The US Department of State’s Country Report on Human Rights Practices for Iraq was released on Tuesday, describing violations committed against freedom of expression and addressing the status of human rights in the Kurdistan Region.
Among the most significant human rights issues recorded in the Kurdistan Region were restrictions on free expression and the media, as well as the use of violence and violent threats targeting journalists, and arbitrary detentions of journalists, protesters, and activists. In addition, the KRG “inconsistently applied procedures to address allegations of abuse” by members of the Ministry of Interior and the Asayish, the report said.
In response, the KRG Office of the Coordinator for International Advocacy (OCIA) in a statement issued on Thursday sought to clarify “certain issues within the report”, and promised that a more substantial report addressing the issues raised will be circulated in due course.
“To commence, [the] KRG has established a comprehensive roadmap to influence, shape and mold improvements where needed: [the] Kurdistan Regional Plan for Human Rights,” the OCIA said, referring to the plan approved by the KRG Council of Ministers in September.
“As far as the intelligence service structure in the Kurdistan Region is concerned, it is overseen by the Security Council (KRSC), which is a well-established governmental institution, and, while it distributes particular obligations to provinces on the basis of decentralization, it consolidates unified security policies,” the statement continued, adding that the same applies to other law-enforcement units.
Regarding the concerns raised in the report about the discretion of the judicial authorities, with recent trials raising concerns around the application of law in the Region, the OCIA said that the “KRG respects the independence of the judiciary, [is] committed to a coherent checks-and-balance system, and cannot interfere in the judicial process,” and that the KRG is “fully committed to the rule of law, to a fair and impartial legal process, and to the freedom of the media.”
The OCIA statement also acknowledged the KRG’s recognition of these values for good governance - a situation it said was enhanced by “the significant presence of diplomats and international agencies in the Region”
“[The] KRG endorses and exemplifies the democratic principles of good governance, transparency, freedom of speech, and gender equality in Iraq and in the Middle East,” the statement concluded, saying it perceived itself as an integral part of the international community and being part of the “well-connected system through which the essential values of democracy are enhanced and reciprocated.”
In December, UNAMI and OHCHR released a report on freedom of expression in the Kurdistan Region, expressing human rights concerns over a number of recent trials in the Region in particular.
