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Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami on 18th September welcomed Mr. Ayman Gharaibeh, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative in Iraq. The Deputy Speaker asked the UNHCR to raise their voice against the recent Iraqi legislation that prevents IDPs from voting in the next Iraqi provincial elections. Mr. Gharaibeh said that Kurdistan Region’s support for IDPs and refugees has been outstanding.

The Presidency of the Kurdistan Parliament on 16 September issued the following statement on the 50th anniversary of the massacre in Surya village in the Bahdinan area of Kurdistan: Fifty years ago in 1969, Iraq’s Ba’ath regime massacred thousands of innocent Assyrian, Chaldean, Kurdish and Muslim men, women and children in the village of Surya. The first victim of the tragedy was the priest Hana Qasha, who was executed by the Iraqi officer Abdul Karim Al-Jihayshi.

Kurdistan Parliament MPs led by Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami on 16 September welcomed Members of the UK Parliament and representatives of Unite, the UK’s largest trade union. British MP Mr. Lloyd Russell-Moyle said, “We see Kurdistan as leading the way in the region.” He added, “We are here to show our support for your autonomy and purpose.” The delegation expressed their solidarity with the people of Kurdistan, as beacons of inclusiveness and diversity in the Middle East.

The Kurdistan Parliament on 17 September held the first sitting of the autumn session. At the sitting Speaker Dr. Rewas Faiq asked committees to work on six bills, Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami reported on Parliament’s visit to Baghdad and the mechanisms that Parliament has established to increase coordination between the Kurdistan Parliament and the Iraqi Council of Representatives (ICOR), in particular its Kurdistani blocks. MP Mr. Hevidar Ahmad (KDP) presented information and statistics regarding Kurdistan Region’s population numbers.

In recent meetings, Parliament's committees met with citizens of Makhmour, the Kurdish district outside the KRG administrative area, who asked for the reopening of their Education College and also to study degrees at Kurdistan Region's public universities under the parallel system in which they pay fees. A delegation of writers and artists asked the Culture committee to help secure the release of Dr. Farhad Pirbal, who is accused of arson against a library.  

Parliament Speaker Dr. Rewas Faiq on 16 September met with the US Consul General in Kurdistan Region, Mr. Steven Fagin. They discussed Parliament’s priorities, including achieving national consensus on drafting a Kurdistan Constitution, carrying out reforms and unifying the Peshmerga forces.

Parliament Speaker Dr. Rewas Faiq, Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami and Secretary Muna Kahveci on 16 September met with five Turkmen political parties and asked them to support policies that are critical to Kurdistan’s national interests.

Dr. Rewas Faiq the Speaker of Kurdistan Parliament, Hemin Hawramy the Deputy Speaker and Muna Kahveci the Secretary, and several members of Parliament’s Legislative Committee welcomed Judge Bangen, the Chair of the Judicial Council, the Deputy Chair and several of its members.

Deputy Speaker, Heman Hawrami on 15 September chaired a meeting of the heads of the Parliamentary standing committees. The Deputy Speaker briefed them on Kurdistan Parliament’s meeting in Baghdad with the Second Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives (ICOR), Dr. Bashir Haddad, and ICOR MPs in the Kurdistani parliamentary blocs, which was held to strengthen bilateral parliament relations. 

Summary of Kurdistan Parliament committees’ recent meetings and activities: