Recommendations:
Prompt the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to speed up
conducting the general census of Iraq.
Legal Framework against Racial Discrimination (Articles 2-7):
Article (125) of the Constitution states: "This Constitution shall guarantee the
administrative, political, cultural, and educational rights of the various nationalities,
such as Turkmen, Chaldeans, Assyrians, and all other constituents, and this shall be
regulated by law", the Iraqi national legislations include a number of legal provisions
that protect, directly or indirectly, the rights of minorities, such as Article (372) of the
Iraqi Penal Code No. (111) of 1969 (Amended), despite the enactment of the law on
the protection of the rights of components in the Kurdistan Region No. (5) of 2015 and
the issuance of Labor Law No. (37) of 2015, which contains a clear and explicit
definition of direct and indirect discrimination in labor and ban it (Article (1)\
Paragraph 25 and 26) .. However, the Commission noted that the law on the
protection of minorities is still in the drawers of the Iraqi Federal Council of
Representatives and has not been approved so far and the Commission continues to
follow up in coordination with the relevant authorities in the Office of Endowments of
Christian, Yazidi and Sabean Mandae religions. The law on Turkmen's Rights and the
law to develop the governorates of Tuz and Tal Afar are still in the drawers of the Iraqi
Council of Representatives without passing. The Commission observed that criminal
laws still do not include a clear prohibition of racial discrimination. The procedures for
denouncing hate speech do not rise to the required level. The dissemination of ideas
based on racial superiority or hatred and incitement to racial discrimination is not a
punishable crime. The Commission indicated the escalation of extremism and reached
the level of violence and killing in some areas inhabited by Arab and Yazidi citizens,
where the (Yazidi armed factions) killed (52) citizens including men, women and
children from the Arab tribe (Almitiot) and burned their bodies on 4/6/2017 in the
(Ain al-Ghazal) village of the Qayrawan area\ Al-Baaj district4 . In addition, the IHCHR
Office in Nineveh received another complaint from a resident (S.A.M) from Nineveh \
Baaj district who is a displaced person in one of the camps (Al-Jada'a camp) reporting
that an armed group of the Yazidi Mobilization had kidnapped his family's members
of (a Muslim Arab family) consisting of (21) individuals during the battles to liberate
the district of al-Baaj from Daesh Terrorist gangs on 4/6/2017, and that the fate of the
family members of the complainant is still unknown, and according to his claim this
was based on a violent extremism fueled by the spirit of revenge for the attacks on
the Yazidis by Daesh terrorist gangs.
4)
Based on the complaint submitted to the IHCHR Office in Nineveh by two citizens who are relatives
of the victims against the armed Yazidi factions.
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