Newly-established Kurdish Faili National Movement: A call to raise awareness of massacres against Failis

Shafaq News/ On Saturday, political, academic, and social figures from the Faili Kurds announced the establishment of the Kurdish Faili National Movement (KFNM) to "end divisions and conflicts and clear the political atmosphere."

At a press conference held in Baghdad, the head of the movement, Judge Munir Haddad, stated, "Following a meeting of Faili Kurdish figures, we are announcing the establishment of the Faili Kurdish National Movement as a political organization dedicated to unifying and securing the independence of the Faili political discourse and decision-making, free from external influences and pressures."

"The movement aims to rebuild the internal unity of the Faili Kurds and genuinely represent their political, economic, and social interests, along with their constitutional, legal, and human rights," he confirmed. "It seeks to fulfill their aspirations for a dignified life, while ensuring their representation and active role in the Iraqi political landscape, with respect for their voting bloc and popular base."

Moreover, Haddad expanded on the movement’s goals, affirming it aims to "establish an organized framework, joint coordination, and constructive dialogue among all active parties in Iraqi society, strengthen Faili political presence, and ensure their participation in national consensus, with genuine, non-marginalized representation in Iraq’s constitutional institutions and public authorities." He added that this would be achieved with the support of the Federal and Kurdistan Regional Governments, and influential political parties involved in the political process.

Haddad further highlighted that the movement "is committed to internationalizing the Faili cause through the International Criminal Court, seeking an international and UN resolution, and presenting the issue at global forums, organizations, and conferences, to raise awareness of the systematic oppression, injustices, massacres, and atrocities committed against the Failis.”

“The ultimate goal is to secure international recognition of these crimes as acts of genocide."

Faili Kurds

Faili Kurds are an ethnic group that historically inhabited both sides of the Zagros mountain range along the Iraq-Iran border. Currently, they hold one seat in the Iraqi parliament. However, in the Kurdistan Region’s Parliament, the Faili Kurds have not been granted their rights under the quota system, unlike other minorities such as Christians and Turkmen, with the reasoning being that they are considered Kurds.

During Saddam Hussein's regime, which spanned nearly three decades, thousands of young Faili Kurds were forcibly relocated to undisclosed destinations, their fates shrouded in uncertainty, with indications suggesting that many perished in custody or were subjected to extrajudicial executions and buried in mass graves.

The Ba'athist regime initiated a concerted campaign in the late 1970s and early 1980s to uproot the Faili Kurds, stripping them of their Iraqi citizenship and seizing their assets. They endured deportation, displacement, arrests, and executions during the tenures of former Presidents Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr in 1970 and 1975, followed by Saddam Hussein in 1980.

In December 2008, the case concerning the Failis was forwarded to the Iraqi High Criminal Court. Following 44 hearings in 2010, the court officially recognized the genocide of the Failis. In 2010, the Supreme Criminal Court rendered its verdict on the crimes of displacement and confiscation of rights perpetrated against the Faili Kurds, unequivocally designating them as acts of genocide.