Sittings · Document
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION (2024/2858(RSP)) 2024-10-07
On Iraq, notably the situation of women’s rights and the recent proposal to amend the Personal Status Law
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group · Rapporteur: Hannah Neumann, Benedetta Scuderi, Ville Niinistö, Nicolae Ştefănuță, Mounir Satouri, Catarina Vieira
✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 4 Sept 2026
Parliament rejects proposed amendments to Iraq's Personal Status Law that would lower the minimum marriage age, and calls on Iraq to uphold women's rights and international obligations.¶¶ It urges criminalising marital rape, repealing discriminatory penal provisions, and adopting domestic violence legislation, while supporting human rights dialogues and civil society.¶¶
Key points
- Rejects the proposed amendments to the Personal Status Law, which contravene Iraq's constitution and international human rights obligations, and calls for their full and immediate withdrawal.¶
- Expresses deep concern over the amendments' potential effects, including a rollback of women's rights compared to 1959, a negative reputation, and withholding of development aid.¶
- Calls on Iraq to set the minimum age of marriage at 18 without exceptions and adopt an action plan to eliminate child marriages and strengthen women's rights.¶
- Urges Iraqi authorities to criminalise marital rape in all circumstances and repeal discriminatory provisions in the Criminal Code that allow husbands to punish wives and reduce sentences for honour killings.¶
- Calls on Iraq to adopt comprehensive legislation to combat domestic violence in line with its international obligations.¶
- Calls on the EU and Iraq to hold regular human rights dialogues and convene a Cooperation Committee on human rights and gender equality.¶
- Highlights the role of human rights defenders and calls on the Commission and member states to increase logistical and financial support to independent civil society, especially women's rights groups.¶
Who is affected
- Iraqi women and girls, who would face child marriage and weakened legal protections if amendments pass.¶¶
- Iraqi authorities and the Council of Representatives, called on to withdraw amendments and adopt reforms.¶¶¶
- EU institutions and member states, asked to support civil society and hold dialogues with Iraq.¶
Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text and ¶ links to the paragraph it rests on. Check the text itself before relying on it.