad, the Kurdistan Region´s relationship with Turkey and the need for the European Union to be engaged with Iraq.

Minister Mustafa also highlighted the importance of the EU having a representative office in Kurdistan, as well assistance from the EU to ensure that the Kurdistan Region is included and benefits from the cooperation agreements signed between Iraq and the EU. Mr Berger asked about the latest developments regarding Syria stressing that on a humanitarian level, this is the largest assistance operation the EU has ever been involved in.  Minister Mustafa highlighted the plight of the Syrian refugees in Kurdistan and asked for more humanitarian support for those refugees.

During the second day of the visit, Minister Mustafa attended a conference organised by the Chairman of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq, Struan Stevenson MEP, and participated in two separate panel discussions on human rights in Iraq as well as in Kurdistan.

During the conference, which was attended by various representatives from Iraq, the Head of the DFR presented a speech on the latest developments in Kurdistan as well as the KRG's vision for the future. In his speech, the Minister said, ‘We in Kurdistan are proud of our culture of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. Respect for human rights is the guarantee for peaceful coexistence, progress and prosperity for people living together. This is what we have done in the Kurdistan Region.’

The KRG delegation also visited the Belgian Foreign Ministry where they met with the Head of the Iraq desk, Luc Truyens, and other officials, where they discussed a number of issues including the similar models of governance that exist in both Iraq and Belgium in terms of federalism and the devolution of powers from the centre to the provinces and regions. Minister Mustafa said, ‘We want to learn from other countries' experiences of federalism and especially Belgium, a country which like Iraq, is comprised of different ethnicities.’

Minister Mustafa also made a courtesy call on the Iraqi Embassy where he was received by Ambassador Mohammed Humaimidi. They discussed the latest political and security developments in Iraq, the talks between Baghdad and Erbil, and the upcoming Iraqi elections.

Minister Mustafa visited the KRG Representation in Belgium and was received by the KRG Representative, Delavar Ajgeiy, and met with all the employees at the Representation. Minister Mustafa thanked the KRG Representation team members for their hard work and efforts in conveying the KRG's policies to the European Union and expressed his hope that they would continue this work and aim to work towards strengthening relations with the European Union, the European Parliament and the Belgian government.

Brussels, Belgium, Iraq – (krg.org) – The Head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa, visited Brussels as part of a larger visit to Europe aimed at strengthening relations with European allies and conveying the KRG position on a number of key issues to the international community.

During the visit to Brussels, Minister Mustafa attended a conference hosted by the European Parliament on the Human Rights in Iraq and Kurdistan, met with MEP´s from the European Parliament, met with government officials from the European Union and Belgium, visited both the Iraqi Embassy and KRG Representation to the EU. He was accompanied throughout the visit by the KRG Representative to the EU, Delavar Ajgeiy.

At the European Parliament, Minister Mustafa met separately with the Leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, MEP Hannes Swoboda and MEP Charles Tannock who is the Conservative Foreign Affairs Spokesman in the European Parliament. In both meetings Minister Mustafa discussed a number of important issues pertaining to developments in Kurdistan, Iraq and the wider region. He also asked for their assistance in working towards getting the European Parliament to recognize the crimes committed by the former regime against the Kurds as genocide.

Minister Mustafa also sought ways in which relations between the European Parliament and the Kurdistan Region can be strengthened. In his meeting with MEP Tannock, Minister Mustafa said, ‘We really would like to see increased engagement from the European Parliament to help Iraq move in the right direction. We also hope that a friendship group focused on Kurdistan can be established inside the Kurdistan Parliament.’ He reiterated the same message during his meeting with MEP Swoboda.

In his visit to the European Union offices, Minister Mustafa met with a group of officials from the European External Action Service headed by the Director for North Africa, Middle East, Arabian Peninsula, Iran and Iraq, Cristian Berger. During the meeting Minister Mustafa briefed the delegation on importance of Iraq´s parliamentary elections, the current issues between Erbil and Baghdad, the Kurdistan Region´s relationship with Turkey and the importance of the European Union to be engaged with Iraq.

Minister Mustafa also highlighted the importance of the EU having a representative office in Kurdistan, as well assistance from the EU to ensure that the Kurdistan Region is included and benefits from the cooperation agreements signed between Iraq and the EU. Mr Berger asked about the latest developments regarding Syria stressing that on a humanitarian level, this is the largest assistance operation the EU has ever been involved in with Minister Mustafa highlighting the plight of the Syrian refugees in Kurdistan and asked for more humanitarian support for those refugees.

During the second day of the visit, Minister Mustafa attended a conference organised by the Chairman of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq, Struan Stevenson MEP, and had two separate panels with discussions in both revolving around the human rights situation in Iraq as well as in Kurdistan.

During the conference which was attended by various representatives from Iraq, the Head of the DFR presented a speech on the latest developments in Kurdistan as well as the future vision of the KRG. During his speech, the Minister said, ‘we in Kurdistan are proud of our culture of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. Respect for human rights is the guarantee for peaceful coexistence, progress and prosperity for people living together. This is what we have done in the Kurdistan Region.’

The KRG delegation also visited the Belgian Foreign Ministry where they met with the Head of the Iraq desk, Luc Truyens, and other officials, where they discussed a number of issues including the fact that similar models of governance exist in both Iraq and Belgium in terms of federalism and the devolution of powers from the centre to the provinces and regions. Minister Mustafa said, ‘We want to learn from other countries experiences of federalism and especially Belgium, a country which like Iraq, is comprised of different ethnicities.’

