Iraqi Parliament summons Civil Status chief over Feyli Kurds’ rights

Shafaq News– Baghdad

Parliament approved a request to summon Nashat Ibrahim Al-Khafaji, head of the Civil Status, Passports, and Residence Directorate, to examine unresolved issues affecting Iraq’s Feyli Kurdish community, a lawmaker confirmed on Monday.

Speaking to Shafaq News, MP Haider Ali Abu Tara, the Feyli Kurdish quota representative, said the Council of Representatives authorized a formal hearing. The session will scrutinize administrative and legal barriers across nationality, civil status, and residency services and seek actionable remedies.

Feyli Kurds, a Shiite Kurdish minority, faced systematic abuses under the former regime, including deportation, denationalization, property seizure, enforced disappearance, and killings, particularly in the 1970s and in 1980. In November 2010, the Iraqi High Criminal Court classified these crimes as genocide, requiring restitution of citizenship, compensation, and clarification of missing persons’ cases. Government decisions in December 2010 and August 2011 pledged corrective measures, which remain partially unimplemented.

Read more: Stateless at Home — The forgotten fate of Iraq’s Feyli Kurds