Country report NOVEMBER 2018 COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION (COI) Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) Women and men in honour- related conflicts Report based on interviews in Erbil and Sulaimania, KRI © 2018 The Danish Immigration Service The Danish Immigration Service Ryesgade 53 2100 Copenhagen Denmark Phone: +45 35 36 66 00 newtodenmark.dk November 2018 All rights reserved to the Danish Immigration Service. The publication can be downloaded for free at newtodenmark.dk The Danish Immigration Service’s publications can be quoted with clear source reference. KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ (KRI), WOMEN AND MEN IN HONOUR-RELATED CONFLICTS Contents Contents ...................................................................................................................................................1 Disclaimer .................................................................................................................................................3 Introduction and methodology ................................................................................................................. 4 Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Executive summary ................................................................................................................................... 7 1. Background on honour conflicts in Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) ...................................................... 9 2. Prevalence of honour-related conflicts ............................................................................................... 9 2.1 Domestic violence/honour conflicts ........................................................................................................ 9 2.2 Occurrence of honour killings ................................................................................................................ 10 2.3 Occurrence of suicide, incl. self-immolation ......................................................................................... 11 2.4 Geographical prevalence ....................................................................................................................... 12 2.5 Honour based violence among the minorities ...................................................................................... 12 3. Social reactions ................................................................................................................................ 12 3.1 Perception of extramarital relations in KRI ........................................................................................... 12 3.2 Perception of raped women .................................................................................................................. 13 3.3 Perception of single women .................................................................................................................. 13 4. Consequences of extramarital relationships ..................................................................................... 14 4.1 Premarital relationships ........................................................................................................................ 14 4.2 Adultery ................................................................................................................................................. 14 5. Possibility for protection by the authorities ..................................................................................... 14 5.1 Legislation .............................................................................................................................................. 14 5.2 Barriers for the implementation of the legislation ................................................................................ 15 5.3 Procedure for filing complaints ............................................................................................................. 16 5.4 Courts’ ability to convict perpetrators and conviction rates ................................................................. 17 5.5 Can women report to the authorities? .................................................................................................. 18 5.6 Protection in shelters ............................................................................................................................. 18 6. Possibility for protection from tribes and families ............................................................................ 19 6.1 Possibility to seek protection from tribal councils ................................................................................ 19 6.2 Protection from mother’s or father’s family ......................................................................................... 20 1 KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ (KRI), WOMEN AND MEN IN HONOUR-RELATED CONFLICTS 7. Possibility for fleeing an honour conflict .......................................................................................... 20 7.1 Returnees who fled an honour conflict abroad and returned to KRI .................................................... 20 7.2 Significance of network for returnees ................................................................................................... 21 8. Possibility for a woman to exit from KRI with her child .................................................................... 21 9. Men as victims in honour-related conflicts in KRI ............................................................................. 22 Consulted sources ................................................................................................................................... 25 Written sources ...................................................................................................................................... 26 Appendix 1 Meeting notes ...................................................................................................................... 27 Wchan Organization for Human Rights Violations, Ahmed M. Amin, Executive Director .......................... 27 Women’s Empowerment Organization, WEO ............................................................................................. 32 WADI, Abdullah Sabir, Iraq Project Co-ordinator ........................................................................................ 35 Hana Swan, Women's media & cultural organization (WMCO) .................................................................. 39 A local Human Rights organisation: Dr. Sharif Jawdat Ali, Local Director; Bakhtyar Hadi Hassan, Pedagogue; Vian Shawqi, Responsible for Women’s Department ............................................................. 43 Major Farman Mohammed, Directorate of Combatting Violence Against Women (DCVAW), Erbil Office 48 Academic informant .................................................................................................................................... 50 Razaw Ahmed, Lawyer and women's rights advocator, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq .............................................. 57 International Organization for Migration (IOM) .......................................................................................... 64 Major Akam M. Mustafa, Station Residences & Passport, Erbil International Airport ............................... 65 Director Abdulrahman Ismael Azaz, Directorate of Nationality and Civil Status, Erbil, Ministry of the Interior, Kurdistan Regional Government ................................................................................................... 66 An individual working in the field of human rights in the Kurdistan Region ............................................... 67 A Human Rights Activist ............................................................................................................................... 68 Director General, Ministry of Interior, KRG, Sami Jalal Hussein .................................................................. 70 Hoshang Mohamed, Director General, Ministry of the Interior, Joint Crisis Coordination Centre (JCC), Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq ......................................................................................................... 70 Appendix 2 Terms of Reference (ToR) ................................................................................................. 71 2 KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ (KRI), WOMEN AND MEN IN HONOUR-RELATED CONFLICTS Disclaimer This report was written according to the EASO COI Report Methodology.1 The report is based on approved minutes from meetings with carefully selected sources. Statements from sources are used in the report and all statements are referenced. This report is not, and does not purport to be a detailed or comprehensive survey of all aspects of the issues addressed in the report and should be weighed against other available country of origin information on honour-related violence in Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The report at hand does not include any policy recommendations or analysis. The information in the report does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Danish Immigration Service or Landinfo. Furthermore, this report is not conclusive as to the determination or merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Terminology used should not be regarded as indicative of a particular legal position. This report differs from other Landinfo products, as Landinfo does not usually publish reports solely