2010 Report on Human Rights in Iraq
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2010 Report on HUMAN RIGHTS Office of the High Commissioner Human Rights in Iraq for Human Rights UNAMI Human Rights Office/OHCHR, Baghdad UNITED NATIONS Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Human Rights Office JANUARY 2011 2010 Report on Human Rights in Iraq UNAMI HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE and OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS January 2011 Baghdad Map of Iraq Source: UN DPKO - Cartographic Centre, NY (2004) Table of Contents Executive Summary ..........................................................................................................................iii Recommendations .............................................................................................................................vi Human Rights in Iraq: 2010 .............................................................................................................1 1. Introduction....................................................................................................................................1 1.1 Overview............................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Legal responsibilities ............................................................................................................................ 1 2. Armed conflict and civilians .........................................................................................................3 2.1 Civilian casualties ................................................................................................................................. 3 2.2 Assassinations, targeted killings and extrajudicial executions..............................................................7 2.2.1 Attacks on Government employees, officials and public figures....................................................... 8 2.2.2 Attacks on Judges and legal professionals......................................................................................... 8 2.2.3 Attacks on medical and education professionals ............................................................................... 9 2.2.4 Attacks on religious events ................................................................................................................ 9 2.2.5 Attacks on members of the Iraqi Security Forces .............................................................................. 9 2.2.6 Attacks on tribal, community and Sahwa leaders ............................................................................10 2.3 Civilian deaths as a result of military operations................................................................................ 10 2.4 Civilian casualties involving private security companies ................................................................... 11 3. Accountability ..............................................................................................................................11 3.1 Court proceedings for alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law.................................... 11 3.2 Mass graves and enforced disappearance ........................................................................................... 12 4. Detention and Rule of Law..........................................................................................................13 4.1 Numbers in detention.......................................................................................................................... 13 4.2 Treatment in detention ........................................................................................................................ 14 4.3 Standards of detention......................................................................................................................... 15 4.4 Allegations of torture and mistreatment in detention facilities........................................................... 17 4.5 Due process and powers of arrest ....................................................................................................... 21 4.6 Fair trial procedures ............................................................................................................................ 24 4.7 Detention in the Kurdistan Region...................................................................................................... 25 4.8 Detention by USF-I............................................................................................................................. 28 4.9 Death penalty ...................................................................................................................................... 29 4.10 Death penalty in the Kurdistan Region ............................................................................................. 30 5. Rights of women...........................................................................................................................30 5.1 Women in the political process........................................................................................................... 31 5.2 Honour crimes..................................................................................................................................... 32 5.3 Female genital mutilation (FGM) ....................................................................................................... 32 5.4 Trafficking and exploitation of female migrant workers .................................................................... 32 5.5 Domestic violence............................................................................................................................... 33 5.6 Women in the Kurdistan Region......................................................................................................... 34 5.6.1 FGM................................................................................................................................................. 35 5.6.2 Trafficking........................................................................................................................................ 35 6. Rights of children and juveniles .................................................................................................35 6.1 Children in armed conflict .................................................................................................................. 36 6.2 Juvenile justice.................................................................................................................................... 37 6.3 Children’s access to education............................................................................................................ 38 6.4 Children’s rights in the Kurdistan Region .......................................................................................... 39 7. Rights of minorities......................................................................................................................40 i 7.1 Minorities in the Kurdistan Region..................................................................................................... 42 8. Attacks against persons on the basis of their sexual orientation .............................................43 9. Refugees and internally displaced persons ................................................................................44 10. Freedom of expression and the targeting of media workers..................................................47 10.1 Freedom of expression in the Kurdistan Region............................................................................... 50 11. Political rights.............................................................................................................................52 12. Camp New Iraq (formerly Camp Ashraf) ...............................................................................54 13. Implementation of previous UNAMI recommendations and developments in protection and provision of Human Rights in Iraq.........................................................................................55 13.1 Kurdistan Regional Government ...................................................................................................... 57 14. Other human rights concerns ...................................................................................................59 14.1 Migrant workers................................................................................................................................ 59 APPENDIX 1 - Graphs....................................................................................................................61 ii Executive Summary This report is published by the Human Rights Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) in cooperation with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) under their respective mandates. Information for this report has been gathered from direct monitoring by UNAMI as well as from a variety of other sources, including Government, UN Agencies, civil society, NGOs and media. It covers the period from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010. The draft of this Report was submitted to the Government of Iraq and the Government of the Kurdistan Region prior to publication and their views are referred to in the text or footnoted where appropriate. 1. The human rights situation throughout Iraq remains fragile as the country slowly transitions from a conflict to post-conflict country that faces enormous development challenges