On Iraq, notably the situation of women’s rights and recent proposal to amend the Personal Status Law
B-10-2024-0094
on behalf of the ECR Group · Rapporteur: Joachim Stanisław Brudziński, Adam Bielan, Arkadiusz Mularczyk, Alberico Gambino, Veronika Vrecionová, Małgorzata Gosiewska, Alexandr Vondra, Waldemar Tomaszewski, Sebastian Tynkkynen, Charlie Weimers, Ivaylo Valchev, Jadwiga Wiśniewska, Emmanouil Fragkos, Beatrice Timgren, Marion Maréchal, Bogdan Rzońca, Michał Dworczyk, Marlena Maląg, Ondřej Krutílek, Carlo Fidanza, Assita Kanko, Şerban-Dimitrie Sturdza, ClaudiuRichard Târziu
- Voted on · Adopted 0–0–0 · See the decision →
- Full procedure 2024/2858
Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.
This is a motion for a resolution on Iraq, women's rights and the proposed amendment of the Personal Status Law. Parliament calls on Iraq's Council of Representatives to reject the amendments, which it says would legalise child marriage and weaken women's rights, and to adopt a domestic violence law.¶¶¶ It says the amendments conflict with Iraq's constitution and international human rights law, could deepen sectarianism, undermine freedom of religion and harm minorities, including Christian communities.¶¶¶
Key points
- Parliament calls on Iraq's Council of Representatives to reject the proposed amendments to the Personal Status Law, which it says threaten the human rights of women and girls.¶
- It asks that any new legislation protect the rights of women and children in line with Iraq's international human rights commitments.
- It urges the Council of Representatives to adopt the long-awaited law against domestic violence.¶
- It says the amendments conflict with constitutional provisions such as Article 14 on the right to legal equality and with international human rights law.¶
- It says the amendments would legalise child marriages for girls as young as 9 and boys as young as 15 and undermine women's rights on divorce and inheritance.
- It says the amendments would put women at increased risk of sexual, physical and domestic violence, health consequences, social isolation and dropping out of school.
- It says the amendments let couples choose between civil law and specific Islamic schools of jurisprudence, with the husband's sect taking precedence in disputes.¶
- It says women and girls may be coerced into accepting religious practices not of their choosing, violating the right to freedom of religion or belief.
- It says the amendments could deepen sectarianism, create a parallel authority to the state and make sect rather than citizenship decide rights in personal life.¶
- It notes the current law requires children with at least one parent who converted to Islam to become Muslims, and says the amendments would apply Sharia law more radically.¶
- It says the new provisions would undermine the Iraqi State and affect the country's minorities, and expresses deep concern for Iraq's Christian communities.
- It notes the human rights situation in Iraq is increasingly alarming, citing the proposed amendments and the stalemate over the domestic violence law sent by the Presidency to the Iraqi parliament in 2019.¶
Who is affected
- Women and girls in Iraq, who would face legalised child marriage and weaker protections on divorce, inheritance and violence.¶¶
- Children in Iraq, including boys as young as 15, who could be affected by the amended marriage rules.
- Iraq's Christian communities and other minorities, which Parliament says the amendments would affect.¶
- Iraq's Council of Representatives, which is asked to reject the amendments and adopt a domestic violence law.¶¶