ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - President Masoud Barzani on Thursday received a "high papal decoration" for promoting peace, his office said in a statement, noting the award followed a formal request to the Vatican by Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, the Chaldean Catholic Church's Patriarch Emeritus in Iraq, in recognition of the preeminent Kurdish leader's role in protecting Christian and other ethnic and religious communities.
Sako presented President Barzani with the decoration, expressing appreciation for his "role in deepening the values of coexistence and humanity, and in consolidating peace and stability across Kurdistan, Iraq, and the broader region," according to a statement from the Barzani Headquarters.
The Patriarch Emeritus revealed that he had "formally requested the Vatican grant President Barzani the high papal decoration in recognition of his distinguished role in advancing peace and upholding humanitarian values,” further lauding the preeminent Kurdish leader’s “steadfast positions in protecting the Christian community and other national and religious minorities in Kurdistan and Iraq.”
He further emphasized the importance of "preserving the values of brotherhood and cohesion among Kurdistan's diverse communities," noting that a person's true measure lies in their conduct and actions rather than their beliefs or religious affiliation.
The Kurdistan Region has long served as a refuge for persecuted communities - a role that came into sharp relief during the Islamic State's (ISIS) 2014 blitz offensive, which saw the group seize vast swathes of territory across northern and western Iraq.
ISIS's systematic persecution of minorities - including Christians, Turkmen, Shabak, and Yazidis - drove hundreds of thousands to flee, with many finding shelter in Kurdistan's Erbil and Duhok provinces.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Um al-Nour - Mother of Light - Church in Erbil's Christian-majority Ankawa district in late 2025, Mor Nicodemus Daoud Matti Sharaf, the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Mosul, recalled that when displaced Christians arrived to Kurdistan in 2014, President Barzani told them, “Do not be saddened. You are not our guests; you are in your own home and land.”
“Whatever happens to you, happens to us. Whether we live together or die together, we will be together,” the preeminent Kurdish leader then stated.
Prior to 2014, the Kurdistan Region has since 2003 served as a sanctuary for many of Iraq’s ethnic and religious minorities due to its relative stability and security amid broader violence and sectarian conflict in Iraq.
The Region’s political system has also made institutional efforts to include minorities - most notably through a quota system in the Kurdish legislature. This system reserves a specific number of seats for minority groups, including Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac Christians, along with Turkmen and Armenians, to ensure their political voice is heard.
