2023-01-04T14:31:38.000000 On Wednesday, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani, and the United Nations issued a joint declaration on the decision to approve the Yazidis home ownership rights for their houses in Sinjar after 47 years of deprivation.

The following is the main statement released by the PMs media office: Because of discriminatory policies, about a quarter of a million Iraqi Yazidi residents in Sinjar district of Nineveh Governorate have actually not been allowed to own their houses and residential lands considering that 1975.

On December 12, 2022, the Iraqi Council of Ministers authorized a decree providing a thorough and long-term service for the Yazidis in Sinjar.

The decree grants ownership of residential lands and homes in 11 residential complexes to their occupants.

The property complexes are: Khansour (Tamim), Dughri (Hateen), Burk (Yarmouk).

), Gohbel (Andulus), Zorafa (Al-Urouba) and Dhola (Al-Qadisiyah), in the north district/ Sinjar district.

And the complexes of Tal Qasab (Al-Baath) and Tal Banat (Al-Walid) in Al-Qayrawan district/ Sinjar district.

And the complexes: Tal Uzair (Al-Qahtaniyah), Siba Sheikhari (Al-Jazeera), and Karzark (Al-Adnaniya), Al-Qahtaniyah district/ Al-Baaj district/ Nineveh governorate.The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mr.

Mohammed S.

Al-Sudani, said, The Iraqi governments choice to grant Yazidi Iraqis ownership of their homes in Sinjar, which they have been rejected for more than 47 years due to the unfair exclusionary policies by the previous dictatorial regime, can be found in the context of the Iraqi governments clear and explicit undertaking, to safeguard the rights of the Iraqi components, specifically the cherished Yazidi community in Sinjar and the Nineveh Plain, worrying that this choice, was among the firm convictions of the Iraqi state, and it was reviewed and provided in collaboration with UN-Habitat.

The Iraqi Prime Minister verified, This determination was clear and was demonstrated in the federal government program and the ministerial agenda that we presented and which the Iraqi parliament authorized.

Stressing that this decision, along with other decisions that will be taken later on within the Prime Ministers agenda, all focus on safeguarding the rights of the kids of these respectable Iraqi components, embracing them, and ensuring their rights within the concept of complete citizenship, justice and equality.

For her part, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Ms.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, invited the decisive action taken by the Iraqi Council of Ministers, which ultimately led to providing protected period for thousands of Yazidis with regard to their rights to housing, land and home ownership.

She included, The decree makes up a main recognition of the ownership of their lands and homes and ends years of discrimination, and we hope that it will alleviate the suffering of the Yazidis and motivate their go back to Sinjar/ Nineveh.

The Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Ms.

Maimunah Mohd Sharif, commended the Iraqi Prime Ministers recommendation of the long-awaited decree for granting residential or commercial property ownership rights to the Yazidi minority in Sinjar, stressing that this decision is a fantastic achievement for Iraq, which is making considerable efforts to secure and appreciate human rights relating to supplying appropriate housing.

The Executive Director of UN-Habitat added, Iraqi Yazidis in Sinjar have suffered continued discrimination, denying them the rights for real estate, land and property ownership, and documents.

The Executive Director of UN-Habitat stressed that This action by the Iraqi federal government is a promising and motivating step due to the fact that it enhances access to land rights for the marginalized population in Iraq and develops fantastic momentum for the population in the towns of Sinjar to acquire land ownership rights, for the first time in almost 47 years.Since 2018, UN-Habitat has been dealing with the land and home rights of the Yazidi minority in Sinjar by signing up more than 14,500 certificate title applications and issuing land tenancy certificates to prove the tenancy rights of the Yazidis, using modern-day digital innovations, with the goal of supporting the Yazidis ownership rights.UN-Habitat will work closely with the pertinent organizations and committees formed by the respected Iraqi government to help to speed up the process of signing up ownership and issuing full ownership titles for the houses covered by this decision.