Kirkuk agriculture halts land contract renewals, returns to original owners
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kirkuk agriculture directorate has instructed its branches to stop renewing contracts for lands seized under the former regime’s northern affairs decisions, in a move affecting nearly 1,250 square kilometers of landacross the province.
An official document issued on Thursday by the general directorate of agriculture in Kirkuk was sent to agricultural departments in Altun Kupri, Shwan, Sargaran, Yaychi, Qarahanjir, and the Kirkuk central district. It orders the cancellation of land contracts covered by Decision No. 29 of 2012.
The Iraqi government’s Decision No. 29 of 2012 annulled land transfer decisions carried out for seizure purposes in disputed territories between the federal government and the Kurdistan regional Government (KRG) under the former regime’s northern affairs bureau.
Abdullah Mirwais, head of the agriculture committee in the Kirkuk provincial council, told Rudaw that the decision applies to agricultural lands totaling between 460,000 and 500,000 dunams in those areas. A dunam is 2,500 square meters.
Land disputes between Arab settlers and Kurdish farmers in Kirkuk and surrounding areas date back to the Baath era under the toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
According to Mirwais, the lands must be returned to their original owners, noting that some of the areas are predominantly Kurdish, while others have mixed Kurdish and Arab populations.
He said the latest step is meant to ensure that lands covered by Decision No. 29 are restored to their rightful owners, explaining that owners can begin legal procedures through the real estate registration office to prove ownership, after which their files will be referred to the general directorate of agriculture.
The directive also warns that any agricultural department failing to terminate contracts covered by Decision No. 29 will be held legally responsible for the consequences.
In 1975, a number of Kurdish villages in Kirkuk were declared prohibited oil zones, and residents were stripped of their land rights. By 1977, the Baath Supreme Revolutionary Court had redistributed those lands to Arab settlers under agricultural contracts.
Iraq’s parliament in January 2025 passed a land restitution law aimed at returning property confiscated from Kurds and Turkmen during the Baath era. The legislation covers approximately 300,000 dunams (around 750 square kilometers) in Kirkuk and other disputed areas and follows a July 2023 federal government decision to revoke Baath-era agricultural contracts.
An official document issued on Thursday by the general directorate of agriculture in Kirkuk was sent to agricultural departments in Altun Kupri, Shwan, Sargaran, Yaychi, Qarahanjir, and the Kirkuk central district. It orders the cancellation of land contracts covered by Decision No. 29 of 2012.
The Iraqi government’s Decision No. 29 of 2012 annulled land transfer decisions carried out for seizure purposes in disputed territories between the federal government and the Kurdistan regional Government (KRG) under the former regime’s northern affairs bureau.
Abdullah Mirwais, head of the agriculture committee in the Kirkuk provincial council, told Rudaw that the decision applies to agricultural lands totaling between 460,000 and 500,000 dunams in those areas. A dunam is 2,500 square meters.
Land disputes between Arab settlers and Kurdish farmers in Kirkuk and surrounding areas date back to the Baath era under the toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
According to Mirwais, the lands must be returned to their original owners, noting that some of the areas are predominantly Kurdish, while others have mixed Kurdish and Arab populations.
He said the latest step is meant to ensure that lands covered by Decision No. 29 are restored to their rightful owners, explaining that owners can begin legal procedures through the real estate registration office to prove ownership, after which their files will be referred to the general directorate of agriculture.
The directive also warns that any agricultural department failing to terminate contracts covered by Decision No. 29 will be held legally responsible for the consequences.
In 1975, a number of Kurdish villages in Kirkuk were declared prohibited oil zones, and residents were stripped of their land rights. By 1977, the Baath Supreme Revolutionary Court had redistributed those lands to Arab settlers under agricultural contracts.
Iraq’s parliament in January 2025 passed a land restitution law aimed at returning property confiscated from Kurds and Turkmen during the Baath era. The legislation covers approximately 300,000 dunams (around 750 square kilometers) in Kirkuk and other disputed areas and follows a July 2023 federal government decision to revoke Baath-era agricultural contracts.