COR HUMAN RIGHTS CHAIR SUPPORTS HR COMMISSION

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 002590 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/18/2016 TAGS: IZ KDEM PHUM PNAT SUBJECT: COR HUMAN RIGHTS CHAIR SUPPORTS HR COMMISSION LEGISLATION REF: 06 BAGHDAD 1823 Classified By: Political Counselor Margaret Scobey for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. On July 12, EmbOffs met with newly appointed Chair of the Human Rights Committee for the Council of Representatives (CoR),Mohammed al-Haideri (Shia Coalition/Independent). With less than two weeks under his belt, al-Haideri told PolOff that his Committee was still in the process of developing its own bylaws and had not yet organized a legislative agenda. He told PolFSN in a subsequent conversation July 17 that his committee was interested in passing legislation as soon as possible to establish the Human Rights Commission (ref). Al-Haideri is also the Imam of Baghdad's Khulaini mosque. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Al-Haideri told Poloffs that he was in the early stages of organizing the committee and its functions. His goal, he said, was to first develop the committee,s bylaws, and then structure the committee so that each member would have a particular function. For example, he said the committee would be divided into subcommittees such as a group that liaises with the Ministry of Human Rights, a group that tracks the human rights situation in Iraq, and another group that analyzes proposed legislation. He noted in a later conversation that one of his priorities would be to pass the Human Rights Commission implementing legislation (ref). ¶3. (C) Al-Haideri claims to be independent of the various Shia factions, though he did acknowledge strong ties to past religious leaders in the Shia community. He studied under the late Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al Sadr, and was the personal advisor to Mohammed al-Hakim, the late brother of Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim. He currently serves as the imam of the Khulaini mosque in the Jumariya neighborhood in Baghdad's Rusafa district. ¶4. (C) Bio-Note: Al-Haideri obtained a Bachelors degree from Baghdad University from the College of Math and Sciences, and began his religious studies in Najaf under Mohammed Baqr al-Sadr. In August of 1980, just months after al-Sadr was killed, al-Haideri fled to Syria, where he stayed for two years. He later moved to Iran and remained there until 2003 when he returned to Iraq. Al-Haideri has extensive international travel. During his time as advisor to al-Hakim, he traveled throughout Europe and the Middle East. He is considered to be a Sayyed (descendent of the prophet Mohammed) and was born in Baghdad on July 1, 1944. KHALILZAD