Iraq’s presidency urges UN to recognize Anfal campaign as genocide

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Presidency on Sunday marked the 37th anniversary of the Anfal campaign with a renewed call for the United Nations to officially recognize the atrocities as genocide under international law.

“We also stress the importance of our permanent mission to the United Nations making the necessary efforts to have this crime included among the international crimes of genocide and officially recognized by the United Nations,” the Presidency said in a statement.

The Anfal campaign, carried out by Saddam Hussein’s regime in the late 1980s, targeted Iraq’s Kurdish population and resulted in the deaths of more than 180,000 people, including children, the elderly, and entire families. Tens of thousands were executed, buried in mass graves, or died as villages were destroyed.

The Presidency also called on Iraq’s parliament to pass legislation compensating the victims’ families, both materially and morally, and reiterated that the campaign remains “one of the crimes of genocide.”

The anniversary is observed each year as a day of mourning and remembrance for victims, as well as a call for justice and international recognition of one of the most brutal chapters in Iraq’s modern history.

Full statement by Iraq’s Presidency:

On the anniversary of the heinous Anfal crime committed by the defunct regime against the Kurdish people, which led to the martyrdom of more than 180,000 individuals including children, youth, and the elderly, we strongly condemn this atrocious crime and reaffirm our stance in considering it one of the crimes of genocide.

We remember with deep sorrow those pure souls and believe that the blood of the martyrs is the foundational pillar upon which our democratic system is built. We call on the Council of Representatives to pass a law to compensate the families of the Anfal victims both materially and morally, while emphasizing the need to recognize the Anfal crime as an international genocide. We also stress the importance of our permanent mission to the United Nations making the necessary efforts to have this crime included among the international crimes of genocide and officially recognized by the United Nations.

The federal parliamentary democratic system in Iraq is considered a distinguished model in the region and a source of pride for all Iraqi people. All Iraqis, foremost among them our people in the Kurdistan Region, have suffered under the tyranny of the dictatorial regime, which was not only a danger to neighboring countries and regional peace, but also a direct threat to the Iraqi people.

We call on all Iraqis — Arabs, Kurds, Shiites, Sunnis, Christians, Turkmen, and all other components — to unite and uphold our democratic system, which guarantees peace, justice, and coexistence among all segments of Iraqi society.