February 22, 2026

Baghdad, Iraq - On Sunday, February 22, 2026, a delegation from the Christian parliamentary bloc, Siwyana, ('Will') visited Prime Minister Sudani at his office in Baghdad. The delegation included bloc head MP Kaldo Ramzi Oghanna and MP Imad Youkhana Yaqo.

According to a statement released by the bloc’s media office at the Iraqi Council of Representatives, discussions addressed the country’s general political situation and ongoing national efforts to complete constitutional obligations, culminating in the formation of a new government.

However, a significant portion of the meeting focused on the longstanding demands and needs of Iraq’s Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Christian community, particularly in their historic heartland in the Nineveh Plain.

During the meeting, the two sides also discussed improving public services in predominantly Christian areas of the Nineveh Plain, a region that has endured displacement, ISIS occupation, demographic shifts, and infrastructural neglect over the past decade.

Just as in previous meetings with the Chaldean Community Foundation and Assyrian American Chamber of Commerce meetings, Prime Minister Al Sudani affirmed the government’s commitment to addressing the needs of Christian citizens and improving service delivery in their areas, stating that doing so would strengthen their national presence and reinforce Iraq’s values of diversity and coexistence.

He expressed his appreciation for the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Christian community, describing it as one of the foundational pillars of Iraqi society, and highlighted its historic contributions across political, cultural, and social spheres.

While official statements emphasize partnership and coexistence, community leaders have long argued that sustainable presence in Iraq requires structural guarantees; not merely rhetorical affirmation. The push for Article 125 is therefore seen by many advocates as central to preserving indigenous Christian communities in their ancestral lands.

Days earlier, on February 11, 2026, the Siwyana delegation visited former Member of Parliament and veteran politician Yonadam Kanna at his office in the capital, Baghdad. During the meeting, the group discussed the conditions of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian people in Iraq and the region, as well as the challenges they face, and attempts to maintain their existence, as well as the importance of uniting efforts to its political parties, popular institutions, and religious authorities, particularly with regard to amending the election law and establishing a special voter registry for the community, to ensure the freedom to choose their representatives in the upcoming parliamentary and local council elections.

The latest meeting underscores that this issue remains unresolved and continues to occupy a prominent place on the national agenda; testament to years of persistent political advocacy and a community’s determination to secure its constitutional rights within the Iraqi state.