Decades of neglect
Iraqi parliament to address compensation for Halabja chemical attack victims
BAGHDAD — Eighty-five members of the Iraqi Parliament have gathered signatures to seek compensation for victims of the Halabja chemical attack.
Officially recognized as a governorate by the Kurdistan Regional Government, Halabja is located near the Iran border, approximately 83 kilometers southeast of Sulaymaniyah.
The chemical attack on March 16, 1988, ranks as one of the deadliest assaults using chemical weapons against civilians. Iraqi forces, under Saddam Hussein, bombarded Halabja with lethal gases, resulting in the immediate deaths of more than 5,000 people and injuring over 10,000. Many survivors still endure long-term effects from chemical exposure.
Chro Hama Sharif, a member of the Iraqi Parliament, told 964media that they are urging the Parliament to pass a resolution on compensating the victims and that the Iraqi government must commit to its implementation.
“It has been 36 years since that crime, and the Iraqi government has yet to take any steps or create any plans to reclaim the rights and compensations of the victims, which concerns the people of Halabja and Kurdistan,” Sharif said.
Records indicate that a total of 808 individuals across the Kurdistan Region are officially recognized as victims of the chemical attacks, with the majority suffering from chronic conditions affecting their eyes and respiratory systems.
Since 2003, the death toll among these victims has reached 119.
Despite multiple requests for compensation for Halabja’s victims, no resolution has been passed yet.
“The compensation should be both material and moral, and the Iraqi government should officially apologize to the city of Halabja,” the parliamentarian emphasized.
The chemical weapons used included mustard gas and nerve agents such as sarin, tabun, and VX, which caused immediate deaths by asphyxiation, skin burns, and blisters, impaired vision, breathing difficulties, and long-term medical effects like permanent blindness, respiratory disorders, and various forms of cancer.
Decades later, the community still grapples with the physical and psychological aftermath.
On the 36th anniversary of the attack this year, Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani criticized the Iraqi government’s reluctance to compensate the victims’ families and officially recognize the magnitude of Halabja’s suffering. In his statement on the anniversary, Barzani pointed out, “It is deeply regrettable that after the fall of the previous regime, successive Iraqi governments are not ready to compensate the families of the martyrs of Halabja.” He highlights the ongoing frustration over the inaction of successive governments and the international community’s silence at the time of the attack.