“General debate Item 4: Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention"

Statement by: International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD)

25 September 2020

Thank you Mr. President,

EAFORD and Geneva International Centre for Justice would like to bring the attention of the Council to the systematic and widespread human rights violations in Iraq.

Arbitrary detention for thousands of innocents are widely practised. Detainees are kept in detention for years without being brought before a judge and without having access to a lawyer. The army, police, security units and militias each operate their own prisons. The Defence and Interior ministries have played a crucial role in the enforced disappearances of more than 17.000 innocent Iraqis by conducting widespread campaigns of arrest and detention across Iraq.

Furthermore, al-Hashd al-Sha’bi militias are responsible of the mass killings and disappearances of thousands of Sunni Arabs in Iraq merely for sectarian reasons.

Torture, ill-treatment and humiliation, is the daily practice against detainees. It must be stated that UN missions in Iraq and the OHCHR are denied interviews with detainees despite repeated requests.

The Iraqi judicial system is not independent or free and is plagued by corruption and interference of the government and the militias.

Former High Commissioner, Navi Pillay, said, “the criminal justice system in Iraq is not functioning adequately, with numerous convictions based on confessions obtained under torture and ill-treatment, a weak judiciary and trial proceedings that fall short of international standards.”

We call again on this Council to take all necessary actions to put an end to these heinous violations.

Thank you

Justice, Human rights, Geneva, geneva4justice, GICJ, Geneva International Centre For Justice