That this House believes that Turkey's attack on northern Syria is a humanitarian disaster and Turkey should withdraw immediately and negotiate before more innocent people are killed, injured, and displaced; fears that Turkey's actions could effectively Arabise Kurdish lands in Syria forever and represent ethnic cleansing; notes that the attack presents a clear and present danger to the people, security, economy, and even existence of the neighbouring Kurdistan Region in Iraq, which sees itself as a partner of the UK and other Western countries; believes that many thousands of Syrian Kurdish civilians will seek safety in the Kurdistan Region, whose government has already prepared three refugee camps in Duhok where up to 300,000 Syrians have lived since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011; notes the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) commendable generosity towards refugees and about 1.5 million Iraqi citizens who fled to Kurdistan after the capture of Mosul in 2014, and most of whom remain in Kurdistan; further notes that this placed great strains on Kurdistani public services; urges the UK to do more to assist the KRG; believes that chaos and conflict in Syria will help revive Daesh as a danger to the KRG; and that this necessitates concerted assistance from the UK and others who should recognise that the Kurds remain vital allies in resisting Daesh fascism and for common values of democracy, tolerance, and pluralism whose defence in the Kurdistan Region needs to be a major UK priority.

That this House believes that Turkey's attack on northern Syria is a humanitarian disaster and Turkey should withdraw immediately and negotiate before more innocent people are killed, injured, and displaced; fears that Turkey's actions could effectively Arabise Kurdish lands in Syria forever and represent ethnic cleansing; notes that the attack...

That this House warmly welcomes an initial deal between the federal Government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), as urged by the UK and others, that will allow 50-100,000 barrels per day of stranded oil in Kirkuk to be exported via the KRG pipeline to Turkey and the wider market; considers that this will restore billions of dollars of lost revenue to Iraq and that the KRG's success in expanding the capacity of its pipeline can be used to export more oil in the future; further considers that this powerfully symbolises the desire of Iraq and the KRG to normalise their relations for mutual benefit; and hopes that this prefigures a wider settlement of all outstanding issues between Baghdad and Erbil based on the full implementation of the federal constitution.

That this House warmly welcomes an initial deal between the federal Government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), as urged by the UK and others, that will allow 50-100,000 barrels per day of stranded oil in Kirkuk to be exported via the KRG pipeline to Turkey and the...

That this House expresses its relief that relations between the Kurds in Iraq and the federal Government in Baghdad appear to be improving after the failed attempt to blockade and dissolve the Kurdistan Regional Government following its people's overwhelming support for the principle of negotiated independence in a referendum in September 2017; accepts that the process of forming a new Government has yet to be finalised but that the leading contender, Adel Abdul Mahdi, is a more emollient figure who fought alongside the Peshmerga against Saddam Hussein in the 1980s and resigned on principle when his plans for a sustainable deal between Erbil and Baghdad on oil and gas was rejected by the then Iraqi Prime Minister; hopes that he, the Kurds and others can implement the federal constitution that protects the rights of the Kurds which, if it had been done from its acceptance in an Iraqi referendum in 2005, would have forestalled a vote on independence; and wishes all well in finally moving towards a fully federal Iraq with a strong Kurdistan Regional Government.

That this House expresses its relief that relations between the Kurds in Iraq and the federal Government in Baghdad appear to be improving after the failed attempt to blockade and dissolve the Kurdistan Regional Government following its people's overwhelming support for the principle of negotiated independence in a referendum in...

That this House recognises the problem of toxic contamination of war zones, particularly in Iraq; notes the research presented, in March 2018, by Dr Mozhgan Savabieasfahani at the European Environment Foundation; expresses concern at reports of uranium and thorium contamination in the tissues of children living near the US military base in the ancient city of Ur, with those children being seven times more likely to have birth defects; further notes a 2015 resolution by the American Public Health Association stating that parties involved in military activities have a post-conflict responsibility to decontaminate polluted areas; and calls on the Government to work with the US Administration on action to clean up areas polluted by the allied military forces and assist the Iraqi people with remedial health care.

That this House recognises the problem of toxic contamination of war zones, particularly in Iraq; notes the research presented, in March 2018, by Dr Mozhgan Savabieasfahani at the European Environment Foundation; expresses concern at reports of uranium and thorium contamination in the tissues of children living near the US military...

That this House, in line with its decision of 28 February 2013 to formally recognise the genocide carried out against the Kurds in Iraq, marks the 30th anniversary of the chemical attack on the town of Halabja and the wider Anfal genocide; notes that up to 200,000 people were murdered in the genocide by Saddam Hussein and its continuing physical and psychological impact on the Kurds, many of whom bear terrible wounds from the experience; welcomes the Government's decision to formally mark the Anfal anniversary each year; believes that the experience of genocide has united all Kurds in a desire to ensure that Baghdad never repeats such behaviour, which underpins their insistence that they can only stay in a democratic, federal and pluralist Iraq, which is currently sadly far from the truth; further welcomes the visit to Parliament by the Acting Speaker and a cross-party delegation of MPs from the Kurdistani Parliament; and encourages hon. Members to attend or send messages to the event to mark the tragedies of Halabja and Anfal in the Grand Committee Room on 14 March at 7pm.

