Kurdistan Regional Government
UK Border Agency
Compte d'auteur
This Country of Origin Information Report (COI Report) has been produced by COI Service, United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA), for use by officials involved in the asylum/human rights determination process. The Report provides general background information about the issues most commonly raised in asylum/human rights claims made in the United Kingdom. The main body of the report includes information available up to 5 May 2009. The ‘Latest News’ section contains further brief information on events and reports accessed from 6 May to 20 May 2009. The report was issued on 21 May 2009.
ii The Report is compiled wholly from material produced by a wide range of recognised external information sources and does not contain any UKBA opinion or policy. All information ...
Contents
Preface
Latest News
Events in KRG from 6 may 2009 to 20 May 2009
Reports on KRG Published or Accessed Between 6 May 2009 and 20 May 2009
Paragraphs
Background Information
1. Geography / 1.01
Dahuk / 1.07
Erbil / 1.08
Sulaymaniah / 1.09
Maps / 1.10
2. Economy / 2.01
3. History / 3.01
4. Recent developments / 4.01
5. Constitution / 5.01
6. Political system / 6.01
Kurdistan Regional Government / 6.02
Relationship between the KRG and Government of Iraq / 6.04
Presidency / 6.07
Kurdistan National Assembly / 6.09
Elections / 6.14
Human Rights
7. Introduction / 7.01
8. Security situation / 8.01
9. Security forces / 9.01
Overview / 9.01
Peshmerga / 9.07
KRG police / 9.14
Asayeesh (Asayish) / 9.19
Arbitrary arrest, detention and torture by security forces / 9.24
Avenues of complaint / 9.38
10. Judiciary / 10.01
Religious and tribal law / 10.08
11. Arrest and detention – legal rights / 11.01
12. Prison conditions / 12.01
13. Death penalty / 13.01
14. Political affiliation / 14.01
Freedom of political expression / 14.01
Freedom of association and assembly / 14.04
Opposition groups and political activists / 14.07
15. Freedom of speech and media / 15.01
Newspapers, radio and television / 15.03
Internet / 15.08
Journalists / 15.09
16. Human rights institutions, organisations and activists / 16.01
17. Corruption / 17.01
18. Freedom of religion / 18.01
Non-Muslim religious groups / 18.03
Christians / 18.06
Yazidis / 18.16
Sabean Mandaeans / 18.21
Kaka’i / 18.24
Shabaks / 18.25
19. Ethnic groups / 19.01
Map / 19.04
Kurds / 19.05
Arabs / 19.07
Turkmens / 19.08
20. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons / 20.01
Legal rights / 20.05
21. Women / 21.01
Legal rights / 21.03
Political rights / 21.07
Social and economic rights / 21.09
Violence against women / 21.12
Domestic violence / 21.21
Sexual violence and abuse / 21.25
'Honour' killings/crimes / 21.26
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) / 21.36
Forced marriage / 21.40
Women’s shelters / 21.42
Prostitution / 21.45
22. Children / 22.01
Overview / 22.01
Child abuse / 22.02
Child labour / 22.03
Legislative framework / 22.05
Education / 22.06
Child care: orphans and street children / 22.12
Child soldiers / 22.15
23. Trafficking / 23.01
24. Medical issues / 24.01
Drugs and medical equipment / 24.08
Doctors and healthcare workers / 24.10
HIV/AIDS – anti-retroviral treatment / 24.13
Mental health / 24.15
25. Humanitarian issues / 25.01
Landmines/unexploded ordnance (UXO) / 25.04
26. Freedom of movement / 26.01
Transport infrastructure / 26.01
Access to KRG area / 26.08
Documentation for travel within Iraq / 26.18
Treatment of returned failed asylum seekers / 26.23
27. Internally displaced people (IDPS) / 27.01
28. Foreign refugees / 28.01
29. Citizenship and nationality / 29.01
30. Social welfare / 30.01
The main text of this COI Report contains the most up-to-date publicly available information as at 5 May 2009.
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section to 20 May 2009.
