Committee:
Advisory Panel
Issue:
Ensuring the rights of religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq
Student Officer: Deputy President, Jakob Ollivier de Leth
I – Introduction
Ethnic and religious minorities are something every country everywhere around the
world knows and has to adress. Jews, Roma and Kurds are prime examples of ethnic or
religious minorities, who are very often spread out over the whole world.
Trough two diasporas (the dispersion of a people or culture) in 571 B.C., after the fall
of the Great Temple in Jerusalem, and in 135 A.D., after the failure of the Jewish Revolt in
Judea, the Jewish people were sold into slavery in over 3 continents: (North-) Africa, Europe
and Asia, which in that time could be referred to as the whole Known World. In the present
however they mostly live in the much disputed country Israel.
The Romani are a people that originate from India and are widely dispersed, which
makes them a minority everywhere they live. In comparison to the Jews and Kurds (Israel and
Kurdistan respectively) they have or actively sought no sovereign nation.
The Kurdish people commonly referred to as Kurds, mostly live in a region known as
Kurdistan, a region spanning a large area in Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran. Kurds have been
fighting, with dialog as well as violence, for their own sovereign state in these countries.
Although they have received partial autonomy in Iraq, they still form an ethnic minority in the
mentioned member states and often feel racially abused because of it.
This issue elaborates on the situation in Iraq, where many different religious and
ethnic minorities live. The unrest in this country, on-going for many years now, has lead to
many disruptions for these people, which has caused many to emigrate; an issue that must be
handled, as many of their new homes often don’t provide a happy welcome.
II – Involved Countries and Organizations
Iraq
In 1958 Iraq gained independence from the British League of Nations and called itself
a ‘republic’, which was ruled by a group of powerful men until 2003. When Saddam
Hussein’s regime fell in 2003, American forces remained in Iraq until 2011. Nowadays many
refugees claim life under Saddam Hussein was more peaceful and they saw no reason to seek
refuge elsewhere; something that can be seen clearly, as it reflects in the official statistics.
Mosul, One of Iraq’s biggest cities, lost 50% of its Christian population after the fall of
Hussein’s regime. According to Human Rights Watch however, Iraq is also guilty of the
executions of prisoners of war, one of the things ISIL has been most accused for.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is actively present in Iraq. Human Rights Watch has the
potential to play a key role in this conflict as they, as the name suggests, promote and protect
Human Rights around the world. This NGO has noticed a steep decline in Human Rights (and
the protection of it) in Iraq since January 2014, when armed groups and Iraqi government
soldiers clashed, and further in June 2014, when ISIL launched its main offensive on a
number of cities and regions in Iraq and Syria. According to Human Rights Watch, the
government of Iraq has also committed serious abuses, including mass executions of Sunni
prisoners, and kidnappings and executions by security forces and government-backed Shia
militias. Also pictures have appeared on the HRW website showing rows of armed men
standing beside a mass grave.
III – Focused Overview of the Issue
Iraq hosts a varied range of ethnic and religious minorities. The aformentioned Jews,
Gypsy and Kurdish can all be found throughout the country, as well as Armenians, Christian
Assyrians and Christian Turkmen. However, the biggest minority in Iraq is Shia Muslim and
forms about 35% of the population. The rivalry between Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims is
so immense it takes its toll on human lives almost every day.
1) The cause of the insecurity for religious and ethnic minorities
A very large majority of Iraq’s 35 million inhabitants is Muslim, at around 97%. Sunni
Muslims make up 60% of this, at around 20.4 million. Sunni Muslims often clash with their
main counterpart, Shia Muslims. The main conflict between two of the biggest Islamic
movements, with both millions of followers around the world, started at the death of the
Islamic prophet, Mohammed. The people were in doubt about the next leader of the Muslim
Nation he left behind. Sunni Muslims opted for a leader who was chosen from among
Mohammed’s companions, whilst Shia Muslims opted for his direct cousin and son-in-law,
Ali bin Abu Talib. Other differences include the sinlessness of the Imam Shia Muslims
believe in and certain religious practices Sunni Muslims exercise (which Shia Muslims don’t
do).
