Statement by the Assyrian Parliament

Submitted to the United Nations, the European Union, and International Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations

The Assyrian Parliament respectfully submits this statement to the United Nations, the European Union, and relevant international human rights and humanitarian organizations concerning the continued and systematic erosion of the Assyrian people’s national identity, collective rights, and physical presence in their historical homeland, Assyria. (Please refer to Annex 1)

Institutional Clarification

The Assyrian Parliament is a representative national body established through consultative processes involving Assyrian political, civil, cultural, and community stakeholders. It serves to articulate the collective national interests of the Assyrian people and to advocate for their rights under international law. The Assyrian Parliament does not claim state authority, but functions as a legitimate political and advocacy platform grounded in the right of indigenous peoples to self-representation, as affirmed under international human rights instruments.

The Assyrian people constitute one of the oldest indigenous nations of the Middle East, with a continuous historical, cultural, linguistic, and territorial presence in Mesopotamia. In the modern era, the Assyrian people have been subjected to repeated and grave violations of international law, including genocide, crimes against humanity, forced displacement, and structural discrimination.

Between 1914 and 1918, the Assyrian people were subjected to genocide, resulting in the killing of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the destruction of their social and political structures. This pattern of violence continued with the Simele Massacre of 1933, the Soriya massacre of 1962, the Anfal campaigns, and subsequent policies of demographic manipulation and marginalization. These events, taken collectively, demonstrate a persistent failure to protect the Assyrian people’s right to existence, security, and self-determination.

Despite political changes in Iraq after 2003, violations against the Assyrian people have persisted in new and institutionalized forms. Of particular concern is the systematic replacement of the Assyrian national identity with a purely religious classification under labels such as “Christians” or “the Christian component.” This practice constitutes a violation of the right of indigenous peoples to self-identification and to maintain and strengthen their distinct political, legal, cultural, and social institutions, as affirmed under Articles 3, 8, and 33 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

The enforced reduction of the Assyrian people to a religious minority has resulted in the exclusion of their collective national rights from political and legal frameworks. These rights include, inter alia, recognition of Assyria as a historical homeland, restitution of confiscated lands, meaningful political representation, self-administration in Assyrian areas, particularly in the Nineveh Plain, and protection against forced displacement. Instead, Assyrian claims have been confined to limited service-based or symbolic considerations, which fail to address the existential nature of the threat facing the Assyrian people.

In addition to identity erasure and political marginalization, the Assyrian people continue to face violations of their land and property rights in northern Iraq, including in areas administered by the Kurdistan Regional Government. These violations involve the seizure, expropriation, or administrative reallocation of Assyrian lands and villages without due legal process or effective remedy. Of particular concern are documented cases affecting Assyrian villages in the Nineveh region, including the lands of the village of Bakhitmeh Village, where Assyrian properties are reportedly subject to appropriation for redistribution to non-Assyrian actors. Such practices contribute to forced displacement, demographic alteration, and the erosion of the Assyrian people’s presence in their ancestral homeland, in violation of Article 26 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Furthermore, political arrangements that promote leadership structures lacking genuine representative legitimacy within the Assyrian community have contributed to internal fragmentation and weakened the ability of the Assyrian people to advocate collectively for their rights. Such arrangements undermine the principles of free political participation and self-representation enshrined in international human rights law.

The Assyrian Parliament affirms that the Assyrian question is not a religious matter, but a national and indigenous rights issue. It falls squarely within the scope of international human rights law, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, particularly Articles 1 and 27, and established principles concerning minority protection, self-determination, and cultural survival.

Accordingly, the Assyrian Parliament respectfully calls upon the United Nations, the European Union, and relevant international organizations to:

1. Recognize the Assyrian people as an indigenous nation with distinct national, cultural, linguistic, and historical rights.
2. Reject policies and administrative practices that replace Assyrian national identity with religious classification as a means of political marginalization.
3. Support international mechanisms for the restitution of confiscated Assyrian lands and the protection of remaining Assyrian territories, particularly in the Nineveh Plain.
4. Promote political representation frameworks based on Assyrian national identity and genuine community legitimacy rather than sectarian or quota-based systems.
5. Consider the establishment of international monitoring, protection, or reporting mechanisms in Assyrian areas to prevent further displacement and enable the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of displaced Assyrians.
6. Engage directly and consistently with legitimate Assyrian national institutions and representatives in all deliberations affecting the future of the Assyrian people.

The survival of the Assyrian people in their historical homeland has reached a critical juncture. Without principled and timely international engagement, the continued erosion of Assyrian identity, land, and political rights risks becoming irreversible.

The Assyrian Parliament stands ready to cooperate with international institutions in good faith to uphold justice, protect indigenous rights, and ensure that the Assyrian people may live in dignity, security, and self-determination in Assyria.

Assyrian Parliament
January 6, 2026 – 6775