US commission criticizes religious freedom in Iraq, Kurdistan Region

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A United States independent agency on Monday criticized the status of religious freedom in Iraq in 2022, blaming political factionalism for Iraq’s continued sectarian division. The report also criticized the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) lack of support for minority groups.

In its 2022 annual report, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom put Iraq on its “special watch” list, saying religious freedom in the country had continued to “deteriorate” during that year, influenced by the year-long political deadlock.

The Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish components of Iraq disagreed over the government’s formation for over a year following the 2021 elections. The disagreements culminated in a deadly intra-Shiite collision between Muqtada al-Sadr’s Saraya al-Salam militia and loyalist Iran-backed militias in late August inside Baghdad’s Green Zone. The clashes resulted in at least 30 people killed and 500 others injured in the span of 24 hours.

On the situation in Shingal (Sinjar), the report criticized the Iraqi federal government’s inability to adequately implement the Yazidi Survivors Law which has promised reparations for minority groups victimized by the Islamic State (ISIS) since 2021, while also criticizing both governments in Erbil and Baghdad for their failure to implement the 2020 Shingal agreement.

The Iraqi parliament passed the Yazidi Survivors Law in 2021, but it is yet to be fully implemented.

The law formally recognizes acts of genocide and crimes against humanity perpetrated by ISIS against the Yazidi, Christian, Turkmen, and Shabak communities by ISIS. It envisages a fixed salary, the provision of land, and allocates two percent of public sector jobs.

The Yazidi heartland of Shingal remains unstable due to insecurity and lack of basic services. Baghdad and Erbil signed an agreement in 2020 to return security to Shingal, but it has yet to be fully implemented.

The report also accused the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a mostly-Shiite militia network, of using aggressive measures against religious minorities at checkpoints, including physical violence and forced disappearances, saying the treatment has deterred displaced Christians from returning to their original areas of residence in Mosul and Nineveh Plains, and has further fueled emigration amongst the community.

The commission applauded the KRG for its continued promotion of religious coexistence, being a refuge for over two million Syrians and Iraqis displaced by ISIS, and participation in UN workshops aimed strengthening the Region’s protection of minority groups.

However, it voiced the concerns of Christian groups that have decried the “lack of KRG funding and other support for Assyrian-run schools; discrimination in employment and municipal services; and unresolved KRG-tolerated or -initiated misappropriation of Christians’ land, businesses, and other property.”

The report also highlighted the lack of security and the persistent threat of ISIS reported by Christians in the Nineveh Plains and Yazidis in Shingal, which have driven large portions of the two communities away from returning to their homeland.

Clashes between the Iraqi army and the militants affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Shingal in May of last year led to the displacement of over three thousands residents from the city.

The commission provided a number of recommendations to the US government to help improve religious freedom in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, including the use of diplomatic channels to encourage Erbil and Baghdad to expedite the return of displaced Yazidis, imposing sanctions on certain PMF leaders, continuing to assist in the rebuilding of ISIS-devastated communities, and incorporating religious freedom into Iraq-US bilateral relations.

Updated at 5:23pm