Human Rights in Iraq - Essay Example

Sana Osman English 22 December 2008 Human Rights in Iraq Human rights are the basic freedoms and rights that all humans are en d to. Some of these rights include freedom of thought and expression, the right to life and liberty, and the right to equality before law. All humans are subject to human rights irrespective of their nationality, or race. The term human rights came into wide use after World War II. The concept of human rights has grown with time and various countries have accepted different degrees of human rights. Human rights in Iraq has witnessed different stages and evolved with time. Iraq has seen different periods of government rule and the human rights in Iraq have been different in the different periods of rule. The human rights in Iraq can be divided into three distinct periods, the pre-Saddam period, the period of Saddam Hussein, and the post war period. The military in Iraq plays a very important role in maintaining an atmosphere of pressure and fear on which the government of Iraq rests. The Iraqi military forces have a lot of power and the government usually does not make an attempt to investigate any human rights abuse cases. The Iraqi government's human rights record is very poor. Human rights like the right to freedom of speech, the right to freedom of press, and the like were restricted by the government. Human rights in the pre-Saddam period were very poor. The abuses of human rights on the citizens were prevalent from this period itself. The Hashemite monarchy is considered the most imperfect rule in terms of human rights. The influence of prime ministers and leaders of the military was huge and the civil and human rights of people varied from place to place. During this period Jews had face a lot of discrimination. They were deprived of property and Iraqi nationality. In 1949 Iraq's Prime Minister also suggested that Iraq may expel its Jewish population .1 Following this, from 1950 to 1951 more than 120,000 Jews left Iraq for Israel in a mass emigration. This mass emigration was one of the largest airlift operations in history .2 Human rights in the pre-Saddam period faced a lot of ups and downs as Iraq saw many different leaders and governments. Human rights were often violated due to the differences between various rulers and members of different ethnic communities. Many rulers and regimes discriminated certain groups and communities, which resulted in the violation of human rights to these affected communities. Saddam Hussein was one of the most famous Iraqi leaders. Human right during his rule faced a lot of torture and mass murder. During Saddam's rule the military and paramilitary forces had a lot of power, which they used to violate many human rights. The methods used to maintain control during his rule were secret police, forced disappearances, targeted assassinations, murders, and torture. Regular reports of widespread torture and murder were reported by the Amnesty International and Human Right Watch. Many human rights organizations have documented many cases of torture, murder, approved execution, and rape during Saddam's rule between 1979 and 2003. Human rights in Saddam's rule were affected in many ways. People were executed for reasons such as supporting the opposition, or not being in favour of the President. Women were executed saying they practised prostitution and some men were executed for supporting them. Mass execution used to take place in prisons as part of a prison clean out activity. Political killing were another way of murdering people. Widespread disappearances continued to take place with hundreds of people missing. "The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iraq has reported that such records have been found with regard to a considerable number of persons followed, wanted or detained in northern Iraq, many of whom subsequently disappeared" (Lawson, Bertucci and Wiseberg 522). Though the Iraqi constitution prohibited torture and arbitrary arrest and detention, the military and security forces regularly tortured captives, and people were arrested for long periods of time without access to a lawyer. The Iraqi court was not independent and the President remained unchecked and could override any court decision. The government usually violated the rights of privacy, home and family of a citizen. Authorities did not require warrants for such acts according to the government. All this affected the right to respect for the integrity of a person, including deprivation of life. The Iraqi constitution had provisions for civil liberties including freedom of press and speech. However, in practice these rights were not practiced by the government. "The Special Rapporteur stated in October 1999 that citizens lived 'in a climate of fear,' in which whatever they said or did, particularly in the area of politics, involved the risk of arrest and interrogation by the police or military intelligence" (U.S Department of State). The constitution offered the freedom of assembly and association, however like other rights these rights were also restricted by the government. The government controlled the establishment of political parties and monitored their internal affairs as well. The constitution also offered the freedom of religion, however in practice it had many shortcomings. Religious places of worship and publication of religious literature was monitored by the government. Shi'a political parties were considered illegal and many Shi'a leaders were murdered. It is claimed "that the Sunnis - although a minority - ran Iraq and subjected the majority Shias to to systematic discrimination" (Metz 101). The government also monitored religious education of the Shi'as. The government also suppressed other religions like Christianity. The government restricted the movement of people within the country. There were police check points at all major roads and highways restricting the freedom of movement within a