Also during the visit Minister Mustafa paid a courtesy visit to the Iraqi Embassy where he was received by Ambassador Mohammed Humaimidi where they discussed a number of issues pertaining to the latest political and security developments in Iraq in addition to updates regarding the talks between Baghdad and Erbil, and the upcoming Iraqi elections.

Finally Minister Mustafa visited the KRG Representation in Belgium and was received by the KRG Representative, Delavar Ajgeiy, and met with all the employees at the Representation. Minister Mustafa thanked the KRG Representation for their hard work and efforts in conveying the KRG policies to the European Union and expressed his hope that they would continue this work and hopefully aim to work towards strengthening relations with the European Union, the European Parliament and the Belgian government.

Brussels, Belgium (KRP.org) - Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani today addressed a special meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Union’s Parliament in Brussels.

In an event attended by a large number of MEPs, in his address the President talked about the latest political and security developments in Iraq, in Kurdistan and in the wider region.

He called on the EU parliament to show solidarity with the people of Kurdistan and called on them to help seek recognition of the crimes against the Kurdistan people in Iraq as crimes of genocide. He said, “We would like you to show solidarity with the rights of the people of Kurdistan. We also call on you to expend all your efforts to recognize the genocide against our people.”

The President attributed the relative stability and security in Kurdistan, to the policy of tolerance and peaceful co-existence between the various religious and ethnic communities in Kurdistan.

“In the aftermath of the 1991 March uprising in Iraqi Kurdistan, we did not set out seek revenge against the people who oppressed us. Again, after the fall of the regime in 2003, we did not take resort to revenge against anyone. We opened a new chapter with our own people and with others, and this greatly helped us focus our efforts on rebuilding our country and lessen the pains and suffering of our people. As a result of this policy, the Kurdistan Region enjoys a high degree of security and stability,” said the President.

Following the President’s address, a number of MEPs posed questions to the President, and they all hailed the important progress that Kurdistan has made in the areas of security, stability, and economic development. They particularly commended President Barzani’s leadership and the KRG for their generous policy of hosting large numbers of refugees and the religious tolerance that prevails in Kurdistan.

Full text of the address delivered by the President:

First, I would like to thank the EU Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee for inviting us here today. There is no doubt that the EU has an extremely important role to play and there is considerable potential for cooperation in many areas between the EU and Federal Iraqi Government as well as the KRG, particularly in economic and trade interest. As you are aware there is an agreement between the EU and the Iraqi Federal government, We hope the KRG will have a role to play within the framework of this agreement, to bring closer together the EU and our country, and the EU parliament and the Kurdistan Region.

I would like to here today to just briefly you of the tragic situation of the people of Kurdistan. They have suffered because of a number of hostile campaigns aimed at them in Iraq. We have been victims of chemical weapons and the infamous Anfal campaign in which 182,000 people disappeared, of which we have only been able to recover the remains of about 4,000 of them from mass graves across the southern Iraqi deserts. The search continues for the remaining victims. In the chemical attack on Halabja, in the space of just a few minutes, 5,000 innocent civilians, mostly women and children, were gassed to death.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We in the Kurdistan Region have adopted the policy of tolerance and peaceful co-existence and the accepting of each other. In the aftermath of the 1991 March uprising in Iraqi Kurdistan, we did not set out seek revenge against the people who oppressed us. Again, after the fall of the regime in 2003, we did not take resort to revenge against anyone. We opened a new chapter with our own people and with others, and this greatly helped us focus our efforts on rebuilding our country and lessen the pains and suffering of our people. As a result of this policy, the Kurdistan Region enjoys a high degree of security and stability. This has also helped many international companies from different countries to come to invest in Kurdistan. As a simple example, before 2003, per capita income in Kurdistan was less than 500 US dollars; now it is more than 5000 US dollars. We are at the beginning of the road in building democratic institutions, and we need your help and expertise to build these institutions. We would like you to show solidarity with the rights of the people of Kurdistan. We also call on you to expend all your efforts to recognize the genocide against our people. We also would like you to work with the relevant parties to establish an EU representation office in the Kurdistan Region, which would help enhancing economic ties between Kurdistan and the EU countries.

We would also like to urge you to support the political process in Iraq on the basis of the Iraqi Constitution and democracy and federalism, and in the fight against terrorism. Unfortunately, terrorism has become a dangerous phenomenon targeting all the peoples of the world. We ourselves have suffered a great deal from terrorism, but we are steadfast in our fight against it, as there is no other way in dealing with terrorism.

We have adopted the policy of tolerance and religious freedom. Women in Kurdistan play their role in building our society and institutions. We now host 250,000 Syrian refugees, mostly Kurds, but there are Arabs and Christina among them too. We are also hosting 200,000 Iraqi Arabs from center and south of the country, who fled to Kurdistan from threat of terrorism and in search of security. There are now 10,000 Christian families who have also fled from other parts of Iraq. In addition to this, some 15,000 people from the Anbar province have fled to Kurdistan.

We are proud of the fact that Kurdistan has become a haven for so many people. However, I must point out that the assistance from the international community for these refugees has not been in par with the assistance provided to refugees in other countries in the region.

As a factor of stability, we in the Kurdistan Region will continue with our policy and do all we can with other Iraqi groups to resolve our problems and to build the institutions of the state. We reiterate our commitment to the Iraqi Constitution. Once again, I would like to ask you for your support and assistance. Thank you very much.