The Iraqi parliament voted this week on a law that would recognize Halabja as a province in Iraq. The parliament passed the law, which is the final part of the process of creating this new province. The province is mostly Kurdish and is an important symbol for Kurds.
This would mean Iraq would have 19 provinces in total. The draft was submitted by the Regions and Governorates Committee. The office of Iraq’s president said the move was a “historic step, long-awaited recognition, deserved entitlement, and a positive step toward achieving justice and honoring the blood of the martyrs.”
In 1988, the Saddam Hussein regime used poison gas in an attack on Halabja, killing thousands of people. It was part of the wider Anfal genocide against the Kurds in Iraq by the Saddam regime. Halabja is a Kurdish area in northern Iraq.
Rudaw News, a Kurdish channel, noted on April 15 that “Kurdish leaders and officials on Monday hailed the recognition of Halabja as Iraq’s 19th province as a long-overdue act of justice and a tribute to the city’s sacrifices.” Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid added his “warmest congratulations to our people in Halabja province on the occasion of the esteemed Parliament's approval of the law granting Halabja provincial status.” Iraq’s president is Kurdish.
Step towards justice
“We see this historic step as a long-awaited justice and a positive step towards achieving justice and retribution for the blood of the martyrs who fell in the most heinous crime known to modern history,” Rashid added. The law has been in the works for many years. Back in 2013, the Iraqi Council of Ministers had approved this proposal. The Kurdistan Regional Government of northern Iraq, which is autonomous, has viewed Halabja as a province since 2014. In 2018, Iraq’s Ministry of Interior moved forward to support this status.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Monday spoke about the importance of Halabja and it becoming a province, calling it a “a source of great joy for us and for all the people of Kurdistan.” He hoped “for a better life, development, reconstruction, and progress for Halabja in all areas.” KRG President Barzani added, “we had already begun the process of recognizing it [Halabja] as the fourth province in the Kurdistan Region.”
The Office of the First Lady of Iraq put out a statement about the decision.
“Today is a historic and long-overdue moment for the people of Halabja. With the passage of this bill, the Iraqi Parliament has taken a just and conscientious step—formally recognizing Halabja as Iraq’s 19th province. This is more than an administrative decision; it is an acknowledgment of the sacrifices of the people of Halabja and the justice they have long awaited,” she wrote. “The scars of the 1988 chemical attack remain, but today marks the beginning of a new chapter—one of recognition, rights, and the promise of a better future. As spring arrives, the people of Halabja welcome this long-awaited recognition, embracing it as a symbol of renewal and hope.”
The decision comes as Kurds continue to mourn the Anfal genocide and seek answers from that dark era. Rudaw reported on April 15 that “two Swedish members of parliament from the Social Democrats (S) political party, Ola Moller and Kadir Kasirga, on Monday attended a memorial ceremony for victims of the Anfal campaign in Duhok province, north of the Kurdistan Region.”
Another article on April 15 noted that “survivors of the Anfal genocide campaign and their families on Monday marked its 37th anniversary by calling on authorities to return the remains of their loved ones and provide long-overdue compensation, as commemorations were held across the Kurdistan Region.”
