28.05.2008 - Source: Amnesty International

Human rights violations in areas under control of Kurdish Regional Government ("Annual Report 2008") [ID 23530]

"Human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, torture and executions, were reported in the areas under the control of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Northern Iraq. Violence against women was widespread.

Mohammad Siyassi Ashkani, a journalist from Sulaimaniya, was arrested in January by Asayish (Security) officials and detained without charge or trial for almost six months. He was held in solitary confinement for the first 55 days before being allowed weekly visits from his family, and was denied access to a lawyer. He was released on 19 July.

On 29 May, Heman Mohamed, ‘Othman Abdel-Karim, Sherwan Ahmed and Qaraman Rasul were executed in Erbil. They had been convicted in June 2006 of participating in a bomb attack in Erbil a year earlier.

Three Turkish men – Metir Demir, Mustafa Egilli and Hasip Yokus – members of the Turkey-based NGO Association for the Rights of Freedom of Thought and Education who had been arrested in June 2006, remained in detention without charge or trial until 12 September, when they were returned to Turkey. One of them told Amnesty International that they had been detained in the Asayish building in Erbil, denied access to lawyers and that two of them had been tortured and held in solitary confinement for six months. Methods of torture included beatings on the body and on the soles of the feet (falaqa) and electric shocks.

In November, the KRG Human Rights Minister stated that 27 women had been killed in “honour killings” between August and November, but provided no information on any arrests and prosecutions related to these deaths."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Citizens pressed to join PUK and KDP party ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23675]

"In the KRG-controlled provinces, there was pressure on citizens to associate with the PUK party in the province of Sulaymaniyah, and the KDP party in the provinces of Irbil and Dohuk."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Arrest orders against journalists and harassement by security forces ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23784]

"In the KRG areas, in addition to the party press, there were a few notable independent media outlets that covered government and party corruption, for example, the weekly newspapers Hawlatee (the Citizen) and Awene (Mirror) and Radio Nawa. However, libel remains a criminal offense in the KRG area, and judges issued arrest orders for journalists on this basis. Journalists were sometimes imprisoned while police investigated the veracity of the information they published.For example, on July 10 police arrested Hawlatee reporter Rebaz Ahmed and held him for 24 hours on a defamation charge resulting from an article alleging that a park land was illegally allocated for a residence in Halabja; Ahmed was eventually acquitted.

There was also a marked increase in intimidation of independent journalists by extrajudicial means. Local security forces harassed and jailed editors of major independent publications for publishing articles that were critical of the KRG or Kurdish party officials, especially for alleged corruption.For example, Hawlatee publisher and editor in chief Tariq Fatih published an article critical of the owner of the Qubad Company, Ali Fatah, the brother of the KRG deputy prime minister. Ali Fatah took legal action and Fatih was held in jail on September 19 for several hours before being released on bail pending trial for defamation."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Discriminatory behaviour of Kurdish Regional Government against religious minorities North of Mosul ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23796]

"During the year there were allegations that the KRG continued to engage in discriminatory behavior against religious minorities. Members of these groups living in areas north of Mosul, such as Yazidis and Christians, asserted that the KRG encroached on their property and illegally built Kurdish settlements on the confiscated land."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Entry regulations for Kurdish Region ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23816]

"Since May the KRG did not allow persons, including citizens from outside the region, to enter unless a Kurdish resident met them in person and "guaranteed" their stay. Similarly, those from outside the region seeking to live within the jurisdiction of the KRG must have a local resident guarantor, and register on arrival with the KRG Residency Office."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Positive discrimination of KDP and PUK party members ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23939]

"Membership in some political parties conferred special privileges and advantages in employment and education. There were some reports that the KDP and PUK prevented the employment of nonparty citizens, and that KRG courts favored party members."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Kurdish Ministry on Human Rights and NGOs in the Kurdish Region ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 24017]

"The Kurdish areas, which have largely been autonomous since 1991, were able to develop a stronger NGO community, although many Kurdish NGOs were closely linked to the PUK and KDP political parties. The KRG and Kurdish political parties generally supported humanitarian NGO activities and programs.

The government and the KRG were both "strongly critical" of UNAMI's April 25 assessment of the human rights situation in the country, based largely on the tone rather than the substance of the report, according to UNAMI. In October the UN was unable to persuade the government to release data on casualties compiled by the MOH and its other institutions; however, in its second-quarter human rights report released in October, the UN noted increased cooperation by the government regarding access to detention facilities and official data.According to UNAMI, issues of concern were raised on a regular basis with relevant government officials throughout the year.

