The Legislative Drafting Committee Discusses Updating Animal Health Legislation

Baghdad, Iraq, 2 December 2024: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Iraq and the Iraqi Ministries of Agriculture and Health held two meetings dedicated to discussing updating animal health legislation to be in line with international reference standards, as well as to address legislative overlaps between the Public Health Law and the Animal Health Law.

During the third in-person meeting of the Legislative Drafting Committee for Animal Health Law in Iraq, FAO in Iraq, in cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), and in coordination with the Legislative Drafting Committee reviewed the regulatory framework governing animal health in Iraq and align it with international standards and best practices.

The committee comprises members from the Ministries of Agriculture, Environment, Health, and Agriculture & Water Resources and representatives of the Kurdistan government, in addition to members from the Veterinary Syndicate, the Border Ports Authority, the Council of State, and the Parliamentary Committee for Agriculture, Water Resources and Marshlands Affairs.

This meeting falls within the framework of the ongoing series of meetings of the Committee, which aim to discuss specialized topics related to the alignment of the legislative framework with international standards and best practices as documented by the World Organization for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This specific meeting focused on topics related to the private veterinary medical sector and animal markets.

It is worth noting that this national consultative process for legal review is the first of its kind. It is based on the successful completion of the first phase of the program, where the Iraqi government adopted recommendations for major legislative improvements to resolve overlaps in combating animal diseases.

In a parallel context, during the second meeting of the Joint Working Committee between the Ministries of Agriculture and Health, the legislative overlaps between Public Health Law No. 89 of 1981 and Animal Health Law No. 32 of 2013 were also discussed. A table of articles containing legislative overlaps was prepared by the legal team of the project with members of the Committee formed by Ministerial Order No. 27423 on 6/26/2024. During this meeting, the door was opened for dialogue between the committee members to discuss the agenda and clarify the operational methods taken in addressing the legislative overlaps between the Public Health and Animal Health Laws on the ground, and to develop proposed framework for sorting out this overlap. 

These meetings come within the framework of the project "Strengthening Veterinary Legislation in Iraq and Expanding the Scope of Providing Animal Health Services and Disease Surveillance", funded by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), which aims to strengthen animal disease surveillance systems in Iraq.

Dr. Salah Al-Hajj Hassan, FAO Representative in Iraq, inaugurated the two meetings, stressing the importance of working to develop the Iraqi legislative framework regarding animal health and veterinary services and its relationship to achieving food security in Iraq in general. He also stressed FAO's commitment to providing support for updating legislation of animal health laws to comply with international standards followed by the World Organization. He also stressed the importance of the Kurdistan Regional Government's participation in this very important endeavor.