ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Elements within the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) security forces acted with “impunity” in 2020, the latest US State Department human rights report said.
The report is critical of the KRG’s conducts in several fields, including the behaviour of internal security forces, known as Asayish, while noting the government’s treatment of refugees and internally displaced people, as well as its progress in trying to combat violence against women.
Based on field work and reports by media outlets and local and international human rights organisations, the report provides a thorough overview of the KRG’s performance in respecting the human rights of the population living under its rule.
The publication groups together certain Asayish units with other Iraqi security forces in acting with effective impunity.
“Impunity effectively existed for government officials and security force personnel, including the Iraqi Security Forces, Federal Police, Popular Mobilization Forces, and certain units of Kurdistan Regional Government Asayish internal security services,” the report said.
“There were numerous reports of arbitrary arrest or unlawful detention by government forces, including the ISF [Iraqi Security Forces], NSS [National Security Service], PMF [Popular Mobilization Forces], Peshmerga, and Asayish,” it added.
The Asayish are responsible for the maintaining the internal security of the Kurdistan Region alongside the police, and have kept the Kurdistan Region relatively safe since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003.
The report also highlighted impunity in cases of corruption for government officials.
“Officials in federal Iraq and the IKR [Iraqi Kurdistan Region] frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. There were numerous reports of government corruption during the year,” it said.
The questionable conduct of Asayish units in dealing with protesters, journalists and the local population have come under international scrutiny for years.
The detention of around 50 protesters, activists and journalists in Duhok last summer is given particular attention in the report, citing observers who questioned the legality of the detention.
“Many observers called the detentions arbitrary, either because persons were detained for exercising their right to peaceful assembly, or because authorities ignored their right under law to be brought before a judge within 24 hours,” the report said.
Kurdish authorities have accepted that there is room for improvement in the way the security forces carry out their duties, and have consistently responded to concerns raised by international human rights organizations.
Rudaw English contacted Erbil’s Asayish media officer for comment about the charges leveled against the force by the State Department, who redirected questions to Dr Dindar Zebari, the KRG’s Head of International Advocacy.
"As far as the press in the Kurdistan Region is concerned, Journalism Law No. 35 of 2007 regulates freedom of journalism and expression. Meanwhile, the journalists are responsible for protecting national security and, simultaneously avoiding the defamation of particular institutions without necessary evidence. No journalist has been arrested arbitrarily," Zebari said in a statement to Rudaw English.
"The Kurdistan Regional Government is fully committed to the rule of law, to a fair and impartial legal process, and to the freedom of the media. The Government is currently working with international partners to ensure that Kurdistan Region is fully meeting its international human rights responsibilities and is following international human rights best practice, in particular in respect of media freedom," he added.
Since taking office in the summer of 2019, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has said that he would pay particular attention to reforming the system in the Kurdistan Region.
The KRG “completely defends and supports the freedom of journalism in Kurdistan so that the journalists can do their work professionally, away from unprofessional agendas - in a way that is in the public’s interest and preserves national achievements,” Barzani said on March 1.
The report comes a month after after five activists, journalists and Duhok locals were sentenced to six years each in prison for allegedly destabilising the security of the Kurdistan Region, prompting international outcry.
Pretrial detention of detainees was also highlighted in the report, quoting the Independent Human Rights Commission in Kurdistan, which said that detainees were kept in detention “even after a court issued their release.“
However, the KRG’s services to IDPs and refugees was noted.
“According to the KRG Ministry of Interior, 259,496 refugees resided in the IKR as of September. More than one-half of these refugees lived outside of camps. The KRG cooperated with UNHCR in allowing these individuals to seek refuge in camps and receive basic assistance. The KRG allowed Syrian refugees with family in the IKR to live outside of camps.”
