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Content of Iraqi government decisions regarding population census: “It will not be used as an alternative to Article 140”
11/5/2024
The Iraqi federal government approved today, Tuesday, the Kurdistan Region’s observations and demands related to the general population census, while the official in charge of relations with the presidency of the republic said that the census will not be used as an alternative to Article 140, and that Arab citizens residing in the Kurdistan Region will have a special registry opened for them and they will be registered in their original areas.
Last Thursday, a meeting was held at the Baghdad Presidential Palace, headed by the President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Rashid, with the participation of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, and the attendance of the federal Ministers of Planning, Environment, and Justice, and the Kurdistan Regional Government team, where the Kurdistan Regional Government team presented the Kurdistan Region’s observations related to the general census of the population of Iraq. Arshad Al-Salihi also participated in the meeting, representing the Turkmen component.
In this regard, the head of the Presidency's relations, Hawri Tawfiq, told Rudaw Media Network that the meeting witnessed "a comprehensive and focused discussion regarding the general population census process."
Today, the Iraqi Prime Minister presented the results of Thursday’s meeting to the Council of Ministers, which adopted a seven-paragraph decision. Hawri Tawfiq said that the decision “is of utmost importance for conducting the general population census, and represents a response to the observations of the Kurdistan Regional Government team that were presented to the meeting held at the Presidency of the Republic.”
Below is the content of the decisions according to Hawry Tawfiq’s account:
First: During the population census, the government is committed to a previous decision issued by the Federal Court in 2010.
The Kurdish component in the federal government and the Iraqi parliament insisted at the time on conducting a population census, but the Sunni component feared conducting it, thinking that the results of the census would be used to determine the fate of Kirkuk. For this reason, a question was raised to the Federal Court about whether the census was related to Article 140 of the Constitution. The court responded that the question about the citizen’s nationality would not be raised during the census, firstly, and secondly, the question about sectarian affiliation should not be asked, and only the question about religion should be sufficient.
According to Hawri Tawfiq, the Iraqi Cabinet decision confirmed commitment to the Federal Court’s decision issued in 2010.
The aforementioned Federal Court decision includes another paragraph stating that the results of the population census should not be used as a substitute for Article 140 of the Constitution, and this was confirmed today.
Hawri Tawfiq pointed out that "the second paragraph of the decision is that a single enumerator is not allowed to conduct the census process in the areas covered by Article 140 of the Constitution, i.e. in Kirkuk and elsewhere. Rather, there must be three enumerators: an Arab, a Kurd, and a Turkmen, in order to preserve the reliability and integrity of the process. In areas inhabited by a majority of Christians, a Christian should replace the Turkmen enumerator."
The official in charge of relations with the Iraqi presidency pointed out that “there is another very important and fundamental point that was the focus of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s observations, which is that the Federal Statistical Office and the Kurdistan Region together, along with the Federal Ministry of Interior, should compare the 1957 population census records available at the Ministry of Interior. There is also a record at the Federal Ministry of Migration and Displacement that includes the names of displaced persons and people who left their homes for various reasons, and compare this record with the results of the census after it is completed.”
He continued: “For example, a citizen is registered in Kirkuk on the day of the census, and after the census, a comparison is made to see if he is present in the 1957 census records, and if he is not present in those records, his name is removed from the registration in Kirkuk. This is complete protection for Kirkuk and other Article 140 areas, and confirmation of preventing demographic change,” according to Hawri Tawfiq.
Another point that Hawri Tawfiq pointed out was that “the Iraqi Ministry of Planning must issue a record that includes the names of those who have been transferred or moved to another province for work, especially in the areas of Article 140 and other provinces, because the statistics of the Kurdistan Regional Government that were presented indicate that more than 700 thousand Arabs reside in the Kurdistan Region for work and residence.”
According to this decision: “The Federal Ministry of Planning will add a register with the names of all of these people. It is true that citizens will be registered in their place of residence on the day of the census, but after the census process and with the approval of the Ministry of Planning’s register, their names and records will be transferred to their original regions and they will not be registered in the governorates in which they are located when the census is conducted.”
Hawri Tawfiq also pointed out that, “according to the decision, it was agreed that a technical team from the Kurdistan Region’s Statistical Bureau would head to the data and information entry center, because when data and information are recorded, they are directly linked to the main center, in order to preserve integrity, avoid manipulation, and build more confidence in the process.”
Another point is that the Kurdistan Regional Government should train census workers in the Kurdistan Region’s governorates, because workers in other Iraqi governorates have completed training.
The official in charge of relations with the Iraqi presidency believes that the decision is positive and contributes to solving a large part of the census problems. He also says that the efforts of the president in this context will continue with all parties.
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