OD– August 12, 2025 – University Press Office (UNPO) | The University of Duhok (UOD) has appointed Dr. Idrees Mousa Mohammed as the new Director of the Center for Genocide Studies, succeeding its founding director Dr. Salim Jasim Haji. The session, held on August 11, was attended by UOD President Dr. Dawood Sulaiman Atrushi, Vice President Dr. Lokman Hadi Hassan, Dean of the Deanship for Research and Innovation Dr. Sherzad Sabri Ali, and senior university officials.

A Regional Leader in Genocide Studies

Established in 2018, the Center for Genocide Studies is the first center of its kind in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, specializing in documenting genocides against Kurds—particularly the Anfal Campaign and the Sinjar genocide—and comparing them with global cases such as the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide. Its achievements include:

• Hosting five international genocide conferences.
  
  
• Publishing 200+ research papers and three academic books with European universities.
  
  
• Producing 24 televised episodes on genocide awareness with WAAR TV.
  
  
• Advising the Kurdistan Parliament through specialized workshops.
  
  

Strategic Vision and Academic Impact

The Genocide Research Center’s objectives directly support UOD’s Strategic Planning Framework by:

• Enhancing research excellence in a specialized field.
  
  
• Expanding academic influence through global collaborations.
  
  
• Preserving cultural and historical heritage for future generations.
  
  
• Fostering multidisciplinary engagement between history, political science, law, and sociology.
  
  

These goals are in harmony with UOD’s commitment to transparency in policymaking, collective engagement, and internationalization of research.

Honoring the Founding Director

President Atrushi praised Dr. Salem Jasim Haji for establishing the Center for Genocide Studies and elevating UOD’s profile as a leader in genocide research. Dr. Salem, a political science PhD graduate from the Free University of Berlin, led the center from its inception, combining decades of academic and organizational expertise in Europe and Kurdistan.

New Leadership, Global Vision

Incoming director Dr. Idris Musa Mohammed, a political science PhD holder from Friedrich Schiller University Jena, has extensive international academic experience and is the author of The Emergence of the State: A Comparative Analysis of Kosovo and South Sudan (Springer, 2023). He plans to expand global research partnerships.

Looking Forward

Under Dr. Idris’s leadership, the center will work towards publishing the five-volume Genocide Encyclopedia, further strengthening UOD’s position as a pioneer in genocide research and education in the Kurdistan Region and beyond.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE MEDIA COVERAGE FOR THIS EVENT

University Press Office, August 12, 2025

Reported by: Ismat Mahmoud Mohammed
Photography by: Mohammed. A. Tahar

The News Keywords:

• University of Duhok Center for Genocide Studies
  
  
• Kurdish genocide studies
  
  
• Anfal campaign research Kurdistan
  
  
• Academic leadership UOD
  
  
• Genocide research Iraq