What changed

B100092/2024

European Parliament resolution on Iraq, notably the situation of women’s rights and the recent proposal to amend the Personal Status Law

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on Iraq, notably the situation of women’s rights and the recent proposal to amend the Personal Status Law

(2024/2858(RSP))

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Iraq,

-– having regard to RuleRules 150150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas women’s movements have played a key role in fighting political and religious extremism in Iraq;

A. whereas Iraq’s Parliament is drafting highly restrictive amendments to Law 188/1959 (the Personal Status Law), affecting women’s rights; whereas as a result, family matters, including marriage, divorce and child custody, would effectively fall under the remit of religious rather than civil courts, entailing disturbing discrepancies along religious lines, according to UN experts; whereas for some, the minimum legal marriageable age would be 9 for girls and 15 for boys, and there are fears of increased violence against women in the future; whereas 22 % of unregistered marriages involve girls under 14; whereas the Supreme Court endorsed the constitutionality of the most problematic amendments before a third reading, which was postponed on 2 October 2024; whereas the women’s rights situation in Iraq already drew fierce criticism;

B. whereas the European Parliament awarded the 2016 Sakharov Prize to Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar, two Yazidi women from Iraq, for their struggle against conflict-related sexual violence;

B. whereas Iraq’s UN mission UNITAD, which had been investigating sexual crimes committed by Daesh against women, particularly Yazidis, had to close on 17 September 2024 following last year’s decision, supported by Russia and China, to discontinue its UN Security Council mandate; whereas Iraq’s UN mission UNAMI will also have to close in 2025;

C. whereas amendments to the Personal Status Law 188 of 1959 were presented in the Parliament of Iraq,

C. whereas the 2016 Sakharov Prize for freedom of expression was awarded to Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar, two Iraqi Yazidi women, for their struggle against conflict-related sexual violence;

D. whereas the proposed amendments constitute a serious reduction of rights in areas such as marriage, divorce, and child custody,

D. whereas Article 14 of Iraq’s constitution states that ‘Iraqis are equal before the law without discrimination based on gender’;

E. whereas article 14 of the Constitution of Iraq states that “Iraqis are equal before the law without discrimination based on gender [...]”,

E. whereas 73 % of respondents surveyed by the Iraq Polling Team expressed ‘strong opposition’ to the changes to Law 188/1959;

1. Expresses concern about the proposed amendments to the Personal Status Law 188 of 1959 in Iraq,

1. Urges Iraq’s Parliament to fully and immediately reject the proposed amendments to Law 188/1959 (the Personal Status Law); underlines, with utmost concern, that the amendments would violate Iraq’s international obligations regarding women’s fundamental rights, and result in a significant rollback, an increasingly negative international reputation and the withholding of some foreign assistance from bilateral and multilateral organisations;

2. Believes that, if enacted, the amended law will undermine the rights and equal treatment of women and children, in violation of UN conventions, including ICCPR, ICESCR, CEDAW, and CRC, to which Iraq is a state party; and failing to uphold such obligations will seriously erode core human rights and the protection of women and children,

2. Calls on the VP/HR and the Member States to condemn the proposed amendments; calls on the EU delegation to Iraq to make development grants conditional on judicial training on sexual and gender-based violence and the establishment of women’s shelters; urges Iraq to adopt a national action plan to eliminate child marriage, criminalise marital rape, fight domestic violence and strengthen women’s and girls’ rights, in line with the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; calls for a reinforced partnership with the Human Rights Committee of Iraq’s Parliament, in line with Iraq’s international obligations;

3. Recalls that States parties to the CEDAW Convention should adopt family or personal status laws that provide for equality irrespective of their religious or ethnic identity; and that in the absence of a unified family law, the system of personal status laws should provide for individual choice as to the application of religious law, ethnic custom or civil law,

3. Calls on the Member States to increase their support to women’s and children’s rights defenders in Iraq;

4. Reiterates CEDAW´s concerns that identity-based personal status laws and customs perpetuate discrimination against women and that multiple legal systems are in itself discriminatory against women,

4. Is highly concerned by the lack of legal protection in the penal code for women and child victims of domestic violence and calls for improvements;

5. Calls on Iraqi political and religious leaders, parliament, judicial authorities, and social institutions, to consider the significant negative consequences of the proposed amendments and appeals to place the interests of women and children at the centre of deliberations,

5. Instructs its President to have this resolution translated into Arabic and to forward this resolution to Iraq’s Parliament and Government, the VP/HR and the Member States.

6. Urges Iraqi authorities to withdraw the proposed amendments to the Personal Status Law and to undertake a series of reforms, such as:

a) a national action plan to eliminate child marriage,

b) minimum age of marriage at 18 with no exceptions,

c) criminalizing marital rape in all circumstances,

d) a comprehensive domestic violence law, and acceding to CEDAW Optional Protocol,

e) ensuring that people subjected to child or forced marriages can seek an annulment without undue burden placed on the victim,

f) repealing the articles of the Iraqi Penal Code which give a husband a legal right to “punish” his wife “within limits prescribed by law or custom” and provide a reduced sentence for individuals who kill or assault their wives in the act of adultery,

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President of the Council and of the Commission, to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and to the Parliament of Iraq.

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