U.N. Issues Iraq Report on Human Rights Abuses

The UNAMI, or United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, has released a report on human rights violations taking place in that country and provided recommendations on how various involved parties can help prevent additional abuses from being perpetrated. The report referred to abuses committed by a number of different forces and groups in Iraq.

According to a press release issued on Thursday by the United Nations, the UNAMI report indicated that Iraqi civilians are targeted by various armed groups which commit executions, kidnapping, and suicide bombings without regard as to whether or not their victims are combatants. Such violence is most common around the capitol, Baghdad, but frequently occurs in other cities like Basra (in southern Iraq) and Mosul.

The report indicated that all Iraqi ethnic groups are targeted and professionals (such as lawyers and journalists) are often victimized. It expressed concern regarding detainees being imprisoned for long periods of time before being referred to judicial authorities, along with not being informed of how long they would be detained. It also refers to reports of torture committed by the Iraqi and Kurdish governments and abuses by private American contractors, such as the Blackwater security firm.

The UNAMI report included recommendations for the Iraqi government, United States government, insurgent groups, militia, and multi-national forces. It recommends that the Iraqi govt. should improve judicial oversight, respond to reports of torture committed by authorities, and more effectively screen the personnel of its law enforcement system.

It calls upon Iraqi militia and insurgent groups to end attacks targeting civilians, release all hostages, and stop the practice of taking hostages. It also asks that the U.S. government investigate deaths reportedly caused by private contractors in Iraq and create a mechanism for holding such contractors accountable.

It recommended that investigations be carried out regarding "all credible allegations" regarding illegal killing by multi-national forces (MNF) in Iraq, and called upon these forces to follow "basic due process guarantees" as well.

According to its web site (PDF format), UNAMI was established by the U.N. Security Council in August, 2003. Shortly after it was created, the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad were targeted by a suicide bomber, causing the deaths of twenty-two people. The United Nations staff in Iraq was withdrawn, but started returning in the spring of 2004. UNAMI's leader is Ashraf Qazi, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq. 693 staff members of the U.N. work in Iraq, Jordan, and Kuwait.

Sources:

1. United Nations, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24263
2. UNAMI, http://www.uniraq.org/documents/UNAMI_FactSheet-02Aug07_EN.pdf