Irak takes steps to combat disappearances

Aim for human rights is pleased that the Iraqi Parliament has taken the first steps towards better protection against enforced disappearances. By adopting a law the Parliament aims to implement and enforce the articles in the 1992 UN Declaration on Protection of People against Enforced Disappearances.

Apart from the important preventative force of this law, this step also indicates acknowledgement of the suffering of relatives of disappeared persons in Iraq. Many families have been hit by disappearances during the regime of Saddam Hoessein. Acknowledgement for some of these groups is growing and procedures for financial compensation have started. However, to this very day many disappearances are still taking place. This new law is an important public recognition of the fact that disappearances have continued after the toppling of Saddam Hoessein in 2003.

One million disappeared persons
Rough estimates indicate more than one million persons disappeared in Iraq. According to UN data, the country has the most disappeared in the world. The disappearances stem from different periods, such as the Iran-Iraq war, the First Gulf War, the uprising of the Shi’ites in the South, the Al-Anfal campaign against Kurds in the North, continuous disappearances through oppression of the regime against ‘opponents’ of Saddam Hussein, the war that toppled the regime, the subsequent civil war between different fractions, and continuous disappearances in different parts of Iraq for political reasons. Disappearances still occur at a very regular basis. The most important parties involved now are the Iraqi army, police, various militia Al-Qu’aida and the American army.

Political agenda
Aim for human rights and the Iraqi network organisation Al-Rahma fight against disappearances in Iraq. One of our objectives is to place the problem of disappearances on the political agenda. To this end, last April we together organised a training session and seminar for members of the network, parlementarians (from national and Kirkuk government), government officials, representatives of institutes for missing persons, a judge and a  representative of the International Commission for Missing Persons (ICMP).

For more information on disappearances see the thematic page