Committees' recent meetings - 6 February 2020
A summary of Kurdistan Parliament's committees' recent meetings and activities:
Social Affairs and Protection of Human Rights Committee
5 February – After their recent visits to the directorates for offender rehabilitation in Erbil and Slemani to gather details of the problems and needs of those in offender rehabilitation, members of the committee met with Judge Bangeen Qasim Muhammad, the Head of the Kurdistan Region Judicial Council.
The committee members, led by the Chair Mr. Romeo Hakari (National Union Coalition), and Judge Bangeen Qasim discussed the work of Kurdistan Region’s courts. The MPs said that the problems and demands of the Erbil and Slemani directorates for offender rehabilitation must be followed and resolved. Some offenders are protesting and have gone on strike, asking for their demands to be met.
Among the offenders’ demands is that the Judicial Council’s decision to grant conditional release to some criminals be applied to them. Judge Bangeen said, “This decision does not apply to all offenders and criminals; the law has been enacted only to apply to certain crimes in which the offenders are entitled to certain rights.”
For crimes that have been given alternative (substitute) verdicts, the Head of the Judicial Council said, “This issue is under discussion and we have held many meetings about it.”
Health, Environment and Consumer Rights Committee
5 February- The Committee, led by the chair Dr. Sabah Zebari (KDP), welcomed the staff of an organization called Blood and Life. At the meeting, the organization gave the committee their written proposal to regulate the blood donation process in Kurdistan.
The committee welcomed their proposal and pledged to support their efforts.
The medicines sub-committee, led by Mr. Zana Mala Khalid (KDP), also convened a meeting. They discussed the results of their recommendations to the Kurdistan Regional Government and the practical work done in the process.
The committee also discussed the shortage of medicines in Kurdistan’s healthcare institutions, and it was recommended that the problem be resolved as soon as possible. The committee also discussed cancer medicine and decided to formally demand that the KRG charge and prosecute companies involved in counterfeit medicines.
Culture, Civil Society, Sports and Youth Committee
5 February - The Committee, led by the chair Ms. Salma Fatih (PUK), met with the Federation of Civil Society organizations. The delegation asked the committee to look into and resolve their problems, in particular their tax rate being the same as those on private companies. The committee promised to look into their problem and discuss it with relevant authorities.
The committee also met with a NGO called Peace and Freedom. They discussed the vital role of the media in Kurdistan, and stressed that experts’ and academics’ recommendations be considered when drafting or amending laws on journalism and media regulation.