ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Iraqi Official Gazette published a law for officializing Halabja’s status as Iraq’s 19th province on Monday, six days after President Abdul Latif Rashid ratified the bill.

“Halabja officially became Iraq’s 19th province,” Justice Minister Khalid Shwani said.

On April 15, the Iraqi Parliament voted on a bill for Halabja's provincial accession. The bill had been added to the parliament’s agenda multiple times in the past but had not been voted on due to opposition from several parliamentary blocs, which demanded the inclusion of some other Iraqi district as a province as well.

The bill, of which The New Region was able to obtain a copy, cited that “the material, human, and environmental damage it suffered as a result of the bombing with prohibited chemical weapons by the former regime” were the key factors in pushing for Halabja's accession to a province.

The bill consists of four articles.

The first article stipulates the establishment of Halabja as the 19th province in Iraq, with the current district of Halabja as the center of the province. The second article obliges the Kurdistan Region’s Council of Ministers to establish the administrative borders of the new province.

The third article commits relevant authorities to implement the law, while the fourth article requires the publication of the law in the Iraqi Official Gazette.

Halabja's population of 200,000 now looks ahead with renewed hope that the accession will help the city thrive, accelerate its growth, and enhance Halabja's international standing and the recognition of its 1988 chemical attack.