KRG Accuses Federal Ministry of Unconstitutional Demographic Change of Christians and Yezidis

21-08-2025 04:10
A camp for Yazidi internally displaced persons (IDPs) located in the Duhok Governorate

Peregraf

The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Interior today issued a formal statement accusing Iraq's federal Ministry of Migration and Displaced of initiating an "unconstitutional" and illegal policy aimed at changing the demography of areas historically inhabited by Christian and Yazidi communities.

The statement, dated August 21, 2025, alleges that the High Committee for Relief, under the supervision of the federal Minister of Migration and Displaced, is actively working to prevent the return of displaced persons to their ancestral homes, thereby entrenching demographic shifts that occurred as a result of the war against ISIS.

Following the ISIS onslaught in 2014, a significant number of Iraqi citizens, particularly from the Christian and Yazidi communities in the Nineveh Plains and Sinjar, were forced to flee.

Hundreds of thousands found refuge in the Kurdistan Region, where, with the support of the KRG and international aid organizations, 18 camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) were established. Currently, over 600,000 IDPs remain in these camps, unable to go back due to ongoing instability and the destruction of their towns and villages. They are awaiting the establishment of a secure and stable environment to facilitate a safe and dignified return.

The KRG's statement claims that instead of supporting a voluntary return, the federal Minister of Migration and Displaced is compelling these IDPs to integrate into communities outside of their homelands. "Instead of supporting voluntary return and participating in creating a stable environment, the Minister of Migration and Displaced and the High Committee for Relief are holding meetings to deprive the displaced of returning to their homeland," the Ministry's statement reads. It further alleges that these decisions are being made "without study or consultation" with the displaced individuals themselves.

Allegations of Constitutional and International Law Violations

The KRG contends that forcing IDPs into "compulsory integration" outside their native regions creates a new demographic reality that violates several legal frameworks. The Ministry of Interior described the policy as a form of "illegal demographic change."

The statement outlines several points of contravention:

• The Iraqi Constitution: The policy is described as being in opposition to the articles of the Iraqi Constitution.

• United Nations Principles: It conflicts with the UN's Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, which emphasize that returns must be voluntary, safe, and dignified.

• International Humanitarian Law: The actions are said to violate International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Conventions, which support the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of displaced persons and refugees, not returns dictated by "administrative decisions or by rigid and unrealistic timetables."

"What has been decided in the meeting is an evasion of reality and the fundamental responsibility to solve the problems," the KRG statement declared.

KRG Demands Urgent Action

To address the situation, the KRG Ministry of Interior has put forth several urgent demands:

1. Federal Government Intervention: That the federal government immediately halt and annul the decisions made by the Minister of Migration and Displaced.

2. International Community Involvement: A call for the Special Representative of the United Nations and international organizations to work with the federal government to stop these decisions.

3. Implementation of the Sinjar Agreement: An urgent push for the full implementation of the Sinjar Agreement, which includes the appointment of a new district commissioner and the commencement of reconstruction, normalization of the situation, and the provision of basic services. The agreement, signed in 2020 between Baghdad and Erbil, has seen significant delays in its implementation, hindering stability and the return of Yazidi families.

The Ministry of Interior concluded by reaffirming the KRG's commitment to a legal resolution that ensures the "voluntary and dignified return of the displaced, by their own free will," with guarantees for their security, basic services, and the protection of their property.