That this House, in line with its decision of 28 February 2013 to formally recognise the genocide carried out against the Kurds in Iraq, marks the 30th anniversary of the chemical attack on the town of Halabja and the wider Anfal genocide; notes that up to 200,000 people were murdered...

That this House is shocked at the Iraqi decision to unilaterally reduce the budget share of the Kurdistan region from 17 per cent to 12.67 per cent of gross Iraqi revenues and far less in reality once often excessive sovereign spending is deducted; recognises that the long-standing agreement on the Kurdistan region receiving 17 per cent as based on approximate population and recognition of the damage inflicted on the Kurds by previous dictatorships, including the genocide of nearly 200,000 people, the destruction of thousands of villages and the connected destruction of its once powerful agricultural sector; further recognises that there have been no censuses in Iraq since 1957; notes that since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Baghdad failed to pay the constitutionally recognised Peshmerga, unilaterally and unconstitutionally cut all budget transfers in February 2014 and refused to refund KRG costs in looking after displaced people who fled from Daesh to Kurdistan; believes that the proposed funding is woefully inadequate for the Kurdistan region, which is also owed considerable arrears by Baghdad; fears that this latest act of collective punishment on the people of the Kurdistan region augurs badly for a more generous and statesmanlike approach from leaders in Baghdad which could encourage the Kurds to feel that they are truly equals in Iraq; and urges the Government to increase its pressure on Baghdad to reverse these regressive changes.

That this House is shocked at the Iraqi decision to unilaterally reduce the budget share of the Kurdistan region from 17 per cent to 12.67 per cent of gross Iraqi revenues and far less in reality once often excessive sovereign spending is deducted; recognises that the long-standing agreement on the...

That this House is outraged that the Iraqi Prime Minister has extended the five month blockade on international flights to and from the Kurdistan Region for at least another three months; recognises that this needless blockade is obstructing those who want to travel abroad for medical, family or commercial reasons and especially in the run up to Kurdish New Year, Newroz, on 21 March; further recognises that the Kurdistan Regional Government, in negotiations with Baghdad, is making it clear that it will comply with all its constitutional commitments; fears that the Iraqi Prime Minister is cultivating a strongman image merely to boost his support before the Iraqi elections in May 2018 rather than showing a statesmanlike attitude that can convince Kurds that they will have an honoured and equal place in Iraq according to the rights and responsibilities of the increasingly national federal constitution; and urges the UK Government to urgently redouble their efforts to persuade Baghdad to lift this blockade.

That this House is outraged that the Iraqi Prime Minister has extended the five month blockade on international flights to and from the Kurdistan Region for at least another three months; recognises that this needless blockade is obstructing those who want to travel abroad for medical, family or commercial reasons...

That this House congratulates the Prime Minister on her decision to invite the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq to London; believes that the UK is well-placed, thanks to its history with Iraq and Kurdistan and the respect for the UK there, to encourage much needed dialogue on all outstanding issues between the Kurdish Regional Government and the federal Government in Iraq, based on the full implementation of the Iraq constitution whose neglect in recent years underpinned the Kurdistani decision to hold a referendum on eventual and negotiated independence; welcomes the Prime Minister's commitment that the UK would continue to fight to protect the identity and rights of the Kurdish people under the Iraqi constitution and the UK's continued support for the Kurdistan Region and Kurdish people within a unified Iraq, while urging continued reform in the political, economic and security sectors to strengthen Kurdistan's institutions and deliver for the Kurdish people; and wishes the very best for the visit by Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani.

That this House congratulates the Prime Minister on her decision to invite the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq to London; believes that the UK is well-placed, thanks to its history with Iraq and Kurdistan and the respect for the UK there, to encourage much needed dialogue on...

That this House is relieved that there has been no armed conflict between the Iraqi Army, its associated Shia militia and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Peshmerga for some weeks; is disappointed that the federal government in Baghdad has so far refused all the reasonable requests from the KRG, supported by various foreign governments, for calm dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad; regrets the continuation by the Iraqi federal government of several measures of collective punishment against the people of the KRG, including a ban on international flights, a proposed and draconian reduction in federal fiscal transfers according to the constitution and agreements, and the failure to provide sufficient medicines, especially dangerous given the onset of winter, to the KRG despite its continuing to host more than one million Sunni Arabs who fled from Mosul and 183,000 Kurds and others who fled from Kirkuk and other disputed territories following the needless and violent Iraqi seizure of those lands in October; accepts that the KRG's airports are vital to the basic needs of Kurds, including emergency medical evacuation of civilians, and the KRG's view that these embargoes could severely damage expatriate interest and foreign direct investment that has created thousands of jobs whose loss could generate a rapid rise in emigration; and urges Iraq to cease its futile search for a vindictive victor's peace in favour of dialogue based on the full implementation of the Iraqi constitution, which underpins Iraq as a free union of Kurds, Arabs and others.

