Iraq: High Commission for Human Rights The Iraq’s National Human Rights Institution before the International Coordinating Committee of NHRIs Alkarama Foundation Association of Human Rights Defenders in Iraq General Federation of Iraqi Women Human Rights Division at the Association of Muslims Scholars in Iraq Iraqi Commission for Human Rights (Iraqi-CHR) Organisation for Justice & Democracy in Iraq (OJDI) 19 December 2014 Alkarama Foundation – 150 route de Ferney, C.P. 2100 CH – 1211 Genève 2 – Switzerland ( +41 22 734 10 06 – 7 +41 22 545 76 55 – * [email protected] – 8 www.alkarama.org 2/11 Table of content Table of content ........................................................................................................................... 2 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 3 2. Background............................................................................................................................ 3 3. Lack of guarantees for pluralism and independence .................................................................... 4 3.1 Founding texts of the High Commission for Human Rights ...................................................... 4 3.2 Appointment procedure ........................................................................................................ 4 4. The Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights in Practice: Methods of Operation ........................... 6 4.1 Structure ............................................................................................................................. 6 4.2 Relations with victims of violations and civil society ................................................................ 6 4.3 External interference on the HCHR activities .......................................................................... 7 4.4 Transparency on the activities of the commission and public accountability .......................... 9 5. Conclusions and Recommendations .......................................................................................... 10 5.1 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 10 5.2 Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 10 5.2.1 To the Subcommittee on Accreditation .......................................................................... 10 5.2.2 To the HCHR ............................................................................................................... 10 5.1 Conclusions 5.2 Recommendations 5.2.1 to the Sub-Committee on Accreditation 5.2.2 to the HCHR 3/11 1. Introduction The High Commission for Human Rights (hereinafter HCHR) of Iraq, founded in 2008, has applied for accreditation to the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC) without requesting for a specific status, according to the available information. Alkarama Foundation, Association of Human Rights Defenders in Iraq, General Federation of Iraqi Women, Human Rights Division at the Association of Muslims Scholars in Iraq, Iraqi Commission for Human Rights (Iraqi-CHR) and Organisation for Justice & Democracy in Iraq (OJDI) would like to provide information that may serve to assist in the evaluation of the compliance of the Iraqi national human rights institution (NHRI) with the Paris Principles in both legal and practical terms. In this report, we have attempted to make a formal and substantive evaluation of the High Commission for Human Rights of Iraq and its role in the promotion and protection of human rights in the country. We finally wish to note that to this date, the work of the HCHR is very opaque. It has published only very limited documentation and the accessible publications are not substantive, but merely formal compilations of information. Furthermore, it is the civil society’s perception that the HCHR supports almost only the position of the government, as, for instance, a clear lack of reporting on the widespread and systematic violations stems out of its official declarations, publications and activities. 2. Background Over the past decades, Iraq has been involved in several successive armed conflicts: the Iraq – Iran war in 1980-1988; the invasion and occupation of Kuwait in 1991, followed by an international trade embargo – which, despite a UN “oil for food programme” caused extreme poverty and starvation for the people of Iraq –; and the US-led invasion of 2003. Since then, Iraq has remained in a volatile security situation. The government of Nouri al Maliki, Prime Minister from 2006 to 2014, proved incapable of uniting the country's various communities and create a political dialogue. The consequent political paralysis has meant that grievances have swelled. The demands discussed in Parliament were not responded to, and the subsequent protest movement that began in 2012 was violently repressed. Benefiting from the accumulated frustration, lack of perspective within Iraq’s Sunni community and the deterioration of the security situation, the “Islamic State” surged out of Syria to seize Iraq’s second city of Mosul in June 2014. The group is currently advancing into central and northern Iraq, causing mass displacement of civilians, due also to the targeted attacks to members of religious minorities, journalists, women and children. The legacy of dictatorship, years of foreign occupation, internal divisions along with the lack of political will to address the ensuing challenges have contributed to create an environment conducive to serious human rights violations carried out by governmental authorities, former occupying forces and the different armed groups operating in the country. For instance, State security forces have kept responding to peaceful demonstrations with violence, while mass arrest campaign on the basis of the abusive 2005 Anti-Terrorism Law have been carried out, targeting ordinary civilians and prominent political opponents and human rights activists. Detainees are often kept in prolonged detention without a judicial hearing or even detained in secret, systematically subjected to torture and ill- treatment. Judicial procedures are heavily flawed, with frequent sentences handed down after trials in the absence of legal counsel, and relying on testimonies given by secret informants or based on confessions extracted under torture. These shortcomings are of a grave concern considering also the high number of capital punishments pronounced or implemented in recent years. In addition, an increasing number of cases of enforced disappearance has been recorded. In light of this concerning situation with regards to the human rights record of Iraq, it is essential that the Iraqi HCHR be independent and effective in protecting human rights of Iraqi citizens and promoting a human rights culture. 4/11 3. Lack of guarantees for pluralism and independence 3.1 Founding texts of the High Commission for Human Rights Article 102 of the Iraqi Constitution of 15 October 2005 foresees the institution of HCHR, to be “considered independent” and “subject to monitoring by the Council of Representatives”, with its functions “regulated by law”. Three years later, the Council of Representatives passed Law No. 53 of 2008, which formally established the HCHR. According to the Paris Principles, the founding text of a national human rights institution, of a constitutional or legislative nature, shall ensure its independence, setting a clear mandate, composition and sphere of competence 1. The text of Law No. 53 of 2008 vests the HCHR with a broad mandate to ensure the protection and promotion of human rights and has a wide range of competences 2, mirroring those demanded by Paris Principles. It further stipulates that the HCHR is accountable only to the Council of Representatives and formally gives the HCHR powers to act freely from interference 3. However, full compliance with the Paris principles is not ensured in law, as it does not ensure a pluralist representation of society. Indeed, regarding the inclusion of minority groups, the requirement of only two representatives from minority groups on a total of fifteen commissioners (article 9.5) does not fully reflect the multicultural and multireligious character of Iraqi population. The lack of any provision demanding the presence of representatives of different sectors of society, does not completely guarantee the pluralist representation of the social forces as set forth in the Paris principles 4. In addition, as it will be detailed in the following sections of this report, the practical implementation of the law does not guarantee the independence of the HCHR. Political bias and practical impediments hinder the Commission’s concrete work, so that the HCHR itself cannot fulfil its mandate set forth in Law No. 53. All these shortcomings render the Iraqi national institution for human rights an empty box which is far from being an independent and effective national institution for the protection and promotion of human rights at the national level. 3.2 Appointment procedure According to article 7 of Law No. 53, the members of the HCHR shall be selected by a Committee of Experts among all candidates applying to a national appeal, while article 8 require that members be not affiliated to political parties, as to ensure the independence of the commissioners as