Mediaboss Marketing

The House next week will vote on a measure to repeal the 2002 law authorizing the president to use military force in Iraq after years of complaints by lawmakers that the authority is outdated and no longer needed.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced Thursday that the House would take up Rep. Barbara Lee's bill to claw back the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq. Congress passed the law nearly two decades ago to give then-President George W. Bush the green light to launch U.S. military operations in Iraq, where it was believed Saddam Hussein was concealing weapons of mass destruction.

The House passed a similar measure in the last Congress, most recently by including it in a major defense bill, but it was later stripped out.

The legislation now stands a much greater chance of success in part because the Senate is under the control of Democrats, and President Joe Biden said he wants to work with Congress to rewrite the 2002 AUMF, as well as one passed in 2001.

Democrats say the 2002 authorization serves no purpose.

"It is not needed for any current operations, including in Iraq," Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, wrote to the Democratic caucus on Thursday. "Repeal of this unnecessary authority is long overdue."

Democrats have been increasingly intent on repealing the AUMF, arguing that it gives the president too much authority to use military force overseas without first consulting with Congress.

Republican support has also increased. Two GOP lawmakers voted in committee to advance the repeal measure, and other Republicans say they agree with the need to revise the nearly two-decades-old authorization.

A similar Senate measure has the backing of five Republicans. The Senate bill would also repeal the 1991 AUMF, which authorized then-President George H.W. Bush to use military force in Iraq after it invaded Kuwait.

The legislation, however, would not repeal the 2001 AUMF, which provided President George W. Bush the authority to launch military operations in Afghanistan in the days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Hoyer pointed out to lawmakers Thursday that military operations against terrorist groups in the region "are conducted under the 2001 AUMF."

Original Location: House next week will vote to repeal 2002 Iraq war powers authority

Read the original:
House next week will vote to repeal 2002 Iraq war powers authority - Denver Gazette

By the time he came to Columbia to study for his masters degree in Human Rights, Amir Ashour (GSAS18) had already founded IraQueer, Iraqs first national LGBTQ+ organization. Ashour, a gay Iraqi himself who is currently living in Sweden before starting his law studies at Harvard, launched the organization in 2014 to lead our own movement and own our future.

IraQueer started as an online platform aiming at simply sharing information about and for queer Iraqis, but within months, it turned into a registered human rights organization, Ashour said. What started with one person is now an internationally recognized organization that is often quoted by governments like the Netherlands, U.S., France, UK, and others.

This Pride Month, Columbia News is highlighting LGBTQ+ Columbians who are making waves at home and around the world. Learn a little more about Ashour and his work with IraQueer below and dont forget to check out our list of ways you can celebrate Pride at Columbia this year.

Growing up in Iraq was difficult for me. Being gay in a society that doesnt even recognize the existence of queer people made it difficult for me to even try and understand who I am. It was not until I was in high school and started researching more about queer people that I started to know what me being attracted to male classmates meant!

Quickly after, I started volunteering and working for organizations, some of which supported LGBTQ+ people. Those opportunities became the main focus of my life. I came out to my mother and two sisters about seven years ago, luckily, they were all supportive and continue to be my biggest advocates.

A week after I came out to them, I came out to the world in an interview with the Huffington Post. Since then, I lost touch with every single member of my extended family and many of my high school and college friends. I wont pretend that it didn't hurt my feelings and had no impact on me, however, I am happier today living my life the way that works for me. I am also grateful to have people whom I consider to be my chosen family, whether it's my partner and dog, my friends, some of whom I met at Columbia, or the mentors and colleagues that Ive worked with and learned from for the past 12 years.

Sadly, the misconception about LGBTQ+ people in Iraq and the MENA Region in general is that we all reject our identities and struggle with who we are. While this is certainly true for a large group of people, there are a lot of amazing queer people in Iraq who are powerful examples for others around them. Most of them are not public about who they are for security reasons, but still do a lot of amazing work. That being said, I do not want to minimize the harsh reality we all lived in growing up there. Too many LGBTQ+ Iraqis face threats, physical and verbal abuse, and even death simply for being born.

Read more here:
This Columbia Alumnus Is Making Waves as the Founder of the First LGBTQ+ Organization in Iraq - Columbia University

The potato harvest in Iraq has started. Staff of the Beirut Erbil Potato Processing Company (B.E.P.P. Co) - known in Iraq for their potato chips brands Mito and Mr, Krisper, but active throughout the entire potato supply chain - are working hard in various regions of Iraq from Karbala to Diyala to Al-Rabiah, Dohuk, Erbil, and beyond.

The company has imported seed potatoes from well-known global sources and is the exclusive distributor for several international companies such as such as Agrico, IPM, The Potato Company (TPC), Norika and Meijer Seed potato.

BEPP Co offers potato varieties such as:

The company imported 14,000 tons of seed potatoes belonging to the above-mentioned companies.

The company cultivates its fields geographically distributed over the entire area of Iraq using the latest agricultural mechanization tools such as planting machines, fertilizer machines, harvesting machines, huge bag filling machines, and box fillers.

Potato harvest in southern Iraq 2/6/2021

Go here to see the original:
Potato harvest in Iraq and the Kurdistan region has started - PotatoPro

The Parliament of the Republic of Iraq ratified on 4 March 2021 the long-awaited law on the accession of Iraq to The New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the New York Convention) and the law (the New York Convention Law) was published in the Iraqi official gazette on 31 May 2021 (the Date of Entry into Force).

