The Government of the Autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which is home to many migrants stranded at the border between Belarus and Poland, announced on Wednesday that it intends to address the "root causes" of the issues prompting people from the region to migrate. Concerns are rising over the fate of more than two thousand migrants, primarily from the Kurdish population in the Middle East, who are stuck at the border under conditions described by the United Nations as "unbearable," calling for action to address the situation.
Western governments have accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for weeks of exacerbating tensions by issuing visas to migrants and bringing them to the border with Poland, a European Union and NATO member, in retaliation for European sanctions imposed on his country for suppressing opposition movements following the 2020 presidential elections.
Ghotyar Adel, a spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region Government, stated that among the factors driving the youth of the Kurdistan Region to migrate are "regional security issues and global economic stagnation." He added in a statement that "the Kurdistan Region Government is committed to addressing the root causes of this phenomenon" and will form a committee tasked with making recommendations to the government.
The spokesperson emphasized that the regional government "will continue to implement reforms aimed at creating more job opportunities for the youth and improving the living standards for all people in the Kurdistan Region."
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is considered relatively stable, but its authorities are often accused of restricting freedom of expression. For decades, the "Patriotic Union of Kurdistan" and the "Kurdistan Democratic Party" have governed the region. Many Iraqi Kurds have told AFP that economic despair and security instability are driving them to leave.
The statement continued that the Kurdistan Region Government "urges the Iraqi government to help alleviate the situation by ensuring the full transfer of the Kurdistan Region's budget share on time and not withholding public salaries."
