Iraq

Information Centre Asylum and Migration Briefing Notes

Published by on July 15, 2013

Germany: Federal Office for Migration and Asylum 15 July 2013 Security situation On 25.06.13, several Taliban fighters attacked the presidential palace in Kabul. After explosions and gunfire erupted for more than an hour, the attackers were killed. On 01.07.13, an attack in northern Baghlan province claimed the lives of a district police chief and of three police officers. In the capital Kabul, members of the security forces killed a suicide bomber before he was able to detonate himself in front of the National Directorate of Security NDS. In western Badghis province, Taliban attacked three border checkpoints; twelve insurgents were killed Read the full article…

Iraq: ICRC Annual Report 2012

Published by on July 1, 2013

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) July 2013 Nearly three years after the general elections, the political situation in Iraq remained unstable, with controversial issues unresolved and key ministerial positions vacant. Tensions persisted between the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan regional government over revenue allocation and control of the disputed territories. Other provinces also sought more autonomy. High levels of violence throughout the year reportedly led to thousands of civilian deaths, particularly in Baghdad, central Iraq and the disputed territories. The delivery of public services remained poor and unemployment rates high, such that people often lacked access to Read the full article…

Iraq: Amnesty International Annual Report 2013

Published by on May 23, 2013

Amnesty International 23 May 2013 Thousands of people were detained; hundreds were sentenced to death or prison terms, many after unfair trials and on terrorism-related charges. Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees remained rife and were committed with impunity. Hundreds of prisoners were on death row. At least 129 people were executed, including at least three women. Armed groups opposed to the government continued to commit gross human rights abuses, killing hundreds of civilians in suicide and other bomb attacks. Harassment, intimidation and violence against journalists and media workers continued to be reported. Over 67,000 refugees from Syria sought safety Read the full article…

Iraq: 2012 Report on International Religious Freedom

Published by on May 20, 2013

United States Department of State 20 May 2013 The constitution provides for religious freedom and the government generally respected religious freedom in practice. The trend in the government’s respect for religious freedom did not change significantly during the year. The constitution recognizes Islam as the official religion, mandates that Islam be considered a source of legislation, and states that no law may be enacted that contradicts the established provisions of Islam. However, it also states that no law may contradict principles of democracy or the rights and basic freedoms stipulated in the constitution. The constitution guarantees freedom from intellectual, political, Read the full article…

Iraq: How Baghdad Fuels Iraq’s Sectarian Fire

Published by on May 15, 2013

Human Rights Watch 15 May 2013 The Iraqi government has hurled the country to the brink of a new civil war. In under a month, Baghdad launched a vicious assault on a Sunni protest camp, resulting in 44 deaths; executed 21 alleged Sunni terrorists in one day, and suspended the licenses of 10 satellite channels, 9 of them deemed pro-Sunni. Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s message to his country’s extremely disaffected Sunni minority, which resists with an increasing sense of futility joining the battles between Maliki’s forces and extremists? “Bring It On!” The country remains in shambles after years of Read the full article…

Iraq: April deadliest month in Iraq in five years

Published by on May 2, 2013

UN News Service 2 May 2013 More people were killed and wounded in violent attacks across Iraq in April than in any month since June 2008, the United Nations mission in the country said today. According to figures released by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a total of 712 people were killed and 1,633 were wounded in acts of terrorism and violence. The majority of victims were civilians, with 595 people killed and 1,438 injured. A further 117 members of the Iraqi Security Forces were killed and 195 were injured. Baghdad was the worst affected governorate, with a Read the full article…

Forced Migration Review No. 43 - States of fragility

Published by on May 1, 2013

Refugees Studies Centre May 2013 State fragility poses a challenge to the refugee regime. Rather than just placing the emphasis on the need to protect people fleeing the acts of states against their own populations, it also demands the protection of people fleeing the omissions of states, whether due to states’ unwillingness or to their inability to provide for their citizens’ fundamental rights. Read full report here.  

Iraq: USCIRF Annual Report 2013 - Countries of Particular Concern

Published by on April 30, 2013

US Commission on International Religious Freedom 30 April 2013 Over the last several years the Iraqi government has made efforts to increase security for religious sites and worshippers, provide a stronger voice for Iraq’s smallest minorities in parliament, and revise secondary school textbooks to portray minorities in a more positive light. Nevertheless, the government of Iraq continues to tolerate systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations, including violent religiously-motivated attacks. Violence against Iraqi civilians continued in 2012 at approximately the same level as in 2011. In addition, the government took actions that increased, rather than reduced, Sunni-Shi’i and Arab-Kurdish tensions, Read the full article…

Iraq: Deadly Raid on Protest

Published by on April 24, 2013

Human Rights Watch 24 April 2013 Iraqi authorities should ensure that a promised investigation into a deadly raid on April 23, 2013, in Haweeja, near Kirkuk, examines allegations that security forces used excessive and lethal force. Government statements said armed men at a protest sit-in fired on security forces, killing three soldiers, but local sources and media reports said security forces attacked demonstrators without provocation, killing dozens of people. The government put the death toll at 27. On April 23, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced the formation of a special ministerial committee to investigate the deaths. The government had previously Read the full article…