Iraq
Iraqi Justice Minister Khalid Shwani speaking to reporters in Kirkuk on March 31, 2025. Photo: Rudaw
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s justice minister said on Monday that the country will begin implementing the land restitution law aimed at returning lands confiscated under the Baath era to their original owners “within two months.”
“Regarding the agricultural lands, the law has been ratified and we are awaiting instructions. God willing, within two months, the instructions will be released and we will begin its implementation,” Khalid Shwani told reporters in Kirkuk.
In mid-February, the Iraqi presidency ratified the land restitution law that returns land confiscated under the Baath regime to the original owners. The law applies to approximately 300,000 dunams of land belonging to Kurds and Turkmen in Kirkuk and other disputed areas.
The law was long sought after by Kurdish and Turkmen parties. In the 1970s, Kurdish and Turkmen lands were seized by the Baath regime under the pretext that they were located in restricted oil zones. The land was redistributed to Arabs, who were resettled in these areas, altering their demographic composition.
Following the fall of the Baath regime in 2003, Iraq adopted a policy of de-Arabization under Article 140 of the constitution, aiming to reverse the demographic changes imposed by former dictator Saddam Hussein.
In mid-March, the Iraqi justice ministry’s spokesperson told Rudaw that a “specialized committee” has been formed to implement the land restitution law and that all land dealings in the disputed province of Kirkuk are suspended until the implementation process commences.
“Regarding the agricultural lands, the law has been ratified and we are awaiting instructions. God willing, within two months, the instructions will be released and we will begin its implementation,” Khalid Shwani told reporters in Kirkuk.
In mid-February, the Iraqi presidency ratified the land restitution law that returns land confiscated under the Baath regime to the original owners. The law applies to approximately 300,000 dunams of land belonging to Kurds and Turkmen in Kirkuk and other disputed areas.
The law was long sought after by Kurdish and Turkmen parties. In the 1970s, Kurdish and Turkmen lands were seized by the Baath regime under the pretext that they were located in restricted oil zones. The land was redistributed to Arabs, who were resettled in these areas, altering their demographic composition.
Following the fall of the Baath regime in 2003, Iraq adopted a policy of de-Arabization under Article 140 of the constitution, aiming to reverse the demographic changes imposed by former dictator Saddam Hussein.
In mid-March, the Iraqi justice ministry’s spokesperson told Rudaw that a “specialized committee” has been formed to implement the land restitution law and that all land dealings in the disputed province of Kirkuk are suspended until the implementation process commences.
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