Committees' recent meetings - 23 February 2022
Several committees and authorities discuss Labour Bill
22 February – The Legislative, Financial and Economic Affairs, Labour and Social Affairs, and Protection of Women's Rights committees met with the authorities and civil society to discuss the Labour Bill. The participants included the High Council for Women's Affairs, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the International Bank and civil society activists.
The Parliament committees read the participants’ report, finding and views on women's rights in other countries' labour laws, how women will be affected by the bill, gender equality, parental leave and sexual abuse, and how to address these issues so that women can participate more in Kurdistan Region's workforce.
All at the meeting expressed their views and suggestions on the bill, and the committees pledged to consider them while working on the legislation.
Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research Committee
22 February – The committee, with the help of Parliament’s Research Centre, consulted with education researchers who gave their views and recommendations on the Education Bill, which is a major legislative proposal to overhaul and reform the education sector.
7 February – The committee met with senior representatives of the Kurdistan Teachers Union, who gave their views and suggestions regarding the Education Bill.
The committee pledged to take consideration of all the recommendations that the union put forward in their memorandum on the bill.
Agriculture and Irrigation Committee
21 February – The MPs expressed their opinions about installing water meters for the agriculture sector and the level of taxation on imports of grains and flour.
The committee decided to write to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation and meet with them to discuss failing to prevent imports of grain and flour and preventing the high price of animal fodder, and also the issue of customs on fertilizers.
They also discussed feeding chicken remains to animals, which they said is completely unacceptable.
The committee read the correspondence sent to them and replied or sent them to the relevant authorities.
Peshmerga Committee
21 February –The MPs approved their report on the Peshmerga Ministry's contract (non-permanent) employees and decided to give their recommendations to the relevant authorities.
The committee decided to form an ongoing sub-committee to investigate the problems and demands of the Peshmerga forces.
They also was decided to hold high-level meetings to investigate some issues concerning the Peshmerga forces.
The committee read and replied to the correspondence they received.
Relations and Kurdish Diaspora Committee
20 February – The committee met with Egypt’s Consul General to discuss the problems facing Kurdistan Region students in Egypt.
The committee asked the Egyptian Consulate General to help resolve the students’ Egyptian visa problems.
The chair Dr. Rebwar Babkayi (KDP) said that the committee welcomes more ties and cooperation with Egypt and the Egyptian Parliament.
16 February – The committee decided to meet with the French and British consul generals to look further into the tragic drowning of several Kurdistan Region migrants in the English Channel. Three of the victims have yet to be found.
The committee had already written to the French and UK consulate generals asking them to discover the fate of the missing Kurdistan Region citizens.
The committee read their report on their previous meeting, when they met with families of Kurdistan Region citizens who disappeared when their migrant boat sank in the Aegean Sea.
8 February – The committee met with the families of migrants who were aboard a boat that sank in the Aegean Sea, and whose fate remains unknown.
The families asked the committee to help them discover the fate of their loved ones. The families have filed complaints against the organizations that smuggled them from Kurdistan Region, but so far without any success.
The committee expressed their sympathy with the families and said that they will continue and intensify their efforts to know the fate of the migrants.
The families showed documents and evidence to the committee, who said that they will ask the KRG Interior Ministry to close down and prosecute people-smuggling offices who falsely work in the guise of investment and tourism businesses.
The committee decided to visit the Greek Consulate General and ask them to make more concerted efforts to discover the fate of the missing Kurdistan Region citizens, and to ask the KRG Department of Foreign Relations to raise the matter with the Iraqi Embassy in Greece.
Committee on Kurdistani Areas outside the KRG Administrative Area
16 February – Following the committees’ visit to Makhmour District, they met with Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw and Nineveh Deputy Governor Sirwan Rojbayani and asked them to help solve the residents’ problems.
The committee has prepared a report of their findings and recommendations of their Makhmour fact-finding visit for the relevant authorities.
The committee and governors held a joint press conference after the meeting.
14 February – The committee met to prepare their report on their findings and recommendations on Makmour District, following their fact-finding visit, ahead of a future meeting with the Governor of Erbil and the Deputy Governor of Nineveh.