After the departure of the
United States military the
inquality in Iraq rose, as
Shia muslims were keen
to quickly secure places in
the government and other
top positions at for
example universities.
Around Bagdhad you will
find many Shia flags and
other Shia symbols. Very
often has the Iraqi Prime
Minister stated that it was he who defeated the sunni’s, or as he
likes to refer to it as ‘terrorists’. Sunni Muslims have protested
more than once, as they claim they have been discriminated against by the Shia government.
At the end of January, 2013, violent clashes in Fallujah, an Iraqi province, caused the death of
seven young men, igniting more anger and defiance among the province's Sunni
population.
Tensions between the two Islamic parties have risen in Iraq, as the extremist Sunni
Muslim group ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) – or also known as ISIS - wants to
create a state with the Islamic Sharia law as constitution. The group has been defined as
terrorist by many countries and unions, such as the United States, the United Kingdom,
Indonesia (the country with the world’s biggest Muslim population) and the United Nations
Security Council. The group has reportedly used brutal violence against Christians and Shia
Muslims. This group, which controls a huge area in Iraq and Syria, faces very little opposition
in the Iraq the Americans have left behind, since their full withdrawal in 2011. The ISIL
claimed authority on 13 October 2006 over i.e. Baghdad and other cities and regions. After
the 2013 expansion into Syria the number of ‘wilayah’, certain provinces ISIL claims to be
the rightful ruler of, increased to 16. In all of these territories, they aim to remove non-Sunni
Muslims, which comes in this area mostly comes down to Christians, Jews, Shia Muslims and
Kurds. Recent reports claim the conflict between ISIL and the internationally recognized
government of Iraq has now taken thousands of lives.
2) Mosul
The city of Mosul has been a key point in this conflict. When ISIL captured the city
in June, 2014, after a massive amount of Iraqi soldiers surrendered to a far smaller group of
ISIL militants, the Iraqi government had nowhere near enough manpower and equipment to
recapture the city and make ISIL retreat. This made the Kurdish population in the North of
Iraq take matter in own hands, as they have done before. With their own forces they captured
Mosul in July and expanded their territory into a far more southern area than previously
agreed with the Iraqi government in 1991. The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has
granted authorization of air support to aid the Kurdish forces – which in Iraq arebetter known
as Peshmerga – after a string of towns were lost to the militant group ISIL over the weekend
of the 2nd and 3rd of August. The military aid was seen as one of the many signs the Iraqi
government is now depending on the Peshmerga to push back ISIL. The Peshmerga had held
off the insurgents in north-western Iraq without central Iraqi government forces for nearly
two months.
On the 4th of August, after receiving the military aid of the Iraqi government, the
Peshmerga launched a counteroffensive to retake two towns—Sinjar and Zumar—said
Kurdish and United Nations officials. The Kurds also drove the militants from two other
towns, Wana and Rabia, Kurdish officials said, but fighting continued to rage and the
situation appeared very unstable. The air support marks Baghdad's first such military
commitment to the semiautonomous Kurdish government, marking a significant pledge to
confront an extremist group striving to create an Islamic state across the historic area called
the Levant, which includes Iraq and Syria.
The Peshmerga's losses shocked officials, sparking new cooperation between two
mutually hostile authorities—the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional
Government, or KRG, in Erbil. Some analysts say any jointly coordinated success could also
precipitate more American military support in Iraq, which both Baghdad and the Kurdish
government have requested.
