Committees' recent meetings - 23 February 2020
A summary of Kurdistan Parliament committees' recent meetings and activities:
Integrity Committee
19 February – To look into and follow up on corruption cases that the Integrity Commission and the Raperin Office in Ranya directed to the courts, MPs from the committee met with Judge Vian Sheikh Najm, of the Integrity Commission’s lower court in Ranya.
They discussed the problems and obstacles that are preventing them from carrying out their work and issuing verdicts.
To look into the disappearance of more than two billion Iraqi dinars from the Slemani Implementation Directorate of the Ministry of Justice, the MPs met with Ms. Gulizar Omer, in charge of the Investigative Department of Slemani Integrity Commission. The Integrity Commission has sent the case to court, and Parliament’s Integrity Committee will follow the trial.
Kurdistani Areas outside KRG Administrative Area
19 February - On ISIS’s recent attacks that killed and injured civilians in the Kurdish areas outside the Kurdistan Regional Government Administrative Area, the Committee issued the following statement:
In the last few days ISIS movements have increased in the Kurdish areas outside the KRG administrative area, and security forces and agencies have failed to fulfil their duty to protect civilians.
The Committee members are deeply concerned about these attacks by ISIS, and we extend our condolences to the victims.
The Committee insists that Peshmerga forces must return as soon as possible to restore security to these areas, while the security agencies must investigate these attacks and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
Culture, Civil Society, Sports and Youth Committee
19 February - The committee, led by the chair Ms. Salma Fatih, welcomed an NGO called Stop. They discussed the problem of unauthorized NGOs. Stop called for the law on NGOs to be amended, to make NGOs more active in their areas of work and responsibility.
The Committee said that it supports any proposal to amend the law on NGOs if it improves their services to civil society in Kurdistan.
The same day, the committee members visited the Ministry of Culture, and met with Minister Mohammad Said Ali. Committee Chair Ms. Fatih gave suggestions on instructions and implementation of the recently passed Law on Regulation of Commercial Advertising, Law No. 4 of 2019.
Minister Said thanked the committee for drafting and working on the passage of the law, and stressed that his Ministry would implement the necessary instructions.
The committee and minister also discussed several legislative proposals, on electronic media, manuscript archives, and public libraries.
They agreed on the need for more coordination between the committee and the ministry.