US State Department reports scores of human rights violations in Iraq, Kurdistan Region

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The annual US State Department report on human rights abuses released on Tuesday highlights the violations committed against freedom of expression in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, and also stated that Iraqi security forces and certain units of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) internal security forces (Asayish) “operated with impunity.”

The report, based on field work and reports by human rights organizations and media outlets, provides a review of the human rights situation in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. In addition to providing an overview of incidents of misconduct by the security apparatus, the report also highlighted numerous violations against journalists and activists.   

Among the most significant human rights issues recorded in the Kurdistan Region were restriction on free expression and the media, as well as the use of violence and violent threats targeting journalists. Human rights organizations reported frequent cases of arbitrary detentions of journalists, protesters, and activists.

 

The KRG was criticized for its handling of the individuals arrested during protests in Duhok in 2020, who have become known as the Badinan detainees. The United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq (UNAMI) and the United Nations’ (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) observed some of the trials and expressed concern that “basic international fair trial standards were not respected,” calling the cases “emblematic” of the KRG justice system. 

The report stated that cross the Kurdistan Region, detentions, death threats, and beatings were conducted against journalists working for media outlets affiliated to opposition, in some cases the “aggressors wore KRG military or police uniforms.” It also noted that in June, security forces confiscated the equipment of several local media outlets, including Rudaw, to prevent them from covering a confrontation between the Region’s Vice President, Sheikh Jaafar Sheikh Mustafa, and Sulaimani’s Asayish.

“Certain KRG courts applied the more stringent criminal code and laws in lawsuits involving journalists rather than the KRG’s local press law,” it said, adding that the local law protects the freedom of expression and prohibits the detention of journalists. 

In addition to violations of freedom of speech, the KRG reportedly “inconsistently applied procedures to address allegations of abuse” by members of the Ministry of Interior and the Asayish.

Last week, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and Iran Affairs Jennifer Gavito, called on the KRG to increase efforts towards protecting journalists and the right to freedom of speech.

In December, UNAMI and OHCHR released a report on freedom of expression in the Kurdistan Region, expressing human rights concerns, while commending the KRG for taking "concrete steps" to protect these.

The report also accused law enforcement groups of “frequently ignoring the law.”

In Iraq, the PMF and other Iran-backed militia groups were said to have committed a number of human rights abuses, mainly against activists, political opponents, and members of ethnic minority groups. 

The report mentioned one verified case of the use of a child soldier by the PMF, despite children under the age of 18 being prohibited by the Iraqi government and Shia religious leaders from serving in combat.

PMF groups also reportedly “arbitrarily or unlawfully detaining Kurds, Turkmen, Christians, and other members of minority groups in Ninewa [Nineveh] province.” 

Cases of forced disappearances “by or on behalf of government forces” were frequently reported, while violence and intimidation by militia groups during the months before the elections in October “likely affected voters’ choice and voter turnout.” 

The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced the initial turnout was 41% with the lowest recorded in the capital, Baghdad.