The ISIL offensive in northwest Iraq drove out
thousands of residents and threatened a religious minority, the
Yazidis, a small Kurdish-speaking community with a pre-Islamic faith long targeted by the alQaeda. The insurgents blew up two Yazidi shrines and rounded up some residents who hadn't
managed to flee, Iraqi news agencies reported. Iraqi Air Force jets started bombing targets in
the town of Sinjar, west of Mosul near the Syrian border, and the broader area on the 4th of
August afternoon, Peshmerga spokesman Jabar Yawer said in an interview. The jets flew
from and returned to Baghdad. That Monday's counteroffensive left the Kurdish fighters in
control of Iraq's largest dam in Mosul after Islamic State militants tried to seize it in their
effort to control resources. A joint-operations command with Iraqi ground forces that had
been abandoned in June was re-established and would direct close cooperation between
forces1.
Since the departure of the Americans and the capture of Mosul by extremist ISIL and
the capture of the Kurds some time later, many minorities migrated, fled, or died in the
meantime. Reports claim the number of Christians has decreased dramatically after ISIL gave
them the choice to ‘Pay, migrate or convert’. The punishment for doing none of the three is
death. After a 50% drop in Christians since the fall of the Hussein regime in 2003, one of the
oldest Christian communities in the world, which lived peacefully in Mosul for hundreds of
years, is slowly dying out. Also, according to Human Rights Watch ‘Local Shabak and Shia
Turkmen representatives told us [Human Rights Watch] that they have received reports from
Sunni contacts that ISIL has killed many of the men taken prisoner. ISIL has summarily
executed Shia captives several times in Iraq, for example killing soldiers en masse in Tikrit,
180 kilometers north of Baghdad, after taking that city on June 11. It reportedly killed
at least 40 Shia Turkmen, including children, in four communities near the city of Kirkuk,
about 100 kilometers southeast of Mosul, on June 16.’
IV – Key Vocabulary
Ethnic Minority and religious minority: An ethnic minority can be defined as a group which
has a different culture or nationality from the main population. A religious minority can be
defined in the same way.
ISIL/ISIS: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. They are
viewed by many as a terroristic militant group aiming to spread the controversial Sharia law
around the Islamic world. They have been accused of many different crimes, including
manslaughter and torture.
V – Important Events & Chronology
Date (day/month/year)
Event
March, 1970
Kurdish inhabitants of Northern Iraq reach an agreement with the
government on autonomy
16th of July, 1979 – 9th of
Saddam Hussein serves as the President of Iraq
1 Nour
Malas, ‘Iraq Back Kurdish Fight agianst Jihadists’
http://online.wsj.com/articles/iraqs-nouri-al-maliki-authorizes-air-strikes-to-supportkurdish-forces-1407158267, online.wsj.com, The Wall Street Journal, 4 Aug, 2014,
web April, 2003
19th of March, 2003
A coalition of forces, led by the United States of America,
invades Iraq.
13th of October, 2006
ISIL lays claim on many cities and region in Iraq.
18th of December, 2011
All forces of the coalition have left Iraq.
July, 2014
ISIL occupies Mosul, destroys Christian buildings and forces
Christians to ‘pay, convert or migrate’.
July, 2014
A Kurdish army captures Mosul for the time being.
VI – Past Resolution and Treaties
- The United Nations Security Council condems ISIL
The UN Security Council on July 22 condemned the persecution of Christians in Iraq by the
extremist group ISIS and warned that such acts may constitute a crime against humanity. It is
composed of insurgent groups and was thought to have significant ties to Al Qaeda.
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/8a16de17-cb8d-4445-8ab2-ba66211e6ca0.aspx
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/tv/un-security-council-condemns-recent-attacks-by-isis-11958
- The partial autonomy of Kurdistan in Iraq, 1991
Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan also known as the Kurdistan Region is an autonomous
region in Northern Iraq. It borders the Kurdish regions of Iran to the east, Turkey to the north,
and Syria to the west, along with the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Erbil,
known in Kurdish as Hewlêr. The region is officially governed by the Kurdistan Regional
Government.
http://www.krg.org/?l=12
VII – Failed Solution Attempts
The invasion of Iraq has been one of the tried ways to prevent conflict between ethnic
groups and regional turmoil. The coalition failed to make a safe, democratic and peaceful
Iraq, which was origianlly one of their goals. The country remains in unrest and many groups
of people still have a large hatred towards a group of people with a different religion or
beliefs.
