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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
IRAQ: Respect for human rights still a dream
BAGHDAD, 10 Dec 2006 (IRIN) - Sectarian violence causing displacement and targeted attacks are continuing to further deepen the situation of human rights in Iraq today, local and international NGOs say.
"We live in a catastrophic situation of a lack of human rights and displacement and targeting of people according to their identity and religious beliefs by militias, terrorists and mafia," Dr Aziz Jabur Shaeal, chairman of the Baghdad Centre for Human Rights Studies (BCHRS), said.
Shaeal's comments come as the world marks the United Nations Human Rights Day on 10 December.
"Sectarian violence has affected human rights in all fields with the assassinations of academics, doctors, journalists, writers, artists and the leaders of public opinion as well as kidnappings to blackmail families to pay huge quantities of money," Shaeal said.
"Deprivation of people from employment without proving their loyalty to a political party, especially religious parties, torture inside official and nonofficial prisons, the disappearance of many people after they are arrested, the deterioration of infrastructure, the absence of the role of government in the protection of people’s security and prevailing partisanship and corruption [are also rife]," he added.
Ibraheem Yacoub, 38, is one of millions of Iraqis who has first-hand experience of what it is like to live with no human rights. His two brothers were captured by militia men and accused of taking part in insurgent attacks. However, Yacoub said they were just students trying to finish their college studies. His brothers were found shot dead a week later in one of the streets of Baghdad.
"We were forced to leave our home because sectarian violence reached our neighbourhood and we didn't have any choice but to take our bags and some food and run, living like the homeless and with the risk of being the next victims of the country's daily violence," Yacoub said.
The Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights said continuing displacement should be tackled urgently - as this could open the doors to more violence and disrespect of the already deteriorated human rights situation in Iraq.
Escalation of sectarian violence
Sectarian violence began escalating significantly in February 2006 after a Shi’ite shrine in the northern city of Samarra was bombed by Sunni militants. Since then, revenge killings between the two Muslim sects have displaced nearly 425,000 Iraqis, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
In addition, up to 3,000 Iraqis are leaving to neighbouring countries on a monthly basis as the extent of the violence becomes clearer to residents, according to the Ministry of Displacement and Migration.
"The right to have a home to live and to live safely is the minimum that any human being should have and today thousands of Iraqis are being forced to flee their homes and encounter dangerous situations because of sectarian violence," Diar Ahmed, press officer at Iraq's Ministry of Human Rights, said.
Amnesty International says the lack of human rights in Iraq is unacceptable.
"Thousands of people are encountering the most serious and critical form of a lack in human rights and it is an absolutely intolerable situation," said Nicole Chouery, spokeswoman for Amnesty International in London, UK.
"People are displaced and require urgent support and assistance and violence is increasing every day, leaving the human rights issue absent in Iraq," Chouery added.
Women and children have also suffered greatly.
"Women and children are recognised [only] theoretically, but their rights are violated all the time. They face the same problems as other people in Iraq but also have additional problems, such as the enforcing of the Hijab [head cover] and other kinds of clothes, and restrictions in employment," Shaeal from BCHRS said, remarking on how conservative Iraqi society was now becoming.
Recent calls for improvements
In November, Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told a session of the UN Human Rights Council that despite the Iraqi government's efforts to address the deteriorating human rights situation, violence had reached unprecedented levels.
"In many parts of the country, scores of civilians are wilfully killed and injured every day," Arbour said at the conference.
She also said ever-growing unemployment, poverty, discrimination and diminishing access to basic services were severely affecting the economic and social rights of the Iraqi people.
According to Shaeal, establishing an international investigation committee with Iraqi NGOs to determine the violations of human rights is the only way to guarantee recognition of rights.
"The Security Council should vote for a resolution calling for the establishment of an international criminal court for Iraq, mandated to investigate all crimes against humanity committed in Iraq and to prosecute those found to be responsible. This should be the starting point," Muhammad al-Deraji, director of Monitoring of Human Rights in Iraq (MHRI), said.
"In addition, there should be support of the work of the United Nations in Iraq through an expansion of the political and human rights mandate of UNAMI [UN’s Assistance Mission for Iraq] in order to increase the protection of human rights in the country. And the Security Council should re-establish the position of the Special Rapporteur of Human Rights in Iraq," he added.
Based in Jordan for security reasons, UNAMI said it was struggling to keep abreast of human right violations in Iraq but said it was working closely with the Iraqi government to improve this situation.
Local and international NGOs have urged the Iraqi government to ratify the relevant international conventions that protect human rights, such as the Convention Against Torture (CAT); to disseminate the results of former investigations into cases of major human rights violations; and to invite the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit Iraq.
According to the Iraqi constitution, “All Iraqis are equal before the law without regard to gender, opinion, nationality, religion, or origin. Discrimination on the basis of gender, nationality, religion, origin, or social standing is forbidden. They [the people] have the right to personal security in life and freedom except in accordance with the law. Equality of opportunity is guaranteed to all citizens in accordance to the law.” However, the reality on the ground is very different, activists say.
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This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006
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