ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s legislature on Tuesday passed three controversial bills regarding the return of land confiscated under the Baath regime to the original Kurdish owners, the amendments to the controversial personal status law pushed for by the Shiite blocs, and the general amnesty bill that would change the definition of affiliation with terror groups desired by Sunni groups after months of disagreements.
Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni lawmakers last year introduced three bills which later became a headache for the parliament as discussions and voting on them were repeatedly delayed due to agreements.
However, in a surprising move on Tuesday, the legislators agreed to pass all three bills, ending months of disputes.
One of the bills seeks the return of properties to their original Kurdish and Turkmen owners. The land was taken from them and given to Arab settlers by the Baathist Revolutionary Command Council decades ago.
“The Iraqi parliament took a big step to dissolve the decisions that were made to occupy Kurdish and Turkmen lands 20 years after being saved from the previous regime and after 50 years of occupation, ” Shakhawan Abdullah, deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament said at the parliament building while surrounded by fellow Kurdish lawmakers from rival parties.
Abdullah thanked the Kurdish blocs for their “unified stance” and attributed the bill’s passing to “vigilance and continuous efforts.”
The disputed and diverse areas, particularly oil-rich Kirkuk, have long been a flashpoint between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal government. Under the Baath regime in the 1970s, Kurdish and Turkmen lands were confiscated and given to resettled Arabs. After the US toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, Iraq's constitutionally mandated de-Arabization policy under Article 140 aimed to reverse these demographic changes. In July 2023, the Council of Ministers approved a draft law to revoke Baath-era land confiscations.
“I would like to congratulate the Iraqi parliament presidency and the Kurdish factions and all those who played a role in the passage and approval of this bill,” Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani said in a statement.
“I hope this will be the beginning of correcting all the mistakes and falsehoods that have been committed against the interests of Iraqi citizens throughout the history of the Iraqi state,” Barzani added.
The general amnesty bill seeks to amend the 2016 law’s definition of affiliation with terrorist organizations, a key Sunni demand for joining the ruling State Administration Coalition. Sunnis argue that thousands from their community have been unjustly imprisoned in Shiite-dominated Iraq since 2003 over alleged terror links.
“A decision was made to pass the general amnesty bill which is a very important decision at this stage and a positive message to the component that feels oppression due to the security situation around the country,” Iraqi parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani said in a statement.
Mashhadani, who is a Sunni, added that the process was accelerated thanks to cooperation with Kurdish and Shiite “brothers.”
He said the law applies to all Iraqis but has benefited some groups more than others, not just the Sunni component.
The 1959 Personal Status Law governs marriage, divorce, and inheritance. The amendment, introduced by independent lawmaker Raed al-Maliki and widely supported by Shiite legislators, allows religious rules to dictate personal status matters. The proposed changes faced strong opposition, with over 130 lawmakers signing a petition against it and activists warning it could legitimize child marriage and erode legal protections for women.
The proposed bill states that for Shiites, the Jaafari school of law would apply, which allows marriage for girls as young as nine and boys at fifteen.
“This [false or heretic] innovation is alien to the principles of legislation and serves the agenda of the political leaders to achieve their narrow interests in a way that increases the division of society and threatens its security and stability in these difficult circumstances,” Shiite lawmaker Haider al-Salami said in a statement on Facebook.
Updated at 8:39 pm.
