KRG and Peshmerga left out of major anti-ISIS coalition conference

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Tomorrow, July 20, a donor-pledging conference in support of Iraq and a meeting of the global coalition defense and foreign ministers will start in Washington DC, but the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), one of the main partners in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Da'esh), has not been invited to the event.

 
Falah Mustafa, head of the KRG department of foreign relations, expressed his frustration on social media, tweeting on Tuesday, “No logic in excluding KRG from Global coalition meetings in US, while it is in the frontline against ISIS and hosts 1.8 million IDPS and refugees.”
 
Mustafa criticized the Iraqi government for not informing the KRG about the meetings on time and including a KRG delegation when Iraq gets invited to such an event. “We are a recognized entity within Iraq. We should not have to go asking and begging to be included and invited.”
 
“Iraq should inform and include us in such an invitation, and should let us know on time so that we can prepare our delegation to attend,” he told Rudaw English.
 
“We are in the position that we should be invited and take part in such events, and this is not a violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” Mustafa added.

The United States, which is hosting the event, says the composition of the Iraqi delegation is a decision for the Iraqis to make. “Iraqi Representation at the Conference will likely be reserved to the head of the Iraqi government and the composition of their Delegation is a decision for the Iraqis to make,” a State Department official told Rudaw English in an email on Tuesday. 
 
According to the US envoy to the global coalition to counter ISIS, the main focus of the meeting of 46 coalition defense and foreign ministers will be the next phase of the campaign to defeat ISIS. 

“Meetings will focus on military and (critically) stabilization planning for operations into ISIL’s heartland, including Mosul and Raqqa,” said Brett McGurk on twitter on July 17.

“Ministers will also focus on further degrading ISIL’s global networks, propaganda online, financial, and foreign fighters,” he tweeted.

In reply to McGurk’s tweet, Mustafa emphasized that the Peshmerga should be included in such as important event. “KRG is the frontline partner in the global coalition yet not invited to this important event, Peshmerga need to be represented,” he tweeted.
 
The two-day event in Washington will look at accelerating the fight against ISIS and providing more humanitarian assistance to the internally displaced (IDPs) and refugees, both topics that are relevant to the KRG who are on the frontlines fighting ISIS and are hosting a large number of IDPs and refugees.

“The hosting country should realize the position of the KRG in fighting ISIS and hosting all those refugees and IDPs,” Mustafa told Rudaw English. “We have informed the hosting countries of this conference such as Canada, Japan and the US, that we would like to attend the conference. Now our last possibility to be present at the event is to have our representative in Washington attend.”
 
Despite the KRG not being invited to the event, the US State Department affirmed that they will continue their support of the Peshmerga in coordination with Baghdad and coalition members.

“We have enormous respect for the courage the Kurds have shown and the tremendous fight they have taken to Da’esh [ISIS] to recapture territory. In coordination with the Government of Iraq, the United States and the Coalition have been very supportive of Iraqi Kurdish forces and we will continue to do so,” a State Department official told Rudaw English.
 
Iraq’s defense minister, Khalid al-Obeidi, has confirmed his attendance at the meetings of defense ministers and it is likely that foreign minister Ibrahim Jaafari will attend meetings related to the humanitarian situation. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is not attending. 

“They will discuss several issues, most importantly providing training and equipment to the Iraqi army, the Mosul battle, and the issue of refugees and IDPs,” reads a statement posted on the website of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. 

Though the KRG will not be at the event to make its case, it hopes the hosting countries and participants will consider that the region is likely to receive thousands more IDPs as the result of the Mosul liberation.

“When it comes to the Mosul operation phase, if people flee where they would go? They will come to Erbil and Dohuk,” said Mustafa. “We hope that the participants and international agencies consider our position, especially in supporting the IDPs and refugees.”
 
The State Department considers the event an opportunity to increase their humanitarian assistance to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. “The Pledging Conference is an opportunity to enhance our humanitarian and stabilization assistance to the Government of Iraq, including to the Kurds, even as we continue to apply pressure on Da’esh to end its siege on the Iraqi people” said a State Department official.

Last month the US State Department announced that during the conference they will make substantial humanitarian and stabilization financial commitments and hope that other coalition partners join their efforts.

“The goal of the July 20 Pledging Conference is to garner much-needed financial contributions to address the challenges faced by the Iraqi people and to ensure the lasting defeat of Da’esh in Iraq,” reads a statement from the office of the spokesperson of the State Department on June 22.
 
“The international community has provided a significant amount of humanitarian assistance for Iraqis, with the United States alone providing more than $778 million since fiscal year 2014, and having announced an additional $20 million in humanitarian assistance on June 21. The United States will make a substantial humanitarian and stabilization pledge during the conference, and we look to other nations to join us in this effort,” the statement added.

The Kurdistan Region has seen a 30% population increase since 2011 due to the influx of refugees and IDPs from Syria and Iraq. The region is struggling to cope financially due to the expenses of hosting so many people combined with the economic crisis stemming from depressed oil prices and disputes with Baghdad.