ﺑﻌﺜﺔ اﻷﻣﻢ اﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪة .UN Assistance Mission for Iraq 1 ﻟﺘﻘﺪﻳﻢ اﻟﻤﺴﺎﻋﺪة ﻟﻠﻌﺮاق (UNAMI) Human Rights Report 1 January – 30 June 2008 Table of Contents Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................2 Recommendations ..........................................................................................................................3 Recommendations to the Government of Iraq .............................................................................3 Recommendations to the Kurdistan Regional Government.........................................................5 Recommendations to the Multinational Force – Iraq...................................................................5 Protection of Human Rights..........................................................................................................7 Extrajudicial executions, targeted and indiscriminate killings.....................................................7 Targeted killings of Iraqi Security Forces, Government Employees and Entities, Religious Figures, Professional Groups and other Civilians........................................................................9 Civilian deaths involving private security contractors...............................................................12 Civilian deaths in the context of MNF-I military operations.....................................................13 Situation of women ....................................................................................................................15 Situation of minorities and other groups....................................................................................17 Freedom of expression and the targeting of media workers ......................................................19 Displacement of the civilian population ....................................................................................21 Rule of Law ...................................................................................................................................22 Detentions and internment .........................................................................................................23 Detentions under Government of Iraq authority ........................................................................24 Detentions under Multinational Force authority ........................................................................25 Detentions under Kurdistan Regional Government authority………………………………… 25 Promotion activities of UNAMI ..................................................................................................28 Support to the rule of law sector ...............................................................................................29 Support to the governmental sector ...........................................................................................29 Support to the non-govermental sector………………………………………………………...29 Executive Summary 1. Iraq witnessed improvements in general security conditions in the first half of 2008, with a marked drop in violent, high-visibility and high-casualty attacks by militias or criminal groups. However, grave human rights violations that are less widely reported, and the elimination of which requires long-term political commitment remain unaddressed. Ongoing widespread ill- treatment and torture of detainees by Iraqi law enforcement authorities, amidst pervasive impunity of current and past human rights abuses, constitute severe breaches of international human rights obligations and represent examples of challenges faced by the Iraqi government. 2. The conduct of security operations in Basra and Sadr City by Iraqi and the Multi National Forces in Iraq (MNF-I) between March and May 2008, put the improved security reported in other cities in Iraq into perspective. Heavy fighting in densely populated urban areas, where militia members positioned themselves, resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and injuries. Allegations of targeting civilians, and other alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by all parties to the conflict continue to be investigated by UNAMI. As the fighting in Sadr City ended in June, security crackdowns and mass arrests began in many governorates. UNAMI remains concerned for the physical safety and legal protection of the hundreds of suspects arrested during the course of these operations, including children as well as for their conditions of detention and lack of due process of the law. 3. The targeted killings of journalists, educators, medical doctors, judges and lawyers continued, as did criminal abductions for ransom. A great number of murders, alleged suicides and other suspected “honour crimes” were reported from the Region of Kurdistan. As Iraqi security institutions slowly and tentatively asserted their control of more territory, politicians, security officials, policemen and members of pro-government militias frequently came under attack by armed groups. 4. The situation of detainees across the country, including in the Region of Kurdistan, remains of great concern. UNAMI visits detention facilities and prisons to monitor the situation of detainees held by the ministries of Interior, Justice, Defence, and Labour and Social Affairs. Many have been deprived of their liberty for months or even years, often under harsh physical conditions, without access to defence counsel, or without being formally charged with a crime or produced before a judge. Continuing allegations of widespread torture and ill-treatment of inmates are of particular concern. Yet again, slow bureaucratic procedures, insufficient resources, degraded infrastructure and lack of effective accountability measures result in inordinate delays in processing detainees’ cases. UNAMI also maintained its monitoring activities of criminal proceedings before the Central Criminal Court of Iraq as well as the criminal courts in the Kurdistan Region. Contacts and visits resulted in a number of reforms introduced by the regional authorities aimed at improving the conduct of its law enforcement officials. 5. A General Amnesty Law came into force on 27 February 2008. However its application is yet to lead to large scale release of those covered by it as announced. No final statistics have been provided yet on the number of those who are benefiting from the provisions of the law. 6. UNAMI continued advising and lobbying government officials and parliamentarians on the draft High Commission for Human Rights Law, which after long delay was presented to the Council of representatives for its first reading on 12 February 2007. At the time of completion of this report the draft has not gone for a second reading. 2 7. In line with its mandate, UNAMI continued its efforts in supporting the Iraqi government and civil society organizations through capacity-building activities. These activities aim at helping the development of an Iraqi lead and owned human rights protection system and in consolidating a culture of human rights in Iraq. Recommendations 8. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), through its Human Rights Office (HRO) engages in the promotion and protection of human rights and the rule of law in close collaboration with Iraqi governmental and non-governmental sectors, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions 1830 (2008)1 and 1770 (2007), paragraph 2 (c), which mandates UNAMI to “promote the protection of human rights and judicial and legal reform in order to strengthen the rule of law in Iraq”2. To that end, UNAMI monitors the human rights situation in Iraq and assists, especially through capacity-building activities, in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of state and civil society institutions. It collaborates closely with local human rights groups and seeks to maintain direct contact with victims and witnesses of human rights violations. 9. UNAMI’s regular human rights reports are intended to assist the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government in ensuring protection of basic human rights and respect for the rule of law. Iraq remains bound by both its international treaty obligations and its domestic legislation in taking measures to curb violence and uphold human rights norms. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), is in particular, clear on the basic protections that must be afforded to persons.3 UNAMI remains committed to maintaining a constructive dialogue with the authorities in order to achieve these objectives, and to providing capacity building and training programmes for the governmental and non-governmental sectors. 10. Based on its assessment of the human rights situation in Iraq, UNAMI reiterates the following recommendations: Recommendations to the Government of Iraq a) Issue on a regular basis mortality data compiled by the Ministry of Health, based on information received from all governorates and statistics kept at the Medico-Legal Institute in Baghdad, together with details of the methodology used to calculate the figures. b) Sustain efforts and adopt effective measures to support vulnerable communities, including religious and ethnic minorities (through the allocation of additional resources to meet the needs of the large numbers of displaced persons from these communities); adopt measures to ensure that other vulnerable groups, including third country nationals, receive required protection from the state; reaffirm the authorities’