CIAO DATE: 06/2010
May 2010
United States Institute of Peace
It is vital to Iraq’s future that major disputes, such as Kirkuk’s status, be addressed through political and constitutional means. At the same time, the closely divided 2010 election results in Kirkuk underscore that the pursuit of winner-take-all solutions in the province will likely result in continued stalemate. The danger is that in the meantime the situation the ground will deteriorate and claims to Kirkuk might be pursued by other means. This Peace Brief is intended to help Iraqis explore how to break the Kirkuk impasse by applying Article 123 of the Iraqi Constitution to address serious governance ambiguities in the province and negotiate a deliberately open-ended special governorate status for Kirkuk. By not removing any permanent status options from the table, the special governorate model seeks to allow all parties to game some measure of victory without any having to confront definitive defeat.
Resource link: Finding Common Ground: Kirkuk as a Special Governorate [PDF] - 219K