The three main Syriac Christian Bishops in the area, One Syriac Catholic, and two Syriac Orthodox, in 2017, came out in support of the idea of a protected area for Syriac Christians. Though the Patriarch has stated the priority should be other concerns.
Some foreign governments and political parties have also weighed in on the issue:
The Swedish political party Folkpartiet declared full support of an Assyrian administration by means of activating Article 125.[9][better source needed]
Some Assyrian organizations also call for a creation of an Assyrian Administrative Region in Northern Iraq, which would include the following districts:[14]
Several Assyrian political parties convened to sign a position paper on 6 March 2017 relating to the future of the Nineveh Plains.[15] The position paper called for the creation of a Nineveh Plains province that is self-governed by the Assyrian population of the Nineveh Plain.
Incorporation with Kurdistan region
Many Kurdish politicians have publicly come out in support of annexing the area to the Kurdistan Regional Government as their fifth governorate (after Dohuk, Erbil and Slemani, and Halabja). Some Assyrians claim Masoud Barzani's KDP is intimidating the population into demanding their region be annexed.[citation needed]
Some Assyrian political parties[16] have called for the establishment of an Assyrian-governed Nineveh Plains province as part of the KRG. The province would include the districts of Tel Keppe District, Al-Hamdaniya and Shekhan, and would be governed by the local Assyrian population of the region. Parts of the Nineveh Plain have been illegally annexed and been under the jurisdiction of the KRG and Peshmerga, leading to the inclusion of sections of the Nineveh Plain as a "disputed area" and thus the KRG referendum, 2017 will take place in this occupied territory.[citation needed]
Al-Rafidain Autonomous Region
On March 5, 2017, three bodies representing Assyrians, Yazidis and Turkmen issued a joint statement calling for a semi-autonomous region in Northern Iraq. The idea was pushed forward by the Turkmen Rescue Foundation, Yazidi Independent Supreme Council and the Al-Rafidain Organization.[17]
The project was proposed in line with Iraq's 2005 Constitution, which gives minorities the right to autonomy or self-administration in sub-units of territory (Chapter 1; Sections 5, 112, 115 and 116).
“The proposal of a region for the minorities is in line with the Iraqi Constitution and doesn’t contradict the general move to share powers and or let minorities manage their own affairs”, said Ali Akram Al-Bayati of the Turkmen Rescue Foundation.