country, foreign travel and emigration. The government had many rules in place for people who wanted to travel abroad, like, citizens could travel abroad only twice annually and the government issued expensive exit visas. The citizens of Iraq did not have the right to change their government. The President was the most powerful entity in the country. Though the government claimed to take steps towards democracy, the whole political process was controlled solely by the State. Voters did not have privacy and if anyone voted negatively they were arrested. Opposition political parties were considered illegal and were suppressed. The government did not allow the formation of human rights organizations. Several international human rights organizations were not allowed in the country. The government harassed and threatened workers of the United Nation organization. Although the constitution provides various rights to minorities, women, and children, the government regularly violated these rights. Security forces used to rape family members of people in oppositions as a punishment, though rape was prohibited by the law. "Iraq's patriarchal attitudes and traditions, have heavily impacted women's lives and have limited their economic opportunities and rights" (Nazir and Tomppert 95). The government stated that it had laws in place to grant women equality and protection in work places, it also had provisions for women to join the army. However, the extent to which these laws were practiced is unknown. Several human rights groups gathered that the government disregarded the welfare and rights of children. It is alleged that the government took children from minority groups to frighten their families and to leave cities where the government wished to create a Sunni majority. The Sunnis were the most protected groups in Iraq, Shi'as Assyrians and Jews were discriminated and abused. People who were non-Arabs were deprived of education, employment and security. Non-Arabs could not sell their homes, or inherit property. The government relocated most of the non-Arab population. The government did not permit education in languages other than Arabic and Kurdish, this prevented Chaldean and Assyrian children to be educated in Syrian. The government did not practice the right to association. Trade unions were prohibited and strikes were not allowed according to the Labor Law. People did not have the right to bargain collectively or organize. Government had set salaries and workers were frequently shifted from jobs to prevent them from forming close associations with others workers. Human rights during Saddam's rule were almost non-existent. Military power was at a high and so was abuse of human rights of the citizens. There was no support for citizens to fight for their human rights whether internally or with the help of external organizations. It is said that the situation in Iraq remains the same even after the war and execution of the leader Saddam Hussein. "Despite its declared policy of supporting human rights, the Bush administration in fighting terrorism refuses to be bound by human rights standards" (Weiss, Crahan and Goering 113). Sunnis are said to have regularly captured, tortured and killed people who believe the enemy. The status of the freedom of speech and press in Iraq is uncertain. It is said that the U.S. military paid journalists to print articles in favor of the U.S., therefore, restricting the freedom of press. The United States abolished the death penalty with the help of the Coalition Provisional Authority, however the extent to which the Coalition Provisional Authority practices this is not clear. For example, the ban on trade unions was to be removed, but the Iraqi courts and tribunals practice a revised version of the legal code of 1988, therefore the ban on trade union seems to exist till date. It is also noticed that homosexuality is still treated as a crime in Iraq. The Human Right First had to monitor, conduct advocacy and analyze the protection of refugees, protection of detainees, and ensure accountability for past crimes. The Human Rights First asked many bordering countries to protect Iraqi refugees. The United Nations was asked to set up a commission to investigate past crimes in order to set up an international tribunal for Iraq. In the present situation people in Iraq have been relieved of the systematic, massive human rights violations that took place during Saddam's rule. However, at the same time it is still noticed that people in Iraq still suffer high levels of violence and many abuses of human rights. The situation of detainees in Iraq is very horrific, as abuse and torture still continues. Human rights in Iraq have been on a complete downfall. The period of Saddam's rule is considered to be the worst period of Iraqi human rights. Though the situation has improved, it is till bad considering the number of deaths that are still taking place in Iraq due to the violation of various human rights. It is time international organizations take the necessary steps to ensure proper rights and freedom for Iraqi people. Basic human rights and humanitarian law needs to be established in Iraq at the earliest. Endnotes 1 Meron, Ya'akov, Why Jews Fled the Arab Countries, (September 1995) 115-116 2 Pipes, Daniel, review of The Jewish Exodus from Iraq, 1948-1951 by Moshe Gat London: Frank Cass, 1997 Works Cited Lawson, Edward H., Mary Lou Bertucci, and Laurie S. Wiseberg, Encyclopedia of Human Rights, Taylor and Francis, 1996 Metz, Helen Chapin, Iraq: A Country Study, Kessinger Publishing, 2004 Nazir, Sameena, and Leigh Tomppert, Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Citizenship and Justice, Rowman & Littlefield, 2005 U.S Department of State, Iraq - Country Report on Human Rights Practices - 2001, March 4, 2002 Weiss, Thomas George, Margaret E. Crahan, and John Goering, Wars on Terrorism and Iraq: Human Rights, Unilateralism, and U.S. Foreign Policy, Routledge, 2004 Read More