a conference was held in Erbil by the Kurdistan Regional Government...

a conference was held in Erbil by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Human Rights to discuss a project demanding a decrease in capital punishment sentences in Kurdistan Region. Officials of the ministry, lawyers, judges, representatives of local and international nongovernmental organizations, and a number of Kurdistan Parliament members also attended the conference. "We are working to decrease the use of the death penalty in Kurdistan according to Iraqi laws," said Dr. Shwan Muhammad, KRG Minister of Human Rights, in attendance at the conference. Dr. Muhammad said participants met with the intent to present to Parliament their opinion on how to "decrease the use of the death penalty in Kurdistan" and to suggest changes within the anti-terrorism law. Kurdistan Parliament decreed the use of capital punishment as part of the anti-terrorism law in Kurdistan for a duration of two years beginning on August 16, 2006. On June 29, 2008, Kurdistan Parliament, by a majority of votes, decided to extend the law until July 16, 2010. However, extending the law has been criticized by the Human Rights Ministry and NGOs. "But the main goal of the Human Rights Ministry is to abolish the death penalty in the future," stated Muhammad. He also explained that Parliament retains the death sentence because of terror-related threats in the region. "Whenever this threat disappears, then Parliament will work with us to completely abolish the death penalty in Kurdistan," said Muhammad.