That this House is relieved that there has been no armed conflict between the Iraqi Army, its associated Shia militia and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Peshmerga for some weeks; is disappointed that the federal government in Baghdad has so far refused all the reasonable requests from the KRG, supported...

That this House notes with deep concern the proposed amendment to the Personal Status Law currently being debated in the Iraqi Parliament that could lower the legal marriage age to nine; believes that passage of this amendment would be a backwards step for Iraqi women and girls; is alarmed at the speed of proceedings despite significant opposition; further notes that this amendment would violate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Iraq ratified in 1994; and urges the Government to make strong representations to its Iraqi counterparts against any legislative proposals that would weaken the rights of children and women in Iraq.

That this House notes with deep concern the proposed amendment to the Personal Status Law currently being debated in the Iraqi Parliament that could lower the legal marriage age to nine; believes that passage of this amendment would be a backwards step for Iraqi women and girls; is alarmed at...

That this House regrets Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi's decision, for electoral reasons and in collaboration with the Iranian regime, its revolutionary guards and brutally-sectarian Shia militia, to use force as a first resort to take Kirkuk and other disputed territories from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG); notes that the KRG, on the request of the Iraqi Government, reinforced its military presence to prevent Daesh capturing Kirkuk when Iraqi troops fled in 2014 and was constitutionally compliant; further regrets that Prime Minister Abadi claims to follow the Iraqi constitution, although serial and flagrant violations of its federal provisions bolstered Kurds resoundingly backing eventual and negotiated independence; fears that violence rather than co-ordination and negotiation will fuel divisions; believes that a punitive peace and centralisation, in violation of the constitution, could reduce the KRG's contribution to the Iraqi economy, diminish its ideological and military resistance to jihadist extremism, and encourage Sunni Arab resistance; accepts that Baghdad's actions illustrate the case for independence and that Kurds should not be subordinated in express violation of the Iraqi constitution; rejects Vice President Maliki's proposal to partition Kurdistan; urges governments to support resetting relations based on fully implementing the Iraqi constitution, including long deferred moves to finalise the status of the disputed territories; urges the UK and its international partners to recognise that Iranian involvement in Iraq and a weaker KRG contradict Western interests and the prospects of peace in the Middle East; and further urges the appointment of a mutually-respected mediator to resolve differences peacefully.

That this House regrets Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi's decision, for electoral reasons and in collaboration with the Iranian regime, its revolutionary guards and brutally-sectarian Shia militia, to use force as a first resort to take Kirkuk and other disputed territories from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG); notes that the KRG,...

That this House supports the right to self-determination of the people of the Kurdistan region in Iraq; and recognises that a yes vote in their referendum on independence on 25 September 2017 would be a mandate for negotiating statehood and improved co-operation with Iraq.

That this House supports the right to self-determination of the people of the Kurdistan region in Iraq; and recognises that a yes vote in their referendum on independence on 25 September 2017 would be a mandate for negotiating statehood and improved co-operation with Iraq.

That this House believes that the bravery and service of the personnel involved in Operation Shader should be recognised with a specific Operational Service Medal without delay; recognises that in doing their duty these men and women are protecting UK citizens from the threat of Daesh, as well as defending civilians in the region and around the world; and calls on the Secretary of State for Defence to support an Operational Service Medal for Operation Shader.

That this House believes that the bravery and service of the personnel involved in Operation Shader should be recognised with a specific Operational Service Medal without delay; recognises that in doing their duty these men and women are protecting UK citizens from the threat of Daesh, as well as defending...

That this House expresses its concern that the Iraqi national reconciliation and redevelopment plans at present contain no clause clarifying the fate of religious minority regions, including Ninevah Plains, and no intention to seek or include all religious and ethnic minority communities' input; and therefore urges the Iraqi Government to ensure that all religious and ethnic groups are consulted before and during the implementation of national reconciliation and redevelopment plans so as to ensure Iraq is an inclusive and tolerant nation for all its citizens.

That this House expresses its concern that the Iraqi national reconciliation and redevelopment plans at present contain no clause clarifying the fate of religious minority regions, including Ninevah Plains, and no intention to seek or include all religious and ethnic minority communities' input; and therefore urges the Iraqi Government to...

That this House recognises the problem of toxic contamination of war zones; is concerned about the legacy of burn-pits on US bases which violated military environmental regulations; is gravely concerned about the effect of lead pollution on military personnel and civilians who resided close to unregulated burn-pits in Iraq and Afghanistan; notes research on this problem recently published by Dr Mozhgan Savabieasfahani; and calls on Government to take action to clean up areas polluted by allied military forces.

That this House recognises the problem of toxic contamination of war zones; is concerned about the legacy of burn-pits on US bases which violated military environmental regulations; is gravely concerned about the effect of lead pollution on military personnel and civilians who resided close to unregulated burn-pits in Iraq and...