Attachments
Key Takeaways:
- POLITICS: Government to Impose New Social Media Controls; Parliament Debates New PMF Organization Bill; Vote to Make Halabja a Province Faces New Delays – On March 24, Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission (CMC) said it will establish new controls over digital media content and start collecting fees from influencers based on the size of their audiences. The new regulations, which come ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for October, are part of an effort that “aims to establish a framework that defines standards and procedures for digital content and advertisements on social media platforms,” according to a CMC spokesman. The regulations set standards that influencers must adhere to, including: “respecting national sovereignty, refraining from broadcasting content that undermines Iraq’s reputation or affects its foreign relations, and supporting state security institutions.” Past efforts by the CMC to establish digital media controls in recent years faced strong criticism from free press advocates who viewed them as an attempt to silence dissent. On March 24, Iraq’s parliament conducted a first reading of a new draft law intended to regulate the structure and functions of the Popular Mobilization Committee (PMC) that is in charge of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) paramilitaries. The new draft appears to replace the PMF service and retirement law the government sent to parliament last month but later recalled after it caused a deadlock between different factions within the Coordination Framework. The new brief bill is meant to replace the original PMC Law No. 40 of 2016. It deals mostly with outlining the basic roles and functions of the PMC leadership and associated offices, without providing much detail. Notably, the bill provides for creating a separate military academy to train PMF officers. Importantly, the new bill completely avoids setting a retirement age for senior PMC officials—an issue that has divided the Coordination Framework leaders. On March 26, parliament failed to convene a session to vote on a bill to recognize Halabja as Iraq’s 19th province. Quorum was not reached for the vote, as Shia parties responded to the Halabja proposal with competing calls to also recognize the disputed districts of Tal-Afar and Tuzkhormatu as independent provinces. more…
- SECURITY & HUMANITARIAN: Army and Locals Agree to De-Escalate Following Clashes with YBS in Sinjar – On March 22, Yazidi community leaders and senior army commanders reached an agreement for de-escalation in Sinjar after days of tensions in the disputed district sparked by clashes between army soldiers and militants from the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS). During the clashes, at least four army soldiers and two YBS fighters were injured, and the army arrested five YBS fighters on charges of abducting a civilian. The YBS denied the charges as “baseless allegations,” while YBS supporters organized demonstrations and set up a protest encampment in the town center to demand the release of the captured YBS members. The de-escalation deal provides for ending the protest in exchange for withdrawing army reinforcements that had been deployed to the town center. In other developments, on March 24, Iraqi authorities arrested four Syrian nationals in central Baghdad on charges of using social media to “promote and glorify” al-Nusra Front and other groups that Iraq regards as terrorist entities. On March 26, an improvised explosive device detonated outside the home of an Iraqi judge in Maysan province. On March 27, an explosive remnant of war detonated amidst scrap metal, killing a laborer in Wasit province. more…
- ECONOMY & CLIMATE: Iraq Acknowledges Iran’s Use of Fake Documents in Oil Smuggling; Government Ratifies Deal with BP to Develop Kirkuk Oil – On March 23, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdulghani acknowledged that Iranian oil tankers have been using forged Iraqi documents to evade U.S. sanctions, adding that Iraq has informed the U.S. about the issue. The remarks came days after the Iraqi navy seized a transport ship with an Iranian captain on suspicion that it was engaged in fuel smuggling inside Iraqi territorial water. According to Abdulghani, Baghdad has received “verbal inquiries about oil tankers being detained in the Gulf by U.S. naval forces carrying Iraqi shipping manifests…It turned out that these tankers were Iranian … and were using forged Iraqi documents.” On March 26, giant oil company BP said it has received “final government ratification” for its agreement with Iraq’s North Oil and North Gas Companies for the redevelopment of four oil fields in Kirkuk. This agreement, whose contractual details were formulated earlier this year, covers the Avana and Baba domes of the Kirkuk oil field, as well as the nearby oil fields of Khabbaz, Jambur, and Bai Hassan. The deal aims to increase Kirkuk’s oil output to 420,000 barrels per day (bpd), capture 400 million cubic feet per day of natural gas, and build a 400MW power plant. On March 24, Iraq’s Border Ports Commission said the TIR (or International Road Transport) system will become active in Iraq on April 1, promising an overland transit route between Europe and the Gulf that’s faster and cheaper than the Red Sea route. On March 27, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said that crude oil exports during February averaged 3.39 million bpd, about 60,000 bpd more than in January. more…
For more background on most of the institutions, key actors, political parties, and locations mentioned in our takeaways or in the stories that follow, see the ISHM Reference Guide.