Back in February 2018, the Iraqi Cabinet had endorsed Iraqs accession to the New York Convention, in an effort to affirm to the international community Iraqs intention to provide legal protection to foreign investors. Full accession however had remained subject to ratification by the Parliament. Article 12 of the New York Convention states that the Convention enters into force for a State acceding to it on the ninetieth day after the State deposits its instrument of accession. On 23 March 2021, an announcement was published on the official website of the New York Convention which read that "Iraq becomes the 168th State Party to the New York Convention" and that "the Convention will enter into force for Iraq once the law is published in Iraqs official gazette".

The Law was published in the Iraqi Official Gazette on 31 May 2021 and provides that it enters into effect upon publication.

The Law as published in the Iraqi Official Gazette states that Iraq accedes to the New York Convention with the following reservations:

The Conventions provisions are inapplicable towards Iraq on arbitral awards rendered prior to the Date of Entry into Force (non-retroactivity exception)

The Convention is inapplicable in relation to recognition and enforceability of awards rendered in other Member States unless other Member States recognize and enforce arbitral awards rendered in Iraq. (condition of reciprocity)

The Convention is inapplicable by the Republic of Iraq except on conflicts arising from contractual and non-contractual relations which are considered commercial under Iraqi Law. (condition of commercial relations)

The arbitration procedures applicable in Iraq are governed by the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law of 1969 (the CCP). Arbitral awards are enforceable before the relevant Iraqi execution authorities only when the competent (local) court accepts the award, based on request by one of the parties to the arbitration. According to the relevant provisions of the CCP, parties to the arbitration may plead for the annulment of the arbitral award, or the competent court may do so on its own, in the following instances:

If the arbitral award was not made in writing or the arbitral agreement is invalid;

If the arbitral tribunal exceeded its agreed-upon powers;

If the arbitral award violates public policy and morals, or provisions of the arbitration law found in the CCP;

If reasons for retrial have emerged; or

If there was a material error in the arbitral award rendered or in the arbitral proceedings and this material error affects the validity of the arbitral award.

Application in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

It is worth noting that the Iraqi New York Convention Law is a legal instrument of federal Iraq, and it remains to be seen whether foreign arbitral awards would find their way to local enforcement in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq based on Iraqs accession to the New York Convention. Article 110.1 of Iraqi Constitution provides exclusive authorities to the Federal government in ratifying international treaties. Furthermore, Article 115 of the Constitution can be understood to mean that the Kurdish government can only legislate in two respects:

in areas not exclusively committed to the federal government (as listed in Article 110 of the Constitution); and

in areas over which authority is shared between the federal and regional governments (those "shared" areas are listed in Articles 112 to 114 of the Constitution).

See more here:
Iraq Law update: Accession to The New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards - Lexology

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland delivers remarks on voting rights at the Department of Justice on Friday. Tom Brenner/Pool/Getty Images hide caption

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland delivers remarks on voting rights at the Department of Justice on Friday.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday offered a fierce defense of voting rights, which he described as an indisputable "cornerstone" of American democracy, as he outlined a series of measures meant to protect those rights.

"There are many things open to debate in America, but the right of all eligible citizens to vote is not one of them. The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, the right from which all other rights ultimately flow," Garland said during remarks to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

Following former President Donald Trump's baseless claims of a stolen 2020 election, many Republican-led legislatures across the country have in recent months sought to pass restrictive voting measures that critics have argued are often designed specifically to disenfranchise racial minorities and the poor.

Garland noted that at least 14 states have passed new laws this year to make it harder to vote. Those states include Georgia, Florida and Arizona.

"To meet the challenge of the current moment, we must rededicate the resources of the Department of Justice to a critical part of its original mission: enforcing federal law to protect the franchise for all eligible voters," Garland said.

As part of this mission, Garland said the Justice Department would double the number of voter enfranchisement lawyers in the Civil Rights Division and more closely scrutinize laws that relate to the right to vote, including examining state legislation for possible disenfranchisement against Black voters and other people of color.

Garland also said the department would examine recent reviews of state 2020 election results. The Department of Justice has already raised concerns about a GOP-led review of ballots in Maricopa County, Arizona.

The attorney general said his department's ability to protect voting rights was hampered by a 2013 Supreme Court decision that struck down a key provision in the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Garland called on Congress to advance two bills on voting rights that have the backing of most Democrats but seem unlikely to pass.

As the nation's chief law enforcement official, Garland also vowed to combat disinformation campaigns that may deter people from voting, as well as publish guidance for how states should move forward with mail-in ballots a topic that became a focal point of the partisan divide during the 2020 race.

"Nearly two and a half centuries into our experiment of 'government of the people, by the people, for the people,' we have learned much about what supports a healthy democracy," Garland said. "We know that expanding the ability of all eligible citizens to vote is the central pillar. That means ensuring that all eligible voters can cast a vote; that all lawful votes are counted; and that every voter has access to accurate information. The Department of Justice will never stop working to protect the democracy to which all Americans are entitled."

Later Friday, Vice President Harris, who's been put in charge of the Biden administration's efforts on voting issues, lauded new measures signed into law in Nevada, where state Democrats there pushed for expanded voting access.

More here:
AG Garland Vows To Defend Voting Rights As The 'Cornerstone' Of American Democracy - NPR