RIGHTS-IRAQ: U.N. Report Paints Grim Picture

By William Fisher
NEW YORK, May 4 (IPS) Iraqi prisons are torturing detainees, locking
people up for months without charges and, in most cases, allowing the
perpetrators of these human rights to escape justice, according to a new
United Nations report.

"Security may not be sustainable unless significant steps are taken
in the area of human rights such as strengthening the rule of law and
addressing impunity," warned the report, issued on Apr. 29.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said it
"remains concerned about the overall human rights situation in Iraq
since indiscriminate attacks remained a frequent occurrence; the targeted
killings of security forces, high ranking officials and civil servants,
religious and political leaders, professional groups such as journalists,
educators, medical doctors, judges and lawyers and other civilians
continued at a high rate, as did criminal abductions for ransom."

It said the last half of 2008 "was also characterized by the attacks
against minority leaders and the large displacement of over 12,000
Christians from Mosul in October. Violence against women in the region of
Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq remained one of the issues of serious
concern as the pattern of the recorded incidents of suicide often points
towards ‘honor’-related homicides."

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, whose staff helped
compile the report, said, "The situation of Iraqi women is extremely
difficult. Violent actions are taken against them on a daily basis and I
urge the authorities to make it a priority to both improve legislation,
and law enforcement in order to protect them properly."

The U.N. report said the improvement in the security situation "was
not accompanied by a full reestablishment of the rule of law and by
systematically addressing impunity."

"Allegations of torture should be promptly and thoroughly
investigated, and criminal proceedings taken against officials found to
have abused detainees in their custody. Every effort should be made to
ensure that juvenile detainees are held at the appropriate and separate
locations equipped with rehabilitation facilities, and additional
resources devoted to address the issue of overcrowding at detention
places," the report said.

Francis A. Boyle, a law professor at the University of Illinois, told IPS,
"Under the Laws of War, the United States still remains the
belligerent occupant of Iraq and is therefore vicariously responsible for
these war crimes and human rights atrocities."

He said, "Nothing has changed as a result of the so-called Status of
Forces agreement with respect to the Laws of War and the analysis set
forth in there except the termination of the Security Council resolutions
with the side letters from the USA indicating a willingness to abide by
the Laws of War as a condition for the renewal."

"That does not alter the status of the U.S. as the
'belligerent occupant' of Iraq and the fact that we are
vicariously responsible for these war crimes and human rights atrocities,
as indicated by the relevant sections of U.S. Army Field Manual 27-10,
which is still valid and binding," he added.

The U.N. report found that the 26,249 people being held in Iraq prisons in
December faced "months or even years in overcrowded cells" and
many had not been formally charged.

It said the use of torture as an interrogation method and the
ill-treatment of detainees remains "a serious challenge to
Iraq’s criminal justice system."

There is no known case in which any official in the powerful Ministry of
Defence, which has its own jails, "has been held accountable for
human rights abuses."

The report also criticised jails in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region for
poor treatment, including beatings and electric shock.

Kurdistan also came under fire for its high rate of so-called "honour
killings" of women and the many cases of women burned or coerced into
suicide in these cases. It said, "The vast majority of women still
face at least one form of domestic violence."

The report also charged that the amnesty law, which was promoted by the
U.S. to encourage reconciliation, has largely failed to have its intended
effect. Only 7,500 detainees were released from prison out of a total of
some 127,431.

The report faulted U.S. forces for detaining people "for prolonged
periods without judicial review" and urged U.S. officials to continue
investigations into two shootings by guards for the U.S. embassy working
for Blackwater Worldwide, now known as Xe.

Last December, five Blackwater guards were charged with manslaughter in
the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians in a shooting incident at a busy Baghdad
intersection. A sixth Blackwater guard has pleaded guilty to manslaughter
in a U.S. court.

As of December 2008, the number of detainees under Iraqi control was
26,249 and those under the control of the Multinational Force Iraq (MNF-I)
was 15,058, the report said. It raised concerns about the conditions of
detainees, many of whom have been deprived of their liberty for months or
even years in overcrowded cells, and about violations of the minimum rules
of due process as many did not have access to defense counsel, or were not
formally charged with a crime or appeared before a judge.

The report recommended that the Iraqi government "ensure the
effective implementation of the legislation regulating prisons and bring
all detention facilities and prisons under the authority of the Ministry
of Justice."

The Iraqis "should address urgently all allegations of abuse of
detainees, including juveniles. And law enforcement personnel and
detaining officials known or suspected of having tortured or ill-treated
detainees in their custody should not enjoy immunity from
prosecution."

The report called on the Iraqi government to "increase efforts to
alleviate overcrowding in prisons and detention facilities and improve
sanitation and hygiene conditions; in particular, institute urgent
measures to examine conditions at juvenile detention facilities in respect
of overcrowding and lack of adequate rehabilitation programs."

It urged the Iraqi government to "investigate incidents involving
gender-based violence, in particular the so-called ‘honor
crimes’ perpetrated against women, and take measures to ensure that
persons found responsible for committing these crimes are held accountable
and brought to justice."

And it urged MNF-I and U.S. government authorities to investigate reports
of deaths caused by privately hired contractors working on behalf of the
US Government, and strengthen effective mechanisms for holding these
contractors accountable for unlawful killings.

The U.S. must "ensure that offenses committed in Iraq by all
categories of U.S. contractor employees are subject to prosecution under
the law."