Committees' recent meetings - 28 January 2021
A summary of Kurdistan Parliament's committees' recent meetings and activities:
Social Affairs and Protection of Human Rights Committee
26 January - Members of the Committee, led by the chair Romeo Hakari (National Union Coalition), met with the general director of prisons and the directors of adult prisons and youth custody centres.
The chair Mr. Hakari said, “Our committee has made several visits to prisons and we have seen that they have many problems that need to be solved.”
The MPs presented their comments and suggestions for solving the problems in prisons, especially in terms of their administration.
Delaying prisoners’ appeals cases was discussed, and it was decided to negotiate with the courts to find a solution according to the laws in force.
It was also decided that the MPs and the government officials should work together on a Prisons Bill.
They agreed to hold such a meeting every season and to also hold governorate-level meetings with all the relevant bodies to find solutions to the issues.
Interior, Security and Local Councils Committee
26 January - The committee, led by the chair Shakhawan Rauf Mustafa (Change), held their meeting.
The committee decided to establish a sub-committee that will read and present the MPs’ investigations, and another to present the outcomes of their monitoring of cases.
The MPs discussed a bill on retirement of interior and security forces. The members presented their opinions and decided that work on the bill should start as soon as possible, so that interior and security forces’ financial rights are properly organized and granted.
All the notes and requests sent to the committee were read, and after review and discussion they were sent to the relevant authorities for action.
Agriculture and Irrigation Committee
26 January - The committee, led by the chair Abdulsatar Majeed Qadir (KIG), met with close to 100 farmers from different parts of Kurdistan Region. The KRG Minister of Trade and Industry Kamal Muslim and Dr. Ghazi Faiq, the General Director of plan and following up in the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, also participated in the meeting.
They discussed the failure to pay Kurdistan farmers for their crops and the setting of trade prices over the past years by the Iraqi Federal Government. The committee had a detailed discussion with the representatives of the region's farmers about the mechanism for distributing their financial dues from the Iraqi government and its setting of prices. The farmers said that they will not give up on their rights and if it is only partially paid now, they will continue their efforts to obtain all of it.
It was decided to form a committee that includes the Parliament committee, the KRG Ministry of Trade and Industry, the KRG Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources and farmers’ representatives, in coordination with officials and Kurdistani MPs in Baghdad to continue their efforts to find a suitable solution to the problem of Baghdad’s failure to pay Kurdistan’s farmers for their production.
Energy, Natural Resources, Commerce and Industry Committee
26 January - The committee, led by chair Ali Hama Salih (Change), met online.
The MPs gave their views on Deloitte’s audit of Kurdistan’s oil sector, and the committee members and decided to send their comments and suggestions in full to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Regional Council for Oil and Gas Affairs to get the answers.
The committee decided to host the newly appointed KRG Minister of Natural Resources Dr. Kamal Atroshi, to discuss oil production and exports in the Kurdistan Region.
Education, Higher Education, and Scientific Research Committee
26 January - The Committee, led by the chair Abdusalam Dolamari (KDP), held their usual meeting.
The chair discussed their recent visit together with Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami to the education and higher education ministries.
Then a detailed conversation was held about resuming the education process which has not yet begun due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The committee decided to write to the High Commission on Combating the Coronavirus to ask that studies begin in February on the basis of health instructions.
They also discussed a legislative proposal on institutes and private universities, and decided to write to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and to all the private universities and institutes asking for their opinions and suggestions on it.
Regarding the Bill on Education and Study which has been prepared by the government, the MPs decided to ask the KRG Council of Ministers to submit the bill to Parliament within a specified time frame so that it can be worked on and passed in the coming legislative season.
The MPs also decided to form three subcommittees, one to visit the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research on the problem of higher education, one for the University of Duhok Polytechnic, and the third for Newroz University.