VIII – Possible Solutions
The safety of ethnic and religious minorities in Mosul
and other cities can be achieved by making ISIL repent, as
they are the ones which made the situation for them far worse than it already was. Since the
invasion of Iraq there has been a certain hatred towards Christians which has caused them to
migrate and leave their homes behind. Looking into this hatred and how it could possibly
disappear also seems very important. But also the Iraqi government can be adressed, as they
have been accused of discriminating Sunni Muslims and causing segregation between Shias
and Sunnis in other cities, such as Baghdad. Appointing merely Shias at for example
Universities has caused huge discontent amongst Sunni population and is an issue that many
see as a breaking point for the restoration of the relation between Sunni and Shia muslims in
Iraq.
IX – Useful Links
Anon, ‘Iraq’ http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2014/country-chapters/iraq?page=1,hrw.org,
Human Rights Watch, n.d. web.
Anon, ‘The World Factbook, Middle East: Iraq’ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/geos/iz.html, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/,
The World Factbook, 22 Jun. 2014, web.
X – Works Cited
- Anon, ‘Iraq demographics Profile 2013’
http://www.indexmundi.com/iraq/demographics_profile.html, www.indexmundi.com,
Indexmundi, 21 Feb. 2013, web.
- Huda, ‘What’s the difference between Shia and Sunni Muslims?’
http://islam.about.com/cs/divisions/f/shia_sunni.htm, www.islam.about.com, About.com, n.d.
web
-Roy Parviz Mottadeh, ‘Keeping the Shi’ites straight’
http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RINVol6No2/Keeping%20the%20Shi'ites%20Straight.ht
m, www.trincoll.edu, Trincoll, 2003, web
- Austin Cline, ‘Iraq; Shia Islam’
http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/islam/countries/bl_IraqIslamShia.htm,
atheism.about.com, About.com, May 1988, web.
- Reuters, ‘Iraq’s monthly death toll doubles, bloodiest for two years’
http://www.trust.org/item/?map=iraqs-monthly-death-toll-doubles-bloodiest-for-two-years/,
www.trust.org, Thomson Reuters Foundation, 1 Oct 2013, web.
- Margarat Griffis, ‘Another bloody Monday in Iraq: 94 killed, 289 wounded’
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2013/06/10/another-bloody-monday-in-iraq-94-killed289-wounded/, original.antiwar.com, Antiwar.com, 10 Jun, 2013 web.
- Daniel Burke, ‘ISIS to Christians in Mosul: converts, pay or die’
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/21/facing-fines-conversion-or-death-christians-fleemosul/, cnn.com, Cable News Network, 21 July, 2014, web.
Anon, ‘The World Factbook, Middle East: Iraq’ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/geos/iz.html, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/,
The World Factbook, 22 Jun. 2014 web.
- Muddassar Ahmed, ‘OP-ED What ISIS is doing to Iraq’s Christians in the name of my faith
is making me sick’ http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/494158/OP-ED-What-ISIL-isdoing-to-Iraq-s-Christians-in-the-name-of-my-faith-makes-me-truly-sick, express.co.uk,
Express, 31 July, 2014, web.
- Anon, Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/07/19/iraq-ISIL-abductingkilling-expelling-minorities
- The Associated Press, ‘Shias dominate Sunnis in the new Iraq’,
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/shias-dominate-sunnis-in-the-new-iraq-1.1269416,
www.cbc.ca, Canadian Broadcasting Corperation, 3 Apr 2013, web.
- Patrick Cockburn, ‘The Shia are in power in Iraq, but not in control’,
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-shia-are-in-power-in-iraq--butnot-in-control-8523280.html, www.independent.co.uk, The Independent, 6 Mar. 2013, web.
- Anon, ‘Death of young Iraqis ignite rage in Fallujah’
http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2013/01/2013129164014767470.html,
www.aljazeera.com, Al Jazeera, 29 Jan. 2013, web.