In issuing its findings, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances – a group of 10 independent experts that monitors States’ adherence to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance – also noted that revictimization prevails in these cases.
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The Committee called on Iraq to incorporate the offence of enforced disappearance into its domestic criminal legislation and to ensure that no person is held in secret detention.

​Legislation Delays

To be sure, the Committee also welcomed that Iraq set up two fact-finding committees, in 2016 and 2018, to address enforced disappearances committed in the country.  It also hailed the drafting of the Bill on the Protection of Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which is currently before the Council of Ministers.

But the experts also expressed concern at delays in adopting this legislation, which has fostered a lack of criminalization of the offence.  It recommended that Iraq revise the bill, in compliance with the International Convention, and in consultation with all stakeholders, including civil society.

Lawmakers to​ Decide on Abusive Cybercrimes Measure

​ Iraqi lawmakers are considering a draft law on information technology crimes that could be used to stifle free expression, Human Rights Watch said today.

Free speech is already under attack in Iraq, and on November 23, 2020 lawmakers discussed this  draft law and planned to hold a second reading during the week of November 29. The bill includes vague provisions that will allow Iraqi authorities to harshly punish expression they decide constitutes a threat to governmental, social, or religious interests.

“This law would give Iraqi authorities yet another tool to suppress dissent over the main medium that journalists, activists, and the general public rely on for information and open debate,” said Belkis Wille, senior crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch. “If parliament passes the law, it will further undermine the already narrow field for free speech and stifle public discussion and debate online.”

Thousands of displaced Iraqis with perceived ties to the armed group calling itself the Islamic State (IS), already subjected to arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and unfair trials, are today at heightened risk as Iraqi authorities move ahead with the closure of camps despite the range of obstacles to their safe, dignified and sustainable return, Amnesty International said in a new report published today.
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Marked for Life: Displaced Iraqis in cycle of abuse and stigmatization reveals how the central Iraqi authorities, along with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), continue to stigmatize displaced people with perceived ties to IS, blocking or hindering their access to civil documentation essential for employment, education, access to state benefits and free movement. Thousands of families across Iraq still do not know the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones who were disappeared.

​The Iraqi authorities have over the last weeks pushed ahead with the closure of camps, thus far shutting down Ninewa and Karbala camps in Baghdad, among others, and in effect putting at risk thousands who are ending up in precarious shelters or being returned to their areas of origin despite the fears of some that they will be unsafe there.

“The Iraqi authorities and KRG must address the continuing collective punishment of IDPs with perceived links to IS as an integral part of any national plans to close camps – currently the only option for shelter for thousands of people. Tackling these injustices is the only way to ensure a safe and dignified return, otherwise they risk perpetuating the sorts of actions that sow the seeds for future cycles of violence” said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa

Government Should Show Progress on Pledge to Locate Victims

​ Iraqi authorities should fulfill a commitment to locate victims of enforced disappearance and ensure that those responsible are held accountable, Human Rights Watch said today.

Since taking office in May 2020, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi announced that his government was creating a new mechanism to locate victims of enforced disappearances, but authorities appear to have done little follow-through. Iraqi authorities did not respond to a November 5 letter from Human Rights Watch requesting information about eight disappearances that occurred between December 2019 and October 2020.

“Creating a do-nothing mechanism, as Iraqi governments have done for years, is simply not enough to address longtime problems like enforced disappearances,” said Belkis Wille, senior crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Ending enforced disappearances and holding security forces accountable requires a sustained and serious commitment that includes tracking these cases.”

Case details obtained by Human Rights Watch indicate that the Popular Mobilization Forces – PMF or Hashd al-Sha'abi, security forces nominally under the control of the prime minister since November 2016 – were most likely behind all eight disappearances. These cases are only a small fraction of the total disappearances believed to have been carried out by these groups over the past year.