Committees' recent meetings - 22 June 2021
A summary of Kurdistan Parliament's committees' recent work and meetings:
Legislative Committee
22 June - The committee prepared their report for the second reading of the Bill on Application of the Iraq Stamp Duty Law, Law No. 71 of 2012, in Kurdistan Region – Iraq, and sent it to Parliament’s Presidency.
The committee also started to study the bill to amend Law No. 3 of 1993, the Law on Persons Disappeared in the Campaign to destroy the people of Kurdistan - Iraq community, per Article 79 of Parliament’s internal rules of procedure.
21 June – The committee, led by the chair Dr. Bizhar Kochar (KDP), prepared their report on the Bill of amendments to the Law on Industrial Investment for Private and Mixed Sectors (amended Law No. 20 of 1998) in Kurdistan Region – Iraq. The articles and paragraphs of the Bill and the three amendments were reviewed and discussed.
After discussion, the committee prepared their report on the bill and will direct it to the Presidency of Parliament for the next legislative procedures.
Relations and Kurdish Diaspora Committee
21 June – A delegation from the Kurdistan Relations and Kurdish Diaspora Community led by the chair Dr. Rebwar Babkayi (KDP), along with members of the committee, visited the Netherlands Consulate General in the Kurdistan Region in Erbil to meet with the Consul General, Hans Akerboom.
The committee chair thanked the Netherlands for their support to Kurdistan Region, especially agricultural development and in training and reform of the Peshmerga forces.
Both sides discussed enhancing relations between the Kurdistan Parliament and the Parliament of the Netherlands, especially between their respective relations committees, as well as through the formation of a friendship group between MPs.
Consul General Akerboom thanked the committee and pledged to help build inter-parliamentary ties and continue to support the KRG in particular sectors.
Health, Environment and Consumer Rights Committee
21 June - A delegation from the committee chaired by Dr. Shayan Askari (Change), along with some committee members and advisers, visited Halabja to follow up on the health sector in the province.
In the committee’s previous meeting, the committee formed a subcommittee to follow up on the requests and documents on the current problems in the Halabja’s health sector.
On 20 June the subcommittee visited the General Directorate of Health in Halabja and met with the Director General and the staff, and discussed all the requests submitted in this regard. The subcommittee obtained all the necessary clarification and will discuss it at the next committee meeting and send a report to the Parliament’s Presidency to call on the relevant authorities to take the necessary action.
The subcommittee also visited the Victims of Chemical Bombardment Association in Halabja and met several survivors of the 1988 chemical bombardment, to listen closely to their problems. The committee pledged to deliver their requests to the concerned authorities.
Integrity Committee
21 June – the committee led by the chair Shirin Amin (Change), received Mr. Ahmed Anwar, Chairman of the Integrity Commission and Dr. AbdulHakim Khasro, Head of the Coordination and Follow-Up Department.
The discussion centered on the recent developments in implementation of the Reform Law. The MPs gave their input about the reports by the Financial Audit Board and by Stop NGO to follow up and evaluate the implementation of the law.
The officials gave their clarifications on the report and answered the relevant questions
The committee decided to prepare a detailed report on the meeting and submit it to the Presidency of Parliament for the necessary further steps.
Interior, Security and Local Councils Committee
22 June - The committee decided to look into the shootout in Slemani between security forces in Slemani on 21 June.
The MPs discussed Law No. 15 of 2012 on Guards of the Members of Parliament, and decided to write to Parliament’s Presidency about this law.
All the letters and memos sent to the committee were read and either received responses or were directed to Parliament’s Presidency for the necessary work, and a sub-committee was formed to investigate some of the issues in the letters.
Martyrs’ Affairs, Genocide and Political Prisoners Committee
21 June – Members of the committee, led by the chair Sawsan Muhammad Mirkhan Said (KDP), met with the Anfal Memorial Organization’s staff for defence of the rights of Anfal survivors.
The organization’s staff directed a memo to the committee that included number of requests, such as the monthly grant of Anfal survivors to be equal to the monthly grant of political prisoners, the implementation of the law on the rights and privileges of political prisoners, granting a monthly financial budget, and allocating land and other requests.
The members of the committee supported their demands and said, “In our next committee meeting, we will discuss your demands and will direct them through the Presidency of Parliament to the relevant authorities”.
22 June – The committee discussed the letters and requests directed to them by the public and either replied to them or directed them to the relevant authorities to resolve them.
The MPs then discussed all the laws and instructions that the KRG Ministry of Martyrs' Affairs has issued and decided that at their next meeting they will make recommendations on which laws and regulations should be amended to better serve the families of martyrs and victims of the Anfal as well as former political prisoners.
The committee talked about the closure of some of the health centres provided by the Martyrs Affairs Ministry, which provided health services for the families of martyrs and Anfal victims. The MPs decided to investigate their closure further and try to resolve the related problems.