News Center- The Human Rights Watch (HRW) released its report on the events in Iraq in 2024 on Monday.

While Iraq continued to enjoy increased security and stability in 2024 following decades of armed conflict, impunity and a lack of justice and accountability for serious crimes, shrinking civic space, flaws in the justice system, discriminatory legal norms disproportionately impacting LGBT people, women, children, and minorities, and inadequate provision of government services remained key areas of concern, the report said.

The report also mentioned the political tension in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. “In August, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani launched Iraq's National Development Plan (2024-2028), focusing on improving services, developing oil and gas, and initiating projects aligned with the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Vision. However, ongoing disputes between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal Iraqi government over oil revenue, the payment of government salaries, and delayed regional elections have intensified political polarization.”

In 2024, Türkiye increased its military operations in federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). According to the NGO Community Peacemaker Teams, the Turkish military advanced 15 kilometers into Dohuk governorate, resulting in the displacement of the population of at least 162 villages and the destruction of civilian property. Turkish drone strikes allegedly killed three journalists and eight civilians in 2024.

In 2024, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iraqi militias with links to Iran, claimed responsibility for around 200 attacks on US military bases in Iraq, Syria, and Israel that it says were conducted in retaliation for US support for Israel amid hostilities in Gaza.

Women’s rights

In 2024, women and girls in Iraq continued to struggle against patriarchal norms embedded in Iraq’s legal system. “Iraq’s penal code enables impunity for male violence against women, including provisions that allow the husband to punish his wife, parents to discipline their children, and mitigated sentences for violent acts including murder for so-called ‘honorable motives.’ The penal code also allows perpetrators of rape or sexual assault to escape prosecution or have their sentences quashed if they marry their victim,” the report said.

The report also mentioned the debates on an amendment to Iraq’s Personal Status Law that would allow Iraqi religious authorities, rather than state law, to govern marriage and inheritance matters at the expense of fundamental rights. “If passed, the amendment would have disastrous effects on women’s and girls’ rights as guaranteed under international law and would undermine the principle of equality under Iraqi law by removing protections for women regarding divorce and inheritance.”

Children’s rights

Child marriage rates in Iraq have been steadily rising since 2003. Iraq's Personal Status Law sets the legal marriage age at 18, but allows marriage at 15 with a judge's approval, based on the child's “maturity and physical capacity,” a provision that violates international legal standards and best practices. The draft amendment to the Personal Status Law would legalize child marriage for girls as young as nine and boys as young as 15.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that 28 percent of girls in Iraq are married before age 18. According to the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq, 22 percent of unregistered marriages involved girls under age 14. Poverty, insecurity, and lower educational outcomes for girls have all been associated with increased child marriage rates in Iraq.

Death penalty

Iraq has long had one of the highest rates of executions in the world. About 8,000 prisoners, most charged with terrorism offenses, are on death row in Iraq.

“On December 25, 2023, Iraqi authorities executed thirteen men in Nasiriyah prison, the first mass execution since 21 men were executed on November 16, 2020. Multiple mass executions occurred in 2024, including the execution of 13 people on April 22. The Iraqi government does not provide public figures on executions,” HRW said in the report.