Can Iraq’s Parliamentary Elections Bring Change?

Despite new electoral system and process, elections may deliver far more modest outcomes than the people demand and need.

On October 10, Iraq will hold national parliamentary elections, the fifth national elections since Iraq adopted its 2005 constitution. And despite waning expectations about what these elections might accomplish, they remain an important avenue for pursuing change through peaceful means. Once the new parliament is elected, it will have the task of choosing a new speaker of parliament, president, prime minister and cabinet in what is usually a protracted, months-long process.

Ex-Hizbullah Brigades Senior Member Heads Party Competing In Upcoming Iraqi Elections

Iraqi parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 10, 2021. The elections were moved forward from May 2022, following a popular protest that erupted in 2019, which led to the resignation of the government of Adel Abdul-Mahdi.

In these elections, for the first time, a “rights movement” party will run for power. Known as Harakat Huqouq (Rights Movement), it is headed by Hussein Muanis Faraj Al-Muhammadawi, a former senior member of the Hizbullah Brigades, a Shi’ite militia with close ties to Iran which has perpetrated many terror attacks against the American forces in Iraq. It is not unlikely that this party was established at the behest of Iran, in an attempt to further strengthen its influence in the Iraqi corridors of power.

Helping children forced to fight

In South Sudan’s Yambio county, children and teenagers who were forced to fight during the country’s long civil war are struggling to regain their lives.

Child soldiers are prized by their adult commanders for following orders without understanding the impact of their actions. These young combatants are often traumatized, having been separated from their families and forced into a life of violence and hard labor.

Greece: “The night of the fire I realized that Europe does not have humanity”

One year ago, Europe’s largest camp for displaced people—Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos—was destroyed by several fires that erupted across September 8 and 9, 2020. This tragic event, which left some 12,000 people stranded with no safe place to stay, starkly illustrated the complete failure of the European Union’s (EU) “hotspot” approach to migration.

Ouverture d’un bureau du Haut-commissariat aux droits de l’homme au Faso

Le Haut-Commissariat des Nations unies aux droits de l’homme va ouvrir un bureau au Burkina Faso, pour contribuer à la promotion des droits humains “dans le contexte d’une situation sécuritaire complexe dans la région du Sahel”.

L’accord a été signé par la Haute-Commissaire des Nations unies aux droits de l’homme, Michelle Bachelet, et le ministre des Affaires étrangères, de la Coopération et de l’Intégration africaine du Burkina Faso, Alpha Barry, lors d’une cérémonie au siège du Haut-Commissariat à Genève, selon un communiqué publié mercredi.

Russia ramps up strikes on Islamic State in Syrian desert

Moscow is intensifying its airstrikes on Islamic State targets in the Syrian desert.

ALEPPO — Islamic State attacks in the Syrian desert have escalated over the past two weeks, causing heavy losses among the Syrian government forces and their allied militias.

Russia has intensified airstrikes on IS positions in support of regime forces as they attack IS positions and hideouts in the rugged desert areas.

Iraqi intel service, tribal fighters kill Islamic State commanders

Iraqi national security forces working closely with local tribal fighters say they have managed to kill two key Islamic State figures involved in planning suicide attacks.

ERBIL, Iraq — A man driving a car loaded with explosives who was thought to have been about to attack a police station detonated himself in the regional capital of the Sunni-majority Anbar province, Ramadi, about 100 kilometers west of Baghdad, on Oct. 3.

Why the World’s Eyes Are on the Afghanistan-Tajikistan Border

Afghanistan and Tajikistan share a 1,400-kilometer border. Recently, a war of words has erupted between Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon and the Taliban government in Kabul. Rahmon censures the Taliban for the destabilization of Central Asia by the export of militant groups, while the Taliban leadership has accused Tajikistan’s government of interference.

United States to stay in Syria, top Kurdish politician says

“They said they are going to stay in Syria and will not withdraw – they will keep fighting Islamic State,” Ahmed said. “Before they were unclear under Trump and during the Afghan withdrawal.”

A leading Syrian Kurdish politician said on Thursday the United States will stay on in Syria to destroy Islamic State, build infrastructure and remain a player in the search for a political settlement after more than 10 years of civil war.