Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court ruling of February 2024 on the removal of 11 quota seats for ethnic and religious minorities within the Kurdistan Region Parliament.

Promotion of the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is a longstanding priority for the UK. We frequently raise ethnic and religious minorities with the Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government, calling for greater protection and deeper inclusion in national and local government.

Although we welcome the announcement that Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) elections will be held on 10 June, we continue to assess the implications of the rulings by the Federal Supreme Court to remove 11 quota seats for ethnic and religious minorities.