Annexes
Annex A – Chronology of major events
Annex B – Political organisations
Annex C – Prominent people
Annex D – Current insurgent/militia groups
Annex E – List of abbreviations
Annex F – References to source material
PREFACE
i This Country of Origin Information Report (COI Report) has been produced by COI Service, United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA), for use by officials involved in the asylum/human rights determination process. The Report provides general background information about the issues most commonly raised in asylum/human rights claims made in the United Kingdom. The main body of the report includes information available up to 5 May 2009. The ‘Latest News’ section contains further brief information on events and reports accessed from 6 May to 20 May 2009. The report was issued on 21 May 2009.
ii The Report is compiled wholly from material produced by a wide range of recognised external information sources and does not contain any UKBA opinion or policy. All information in the Report is attributed, throughout the text, to the original source material, which is made available to those working in the asylum/human rights determination process.
iii The Report aims to provide a brief summary of the source material identified, focusing on the main issues raised in asylum and human rights applications. It is not intended to be a detailed or comprehensive survey. For a more detailed account, the relevant source documents should be examined directly.
iv The structure and format of the COI Report reflects the way it is used by UKBA decision makers and appeals presenting officers, who require quick electronic access to information on specific issues and use the contents page to go directly to the subject required. Key issues are usually covered in some depth within a dedicated section, but may also be referred to briefly in several other sections. Some repetition is therefore inherent in the structure of the Report.
v The information included in this COI Report is limited to that which can be identified from source documents. While every effort is made to cover all relevant aspects of a particular topic, it is not always possible to obtain the information concerned. For this reason, it is important to note that information included in the Report should not be taken to imply anything beyond what is actually stated. For example, if it is stated that a particular law has been passed, this should not be taken to imply that it has been effectively implemented unless stated.
vi As noted above, the Report is a collation of material produced by a number of reliable information sources. In compiling the Report, no attempt has been made to resolve discrepancies between information provided in different source documents. For example, different source documents often contain different versions of names and spellings of individuals, places and political parties, etc. COI Reports do not aim to bring consistency of spelling, but to reflect faithfully the spellings used in the original source documents. Similarly, figures given in different source documents sometimes vary and these are simply quoted as per the original text. The term ‘sic’ has been used in this document only to denote incorrect spellings or typographical errors in quoted text; its use is not intended to imply any comment on the content of the material.
vii The Report is based substantially upon source documents issued during the previous two years. However, some older source documents may have been included because they contain relevant information not available in more recent documents. All sources contain information considered relevant at the time this Report was issued.
viii This COI Report and the accompanying source material are public documents. All COI Reports are published on the RDS section of the Home Office website and the great majority of the source material for the Report is readily available in the public domain. Where the source documents identified in the Report are available in electronic form, the relevant web link has been included, together with the date that the link was accessed. Copies of less accessible source documents, such as those provided by government offices or subscription services, are available from the COI Service upon request.
ix COI Reports are published regularly on the top 20 asylum intake countries. COI Key Documents are produced on lower asylum intake countries according to operational need. UKBA officials also have constant access to an information request service for specific enquiries.
x In producing this COI Report, COI Service has sought to provide an accurate, balanced summary of the available source material. Any comments regarding this Report or suggestions for additional source material are very welcome and should be submitted to UKBA as below.
Country of Origin Information Service
UK Border Agency
Apollo House
36 Wellesley Road
Croydon CR9 3RR
United Kingdom
Email: cois@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/country_reports.html
Advisory panel on country information
xi The independent Advisory Panel on Country Information (APCI) was established in 2003 to make recommendations to the Home Secretary about the content of the UKBA’s country of origin information material. The APCI reviewed a number of UKBA’s reports and published its findings on its website at www.apci.org.uk Since October 2008, the work of the APCI has been taken forward by the Chief Inspector of UKBA.
UK Border Agency
Kurdistan Regional Government
Compte d'auteur
Compte d'auteur
Country of origin information report
Kurdistan regional government area of Iraq
Home Office UK Border Agency
21 MAY 2009
UK Border Agency
Country of Origin Information Service
