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UN Human-Rights Report Sparks Uproar in
Kurdistan
8.5.2007
By Mohammed Salih
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May 8, 2007
Erbil, Kurdistan region (Iraq), -- A United
Nations report on Iraq's human-rights situation has
provoked mixed reactions in the northern Kurdistan
region. Officials accuse the UN of "exaggeration and
inaccuracy" while human rights activists say the
"actual extent of violations has been understated by
the UN."
The report by the United Nations Assistance Mission
for Iraq (UNAMI) covering the first three months of
this year has a substantial section on human rights
in the Kurdish-controlled north.
Kurdistan has been spared much of the bloody
violence in other parts of the country. It is the
safest and most prosperous part of Iraq, but the UN
report says it suffers from considerable violations
of human rights.
The UNAMI report released in late April voiced
"serious concern" over freedom of expression,
detentions, and conditions for women in Kurdistan.
Kurdish authorities say the UN report lacks
firsthand information on many alleged cases of
violation.
"This report is not precise in its investigations
because in some cases it has relied on media reports
or on reports released by other organizations,"
Dindar Zebari, the Kurdistan regional government's
coordinator for UN Affairs, told IPS.
Zebari said his government has passed new laws and
implemented reforms in government institutions in
order to improve human-rights conditions in the
three provinces (Erbil, Sulaimaniyah, and Dohuk)
under its control.
"We have exerted a lot of efforts to stop violence
against women. For example, people convicted of
honor-killing will not be eligible for general
amnesties," Zebari said.
But rights activists in Kurdistan hold quite
contrary views.
Rebin Rasul Ismael, a human rights activist from
Arbil, believes the UN report is inaccurate because
"it has failed to mention all the violations in
Kurdistan, and has only mentioned the prominent and
outstanding ones."
"The current reality shows that human-rights
conditions are very bad, and I am not optimistic
about the future of human rights in Kurdistan and
Iraq," Ismael told IPS.
Honor killings, he said, are no longer a few
isolated incidents, "but have reached a level that
now women are generally under a big threat in
Kurdistan."
The UN figures warn of deteriorating living
conditions for women in the north. In Arbil province
alone 358 women have burned themselves to death
since 2003. Another 218 have tried to do so.
The prime reason is pressure from male members of
the family, the report says.
Another cause for concern given in the report is the
conditions of prisoners, especially those arrested
on suspicion of terrorism. The UN report accuses
local authorities of torturing and mistreating
detainees. Many have been held for prolonged periods
without any charge.
"Many are held in custody only for being considered
threats," said Ismael. "You cannot hold people
behind bars for a couple of years just on suspicion
of posing a threat to the political or social
system."
The relative freedom of expression in Kurdistan, for
which Kurdish officials have claimed credit over
years, is seriously questioned in the UN report.
Several journalists have been arrested by security
services over the past few years. Others have been
threatened or beaten by unknown persons.
"We have a feeling that sometimes journalists are
subjected to the political mood of the security
services," Farhad Awni, head of the Kurdistan
Journalists' Syndicate (KJS), told IPS.
The UN report says KJS is not an independent body.
Awni denies this, and says a new law drafted by the
KJS will provide legal protection for journalists
once it is approved by the regional parliament.
Under the draft law, the highest punishment for a
journalist for a perceived offense arising from
their work will be fines, not imprisonment. Cases
involving journalists will be handled by the police
and not the security services, who deal with serious
crimes.
The gloomy picture the report paints explains why
many Iraqis are disillusioned with the country's new
reality.
"Unfortunately, contrary to our initial
expectations, post-Saddam Iraq has not become a
country that protects and respects human rights,"
Ismael said. "Iraq is in a catastrophic situation,
and the country's new rulers are responsible for
this."
IPS
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