Parliament’s message on 32nd commemoration of Halabja chemical bombing
On the 32nd commemoration of the chemical bombardment of Halabja on 16 March 2020 by Iraq’s former Ba’ath regime, Kurdistan Parliament Speaker Dr. Rewas Faiq, Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami, and the Martyrs Affairs, Genocide and Political Prisoners Committee conveyed messages of remembrance to honour the victims and called for reparations to the survivors and to the city.
In her message, Speaker Faiq called on the Kurdistan Regional Government to do its utmost for Halabja governorate and the people of Halabja. She referred to the Kurdistan Parliament’s passage of Law No. 1 of 2015 that established Halabja as a governorate with its own administration, and Parliament’s Decision No. 23 of 2014 which designated Halabja as Kurdistan Region’s Capital of Peace.
The Presidency of Parliament and the committee called on the international community and all countries to recognise the massacre as an act of genocide against a nation who sought freedom, and to make reparations to the people.
Deputy Speaker Hawrami described the chemical bombardment of Halabja, which killed 5,000 men, women and children, as a crime not only against Kurds but also against all humanity.
The Deputy Speaker called on Iraq to become a member of the International Criminal Court and to make reparations to the victims’ families.
Parliament’s Martyrs Affairs, Genocide and Political Prisoners Committee insisted that Iraq and the international community must never allow such massacres against the people of Kurdistan to happen again.
The committee noted that it is important to amend legislation if it better serves the families of genocide victims and former political prisoners.