For decades under the former Iraqi regime, the people of Kurdistan endured crimes including genocide, forced displacement, and the systematic erasure of their identity. Official assessments estimate the financial and human damages at hundreds of billions of dollars, yet the federal government has not fulfilled its obligation to compensate the victims.
The Kurds have faced multiple atrocities over the years. In 1970, around 300,000 Feyli Kurds were forcibly deported to Iran, with 9,000 young members disappearing and their property seized. In 1983, approximately 8,000 men and youths of the Barzani tribe were buried alive in southern Iraq. The regime used chemical weapons in Balisan and Sheikh Wasan in 1987, killing 134 civilians and burying 82 wounded men alive. The Anfal campaign of 1988 resulted in the disappearance of 182,000 civilians and the destruction of 4,500 villages. That same year, the city of Halabja suffered a chemical attack on 16 March, killing 5,000 people and injuring 10,000 others.
Financial and scientific evaluations estimate the total damages to the Kurdistan Region at over USD 384 billion, including human losses of USD 306 billion, material losses of USD 33 billion, environmental and indirect damages of USD 10 billion, losses from systematic marginalization of USD 30 billion, and reconstruction costs of USD 5 billion.
Articles 112 and 132 of the Iraqi Federal Constitution mandate that the federal government compensate those affected by the previous regime, including the people of Kurdistan. More than 23 years after the regime’s fall, no substantive compensation has been provided.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) continues its legal and diplomatic efforts to enforce these constitutional rights. It calls on the federal government and the international community to fulfill their legal and moral obligations and ensure justice for the people of Kurdistan.