Integrity Committee
15 February - 15 February – The committee met with Chalang Organization for anti-corruption.
The MPs discussed domestic revenues and decided to hold a joint meeting with Parliament’s Finance Committee to investigate the problem of the decrease in and mismanagement of collection of domestic revenues.
The committee read the correspondence sent to them and replied or sent them to the Parliament’s Presidency for follow-up.
Labour, Social Affairs and Protection of Human Rights Committee
14 February – The committee discussed the bill on amendments to Iraq’s Law No. 78 of 1980, the Minors Care Law, which had its first reading on 28 June 2021.
The MPs reviewed their visit to Duhok’s women and youth prison, anti-domestic violence directorate, and Nawa women’s shelter.
They discussed the prisons governance data forms for carrying out data collection on prisons, and the issue of inmates’ conditional release.
The MPs decided to look further into the death of an inmate in Duhok prison.
The committee read and replied to the correspondence sent to them.
Finance and Economic Affairs Committee
14 February – The committee discussed increases in taxes and fees and how taxes on large companies are determined, and decided to write to the KRG Ministry of Finance and Economy to ask for the schedule of types of taxes and the legal basis on which the taxes are determined and set.
The MPs decided to ask the KRG Council of Ministers for a meeting on taxation as well as the failure to send a budget bill so far.
They also decided to write to the Ministry of Finance regarding payment installments in advance for property purchases.
The MPs intend to form a sub-committee to raise the complaints and demands of Kurdistan’s contractors with the Ministry of Finance.
Endowments and Religious Affairs Committee
12 February - The committee conveyed the following condolence message:
We are saddened to learn of the passing of His Holiness Patriarch Mar Addai II, the Patriarch of the Ancient Church of the East.
On this sad occasion, we convey our sincere condolences to the Ancient Church of the East, to the Patriarch’s family and all Assyrians.
We pray that God give patience to the loved ones of the departed. May he rest in peace.
Protection of Women’s Rights Committee
9 February – The committee met with Dr. Rita Columbia, UNFPA’s representative to Iraq, and her colleagues.
The committee thanked the UNFPA for helping to arrange a recent public hearing on the Bill on Combating Violence against Women and Families in the Kurdistan Region - Iraq.
The committee and UNFPA discussed more cooperation in the future on legislative and other issues.
6 February – The committee met with the Institute for International Law and Human Rights (IILHR), a non-profit legislation consultancy, to discuss IILHR’s report on the Bill on Combating Violence against Women and Families in the Kurdistan Region - Iraq. They looked at anti-domestic violence legislation of other countries and in light of international law, to help improve and refine the Kurdistan Region bill.
Municipalities, Communication, Transport and Tourism Committee
9 February - To discuss the Tourism Bill, the committee met with Ali Rashid, the Chair of Erbil Provincial Council, the heads of the Erbil, Slemani and Duhok branches of the Kurdistan Investors Union, and several investors with knowledge of the tourism sector.
The investors gave their comments and suggestions on how to improve the Tourism Bill, which has had its first reading. The committee will continue to work on the bill to prepare it for its second reading at a Parliament sitting.
6 February – The committee met with the Institute for International Law and Human Rights (IILHR), a non-profit legislation consultancy, who gave their recommendations on the Tourism Bill, based on best practices and international standards for tourism.
Martyrs, Genocide and Political Prisoners Committee
7 February - The committee decided to raise with the relevant authorities the problems facing martyrs’ families who have the right to receive land.
The committee read the advisory report on their recent workshop about how to achieve greater international recognition of the Kurdish Genocide.
The committee read the correspondence sent to them and replied or sent them to Parliament’s Presidency for follow-up.
Energy, Natural Resources, Commerce and Industry Committee
7 February – To look more closely into the problems with electricity smart meters, the committee visited the Electricity Ministry and met with Deputy Minister Kamil Qazzaz, the supervisor of the smart meters project and the technical team.
They discussed at length the problems with electricity smart meters, and the committee pledged to help resolve them.