Human rights in Iraq

In 2024, Iraqi authorities continued to allow widespread impunity for serious human rights violations, particularly those committed in the context of military operations against the Islamic State (IS). The fate of thousands of forcibly disappeared men and boys since 2014 remained unknown. The government made no significant efforts to hold accountable those responsible for war crimes, enforced disappearances, and abuses during the 2019 "Tishreen" protests. Despite 2,700 criminal investigations into the protest crackdown, only 10 arrest warrants and seven convictions were issued by August. Judicial processes were marred by political interference, a lack of transparency, and an unwillingness to prosecute powerful security and militia figures. Victims and survivors, including those injured or disabled in protests, faced severe barriers in accessing justice and reparations.

Freedom of Expression and Peaceful Assembly Freedom of expression was increasingly stifled in Iraq under the pretext of preserving stability and morality. Authorities arrested individuals for producing “indecent content,” relying on vague and overly broad Penal Code provisions. Civil society workers, including women’s rights advocates, were subjected to harassment and discouraged from engaging with UN mechanisms. In the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I), journalists faced intimidation, arrest, and prosecution for their work. A proposed Right to Information Law threatened to further restrict access to public information. Meanwhile, peaceful protests driven by economic hardship, corruption, and lack of accountability were met with excessive force, including live ammunition and tear gas. In Baghdad and Nasiriyah, demonstrators, including medical graduates and activists, were violently dispersed and subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention.

Women’s and Girls’ Rights In August, a draft bill was introduced to amend the Personal Status Law in a way that could drastically undermine the rights of women and girls. The proposed changes would have empowered religious councils to issue sectarian codes governing family law, potentially legalizing child marriage for girls as young as nine, recognizing unregistered marriages, and stripping divorced women of financial support and housing rights. Following widespread protests by women’s rights organizations, an amended version released in December retained the legal marriage age at 18 (or 15 with judicial permission) and limited registration of marriages to those meeting legal criteria. However, the revised bill still included problematic sectarian provisions and its vote was postponed to 2025. Legal gaps persisted, with honor crimes still treated leniently and no legal protections against marital rape or domestic violence in central Iraq.

Gender-Based Violence and the Kurdistan Region Women and girls across Iraq, particularly in the KR-I, continued to face systemic gender-based violence. Despite some legal frameworks in place, enforcement was weak and justice was often inaccessible. Courts in the KR-I imposed inadequate sentences in cases of murder, rape, and abuse, and victims were frequently placed under arbitrary restrictions in underfunded shelters. Perpetrators were rarely held accountable, and survivors lacked access to essential services such as legal assistance, counseling, and safe spaces. The regional government failed to properly support or fund state-run mechanisms established under its Domestic Violence Law, further undermining protection for women and girls.

LGBTI Rights In a major setback for LGBTI rights, Iraq’s parliament passed a law in April criminalizing same-sex sexual relations, transgender expression, and what it termed "effeminate behavior," with prison sentences ranging from 10 to 15 years. The law also penalized any promotion of same-sex relationships. This legislation exacerbated existing persecution, as LGBTI individuals were already at risk of abuse and violence from both state actors and militias operating with impunity.

Internally Displaced People Roughly 1.1 million Iraqis remained internally displaced, struggling to access basic rights such as housing, healthcare, and civil documentation. Of these, around 134,000 were still living in formal camps, mostly in the KR-I. Although authorities set a deadline to close these camps by July, they remained operational by year’s end. Conditions in these camps were poor, and access to services was limited. In the Al-Jed’ah Centre for Rehabilitation, the last camp outside the KR-I, Iraqi security forces arbitrarily detained displaced individuals, subjected them to torture including beatings and waterboarding, and concealed their whereabouts from families. Arrests were frequently based on family ties or personal vendettas, and detainees were often forced to confess under duress without fair trial protections.

Death Penalty and Detention Conditions Iraq continued to impose and carry out death sentences, primarily for terrorism, murder, and drug-related offences, often following deeply flawed trials. Mass executions were conducted in secret, with no prior notification given to lawyers or families. On at least one occasion, militias prevented a family from holding a funeral due to the executed person’s alleged affiliation with IS. Conditions in detention remained dire, with overcrowded, unsanitary prisons, and prisoners deprived of adequate food, clean water, and healthcare. Reports surfaced of contaminated food and poor hygiene, and no effective investigations were launched into deaths in custody.

Environmental Crisis The Iraqi government failed to take effective action to address a worsening environmental and climate crisis. Severe water shortages, pollution, and extreme weather events like flooding continued to impact communities, particularly in the KR-I, where heavy rainfall displaced hundreds and caused multiple deaths. Despite the environmental damage and health risks, authorities made little progress in mitigating the effects of climate change or improving infrastructure.