Iraqi Turkmen was an UNPO member between 1991 and 2016.  

The Iraqi Turkmen were represented within UNPO by the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF), a coalition encompassing several Turkmen political organisations. Their participation aimed to bring international attention to the Turkmen community’s persistent marginalisation and the need for fair representation within Iraq’s multi-ethnic framework. 

The Turkmen have long faced political exclusion, cultural suppression, and insecurity. Despite constitutional recognition as one of Iraq’s main ethnic groups, implementation of minority rights remains inconsistent. The community continues to report limited access to government positions, underrepresentation in parliament and local councils, and restrictions on education and public administration in the Turkmen language. A central concern is the status of disputed territories where Turkmen claim historical presence but face ongoing tensions with both Arab and Kurdish authorities. Decades of Arabisation and later Kurdification policies have altered the region’s demographic balance, contributing to disputes over property rights, political control, and resource sharing. The Turkmen community also continues to suffer from post-conflict instability, including displacement during ISIS attacks, destruction of property, and slow reconstruction of Turkmen-majority towns. 

Security remains a key issue: the community has repeatedly called for greater Turkmen inclusion in local security and military structures, arguing that exclusion leaves them vulnerable to both extremist violence and inter-communal conflict. The IFT has also criticised successive governments for failing to investigate targeted assassinations and kidnappings of Turkmen figures. 

The Iraqi Turkmen are a Turkic-speaking community centred in northern and central Iraq who maintain a strong sense of cultural continuity despite decades of change. Their language is a key marker of their identity: Iraqi Turkmen speak a dialect closely related to Azerbaijani and Anatolian Turkish, which remains in use at home, in community life and in media. Religion and social traditions further reinforce communal ties. Most Turkmen are Muslim, and faith-based rituals, weddings, and communal gatherings provide the framework for transmitting values of hospitality, respect for elders and communal solidarity. Folk culture remains vivid: traditional music, dance, weaving and local craftsmanship testify to the Turkmen’s rootedness in regional life. Their cultural expression reflects both their Turkic heritage and the Mesopotamian milieu they inhabit. The recognition of the Turkmen language in some regional institutions marked an important symbol of cultural affirmation. 

The Iraqi Turkmen are a Turkic-speaking community whose presence in northern and central Iraq dates back to the Seljuk and Ottoman periods. Settlers arrived from Anatolia and other Turkic regions during the 11th-16th centuries, forming the basis of Turkmen communities in Mesopotamia. Under Ottoman rule, Turkmen towns often served as administrative and military centres, and the community retained its language, Islamic traditions, and local tribal structures. Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of the modern Iraqi state in 1921, Turkmen were recognised as one of Iraq’s ethnic groups but faced marginalisation as centralised governments pursued Arabisation policies in Turkmen-majority regions. 

Throughout the 20th century, the Iraqi Turkmen experienced repeated cycles of displacement, political exclusion, and cultural suppression, particularly in contested territories such as Kirkuk. Policies of Arabisation under successive regimes and targeted campaigns during the 1970s and 1980s—including forced relocation and restrictions on language and education—significantly impacted the community. The 1991 Gulf War and subsequent international intervention created opportunities for limited political participation in northern Iraq, but the Iraqi Turkmen continue to face disputes over territorial governance, representation, and the protection of cultural and linguistic rights. The rise of ISIS in 2014 posed a direct threat to Turkmen communities, especially in Tal Afar and surrounding areas, where thousands were displaced, forced into exile, or targeted because of their ethnicity and religion.