Report on the situation of human rights in Iraq prepared by the special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights

I. Civil and political rights:

A. Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions:

"The special Rapporteur continues to receive reports referring to an execution campaign taking place in Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. Supporting the allegations, several lists of names of more than 170 detainees executed between mid-December 1997 and July 1998 have been made available to the Special Rapporteur."

"With regard to the charges which have led to the death penalty, these executions are said to have involved detainees charged with participating in 'mob incidents'. This accusation is alleged to cover up the politically motivated intention to punish those persons who took part in the popular uprisings of March 1991 characterized by the Government of Iraq as 'mob incidents' "some of the persons who took part in these events are currently serving sentences ranging from 10 to 15 years in Abu Ghraib prison".

The report also takes note of the "official orders reportedly issued by the secretary of the Presidential office, dated 24 March 1998, addressed to the public Security Directorate demanding "the necessary instructions regarding the crime of those executed for destabilizing State security and threatening national security, and withdrawing their military ranks and the medals awarded to them"

The report also cites a list of "62 detainees said to have been executed in late June 1998." Sources report that the victims originated from governorates throughout Iraq… they were all charged with participating in "mob incidents"…most have been detained for several years in Mosul detention center. The information received further reveals that the victims had been transferred to death cells in Abu Ghraib prison about three months before the executions." In some cases, bodies were bruised in mass graves, in other cases, bodies were returned, but the families had to pay for the bullet used to kill the victims in order to recover the bodies. In these last cases, the families were reportedly not allowed to hold burials and mourning ceremonies."

"The Special Rapporteur observes ..that execution for commission of petty property crimes-involving no violence whatsoever-is a wholly disproportionate punishment constituting violation of the right to life. "Maintenance by the Government of Iraq of such severe penalties for such a wide variety of offences is indicative of the nature of the overall situation of human rights in Iraq, as evidence also in the general attitude of the authorities in defending as normal the imposition of the death penalty for such petty offences."

The report also discusses "political killings" by the Iraqi government as a means of maintaining control over its population. The report cites assassinations of "two internationally respected religious scholars (from) Najaf: Grand Ayatollah Shaykh Mirza Ali al-Gharwai and Aytollah Shaykh Murtada al-Burujerdi …. The Rapporteur expressed his concern that these deaths may be part of an organized attack by Iraqi officials against the independent leadership of the Shi'a religious community in Iraq. Such attacks are consistent with previous assaults against the Shi'a religious establishment in Iraq, especially since the uprisings of March-April 1991." The Rapporteur noted that this is evident from "the history of similar terrorist acts committed against any person who might be perceived as a threat to the Iraqi Government-in particular because of their independence or their popularity among ordinary Iraqis" He also noted that "such killings are most notable because of their apparent intent to violate, by means of terror, the freedoms of opinion and expression of particular groups or the population as a whole."

B. Arbitrary detention and conditions of detention:

"The Special Rapporteur has also continued to receive reports of widespread arbitrary arrest and detention. Some of these concern the arbitrary arrest several years ago of persons who continue in detention, while others concern recent arrests and detention." The report notes "three lists of detainees whose cases were processed by the Public Security Directorate of Ta'mim." The lists included 42, 41, and 89 names respectively. The charges ranged from "spying", "belonging to the opposition", "criticizing the government", to smuggling food items, stealing, forging documents (passports), and fleeing the country. The report also notes "hundreds of Fayli Kurds and other Iraqi citizens of Iranian origin who had disappeared in the early 1980s were in fact being held incommunicado in Abu Ghraib prison.

C. Cruel and unusual treatment and punishment:

The Special Rapporteur discusses reports that "persons arrested and detained are routinely subjected to mistreatment, including prolonged inquisitions accompanied by beatings and various deprivations, not to mention torture." "The Special Rapporteur has expressed for some years his extreme concern about especially cruel and unusual punishments prescribed by Iraqi law, i.e. mutilations including amputations and branding." "The Government's failure to abrogate the punishments from prescribed law constitutes a continuing gross violation of human rights"

The Special Rapporteur also notes that a recent report indicated that "penal amputations were re-imposed in August 1998…In a letter dated 7 August 1998, Uday Hussain, the son of President Saddam Hussein ordered that six members of an elite commando unit who used their position to rob people be punished by having a hand amputated." This indicates that "penal amputations are being imposed in Iraq.. that such punishments are being imposed without the due process of law.. and that there is effectively no rule of law in Iraq."

II. The rights to food and health care:

Regarding the humanitarian situation, the reports say: notwithstanding its own calculations of widespread suffering and high morbidity and mortality rates throughout the country(especially affecting women, children, and the elderly), the Government of Iraq has persistently failed to act to the maximum of its available resources and in full cooperation with the international community to respect and ensure the rights to food and health care."

Efforts that were stimulated by the Security Council Resolution 1153, which more than doubled the allowable sales of oil to some US$5.2 "led to a general increase in the range and volume of humanitarian supplies reaching Iraq." However, "these efforts had been offset by a substantial drop in oil prices and delays by the Government of Iraq in the resumption of oil sales." The Special Rapporteur notes that "the humanitarian situation remains precarious" "only once did the food basket contain the full ration for all commodities other than infant formula." "the ration lasts for an average of 20 days."

"With regard to the nutritional situation of children under the age of five, the ..the situation remains unchanged since the previous survey in March 1997…27 per cent of children are suffering from chronic malnutrition while 9 per cent are suffering from acute malnutrition."

"Until 14 May 1998, Iraqi citizens who had moved from the three northern governorates of Dohuk, Erbil, ad Sulaymaniyah to new domiciles in the 15 governorates in the center and south were not eligible to receive the ration provided under Security Council resolution 986." "The established registration procedure is discriminatory as these citizens in order to receive their rations must prove that they have resided in the new locations for at least six month."

"Health centers located in remote areas do not receive or collect supplies on a regular basis, and are usually one month behind distribution elsewhere. They are not staffed by doctors, they do not receive special drugs and supplies needed in emergency cases."

Conclusions and recommendations

"The Special Rapporteur regrets that he is yet again unable to report any significant improvement in the situation of human rights in Iraq. Principally, there has been no change whatsoever in the politico-legal order which is the cause of systematic violation of human rights of all kinds and in all spheres of life."