Although no ombudsman existed, a national MOHR and a KRG ministry, focused on raising awareness and knowledge of human rights and conducting prison visits. Each ministry reported to its respective prime minister and did not issue public reports on prison or detention center visits. The national MOHR attempted to monitor human rights abuses and advocate for and assist victims. However, limited resources and poor cooperation from other ministries greatly limited the ministry's effectiveness. The KRG MOHR was in a similar position. The KRG MOHR and the KRG's Honor Killing Monitoring Commission, established in June, were active on women's issues, particularly on steps to end honor killings."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

FGM not illegal in Kuridish region; no government assistance for victims ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 24022]

"Female genital mutilation (FGM) is not illegal and was reported in the rural areas of the Kurdish region. In March NGOs organized the publication of an open letter to KRG officials in various regional newspapers to demand legislation banning FGM. More than 13,000 petitioners reportedly endorsed the letter. The government offered no substantive assistance for victims of FGM."

Document(s): Open document

22.06.2007 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Iraqi Kurdistan's parliament is considering legislation that would officially ban polygamy ("Kurdish Leaders Debate Polygamy Ban") [ID 20500]

"Iraqi Kurdistan's parliament is challenging social and religious tradition by considering legislation that would officially ban polygamy in this northern region, in a move that has divided some Kurdish political leaders and women's groups. According to Iraqi legislation concerning the individual, which is largely derived from Islamic law, men can be married to as many as to four women at the same time. The proposed legislation would make the practice illegal in Iraqi Kurdistan, and has reignited a long-standing debate among Kurds about whether polygamy hurts or helps women, and whether legal restrictions would stop multiple marriages."

Document(s): Open document

22.06.2007 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Northern Iraq: Report on universities in Kurdish regions; corruption, lack of resources and political obstructions ("Kurdistan's Universities Need Reform") [ID 20502]

"The Kurdish government has promised a bright future for its youth, with opportunities to study at excellent new universities, such as the American University of Iraq, to be built in Sulaimaniyah. At the same time, higher education has benefited from the arrival of Arab academics, who have fled sectarian violence in central and southern parts of the country, and Kurdish intellectuals, who have returned from the Europe and elsewhere. But the university system requires extensive reforms before it can serve Iraqi students. The region's universities are hindered by politics, corruption, a lack of resources and a culture that does not promote critical or independent thought."

Document(s): Open document

08.06.2007 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Northern Iraq: Law requires women to have male guardian sign their passport application ("Kurdish Women Resent New Passport System") [ID 20675]

"For years, the authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan have overlooked a piece of Iraqi legislation which states a woman who applies for a passport first has to have her father, uncle or brother’s written permission. In the past, women in this part of the country simply applied and were given a passport without fuss. But the introduction of the new G edition passport in March 2007 – which is electronically read and difficult to forge - means that all passports are now issued on a special printing machine in Baghdad where the law is enforced."

Document(s): Open document

06.2007 - Source: Freedom House

Discrimination of minorities in northern Iraq ("Freedom in the World 2007") [ID 20743]

"Minorities in northern Iraq—Turkmen, Arabs, Christians, and Shabak—reported instances of discrimination and harassment at the hands of Kurdish authorities in 2006."

Document(s): Open document

30.05.2007 - Source: BBC News

Northern Iraq: Turkey deploys extra troops to Iraq border; forces ready for action against PKK; fear of regional instability as US forces pull back ("Turkey-Iraq border tension grows") [ID 20684]

"A Turkish military build-up on the northern Iraq border is fuelling fears of a confrontation between Ankara and Kurdistan's semi-independent government that could further destabilise the region as US forces begin to pull back. Turkey's armed forces chief said yesterday the army was prepared at any time to start cross-border action to halt attacks inside Turkey by the separatist Kurdistan Workers' party, which has bases in Iraq. [...]

Mr Barzani, head of the Kurdistan regional government (KRG), which enjoys considerable autonomy from the Shia Arab-led Baghdad government, has warned that any Turkish intervention could meet with resistance, both in northern Iraq and in south-east Turkey."

Document(s): Open document

12.12.2006 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Kurdish region: Health officials said they lack anti-retroviral drugs and the necessary equipment for testing for the HI virus and that they are instructed by health authorities in Baghdad to deport foreigners who are found HIV-positive ("Shortage of anti-retroviral drugs in Kurdistan") [ID 18198]

Document(s): Open document