Iraq Gears Up for Comprehensive Census, Sidesteps Controversies


Vehicles pass by the waterfront of the Shatt al-Arab River in Basra, southern Iraq (AFP)
Vehicles pass by the waterfront of the Shatt al-Arab River in Basra, southern Iraq (AFP)
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Iraq Gears Up for Comprehensive Census, Sidesteps Controversies


Vehicles pass by the waterfront of the Shatt al-Arab River in Basra, southern Iraq (AFP)
Vehicles pass by the waterfront of the Shatt al-Arab River in Basra, southern Iraq (AFP)

Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning, Mohammed Ali Tamim, announced Wednesday the start of a trial census across all provinces, including Kurdistan Region (Erbil, Dohuk, Sulaymaniyah), set for next Friday.

Officials say the census will avoid sensitive topics like ethnicity and focus on religion.

If successful, the government plans to launch an official census on Nov. 20, the first in 27 years since 1997.

The previous census, more than 25 years ago, didn’t include Kurdistan due to political issues under Saddam Hussein's rule.

Since 2005, Iraq has tried to conduct a census, but it faced setbacks, mainly due to political tensions over areas like Kirkuk, disputed between Arabs and Kurds.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Tamim thanked families and local communities for their cooperation with researchers in the trial census, stressing the importance of keeping data private.

He assured that data collection would follow strict privacy standards and only be used for development purposes. The trial will start in specific areas across all provinces on Friday, covering 86 localities with 764 researchers involved.

According to the minister, the trial will include various localities in Baghdad, Basra, Nineveh, and others, with researchers wearing uniforms and carrying tablets to transmit data securely.

Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi, a spokesperson for the Planning Ministry, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the November census is solely for development purposes and won’t ask about ethnicity or religion.

He said the focus is on understanding people’s living conditions to address them, not on demographics like Arab or Kurdish populations.

Al-Hindawi stressed that international standards suggest avoiding controversial topics in population surveys.



Israel Says No Humanitarian Aid will Enter Gaza

A wounded Palestinian girl stands amid the debris of her family home after overnight Israeli strikes - AFP
A wounded Palestinian girl stands amid the debris of her family home after overnight Israeli strikes - AFP
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Israel Says No Humanitarian Aid will Enter Gaza

A wounded Palestinian girl stands amid the debris of her family home after overnight Israeli strikes - AFP
A wounded Palestinian girl stands amid the debris of her family home after overnight Israeli strikes - AFP

Israel said Wednesday it would keep blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, where a relentless military offensive has turned the Palestinian territory into a "mass grave", a medical charity reported.

Air and ground attacks resumed across the Gaza Strip from March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas that had largely halted hostilities in the territory.

However, Israel has halted the entry of aid into Gaza since March 2, as the humanitarian crisis continues to grow amid ongoing military assaults which rescuers said killed at least 11 people Wednesday.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday Israel would continue preventing aid from entering the besieged territory of 2.4 million people.

"Israel's policy is clear: no humanitarian aid will enter Gaza, and blocking this aid is one of the main pressure levers preventing Hamas from using it as a tool with the population," Katz said in a statement, AFP reported.

"No one is currently planning to allow any humanitarian aid into Gaza, and there are no preparations to enable such aid."

Top Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have repeatedly cited military pressure as the only way to secure the release of the remaining 58 hostages held in Gaza.

Medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Israeli military operations and the blockage of aid had transformed Gaza into a graveyard for Palestinians and those who help them.

"Gaza has been turned into a mass grave of Palestinians and those coming to their assistance," said MSF coordinator Amande Bazerolle.

"With nowhere safe for Palestinians or those trying to help them, the humanitarian response is severely struggling under the weight of insecurity and critical supply shortages, leaving people with few, if any, options for accessing care," she said.

- 'Worst' humanitarian crisis -

The United Nations had warned on Monday that Gaza is facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began in October 2023.

"The humanitarian situation is now likely the worst it has been in the 18 months since the outbreak of hostilities," said the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

In a statement, OCHA said no supplies had reached the territory for a month and a half, and medical supplies, fuel, water and other essentials are in short supply.

Israel tightly controls the entry of vital international aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced since the Israeli offensive resumed.

On April 28, the International Court of Justice is set to open hearings on Israel's humanitarian obligations towards Palestinians.

The UN General Assembly approved a resolution in December requesting that The Hague-based top court give an advisory opinion on the matter.

It calls on the ICJ to clarify what Israel is required to do to "ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population".

Although ICJ decisions are legally binding, the court has no concrete way of enforcing them. They increase the diplomatic pressure, however.

Israel continued to pound Gaza on Wednesday.