On October 11, 2006, the Iraqi National Assembly approved a measure that outlined how federalism could be implemented to divide Iraq into separate regions. The law was backed by Shiite majority leaders, but opposed by Sunnis who feared that splitting areas of Iraq would cause a civil war by increasing the sectarian and ethnic violence already troubling the country. Under the law, for a province to become an autonomous region, one-third of provincial legislators must vote for it, and it must be approved by a popular referendum.

Iraqi flag

Learn more about Iraq from the JURIST news archive, and more about federalism in Iraq from the Council on Foreign Relations.

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