Their law awaits legislation.. Iraqi children live their day in the shadow of “government negligence

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[size=52]Their law awaits legislation.. Iraqi children live their day in the shadow of “government negligence” and violation of rights[/size]

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2024-07-13
Iraq celebrates Iraqi Children's Day on July 13 of each year, at a time when "the Iraqi government has not fulfilled its constitutional and humanitarian duties towards the Iraqi child, especially with the displaced, the immigrants, the orphans and others," according to a member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, amid calls for the necessity for the Iraqi legislator to make the legal texts keep pace with the times and social, political, economic, military and other circumstances, especially since Iraq is one of the unstable countries for at least 7 decades, so it always needs the activity of the Iraqi legislator to keep pace with what is new in Iraqi society.[/size]
[size=45]In 2007, the Iraqi government decided to make July 13 of each year Iraqi Children's Day, in memory of the dozens of children who were killed in the terrorist bombings that targeted them in the Al-Nuairiyah area of ​​Baghdad in 2005.[/size]
[size=45]Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a tweet on the occasion of Iraqi Children's Day: "We affirm our commitment to providing a healthy environment and comprehensive educational, social and educational care for our children, based on our civilized and human values, and what the constitution and laws require."[/size]
[size=45]He added: "We will continue to support all civil society efforts and cultural programmes that aim to care for our children and prepare them for a better tomorrow, as they are Iraq's guarantee for a prosperous future."[/size]
[size=45]“Government negligence”[/size]
[size=45]However, the Iraqi parliament member, Mahma Khalil, confirmed that “the child is the wealth of the future and the capital of the Iraqi state, and his rights are constitutionally established, but the Iraqi government has not fulfilled its constitutional and humanitarian duties towards the Iraqi child, especially with the displaced, the immigrants, the orphans, and others.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, “Children in countries around the world have rights to education, health, a future, and psychological rehabilitation, but when comparing the interest in the rights of Iraqi children with their counterparts in Arab and foreign countries, it is noted that they are at the bottom of the lists as a result of government negligence.”[/size]
[size=45]He explains that “many children in Iraq have left their schools and resorted to hard work in order to make a living. There is also a generation of displaced people living in tents, especially minorities, including the Yazidis, who were subjected to genocide and the loss of their parents. However, the Iraqi government has not done what it should to rehabilitate them psychologically and make them a future national treasure.”[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that 4.7 million Iraqi children were affected by ISIS’s control over several cities, which caused them many problems related to displacement, not receiving vaccinations, losing their families, being exposed to physical harm, and forcing 3.5 million of them to drop out of school.[/size]
[size=45]child exploitation[/size]
[size=45]In turn, the head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights, Dr. Fadhel Al-Gharawi, points out that “children are usually subject to exploitation, whether in times of peace or war, considering that this category is one of the vulnerable groups that are exposed to a huge amount of exploitation, including their exploitation in the labor market, hard labor, low wages, human trafficking, forcing them to work in begging and nightlife, selling children outside Iraq, blackmailing them electronically, in addition to harassment and rape.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Gharawi confirms that “most children in Iraq are exposed to such problems, whether they are disabled or other groups who suffer from the economic situation, and that the rate of exploitation is high, especially among males, considering that females are exploited in specific cases, but male children are exploited in all forms and activities carried out by criminal gangs.”[/size]
[size=45]Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Ahmed Al-Asadi announced today, Saturday, “the inclusion of more than 3 million and 479 thousand children in social protection, which is the largest number the ministry has reached.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Asadi explained that “the efforts of the Ministry, through the Supreme National Committee for Monitoring Violations against Children, resulted in removing Iraq from the list of children used in armed conflicts.”[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that his ministry is working in cooperation with the House of Representatives to prepare a draft law on child protection, which has had its first reading and is awaiting its second reading in preparation for voting on it.[/size]
[size=45]The phenomenon of child begging[/size]
[size=45]For his part, the head of the General Federation of Workers' Unions in Iraq, Sattar Danbous Barak, says, "Most Iraqis have not lived their childhood because of what the country has been through. At the present time, we notice many children begging in the streets and intersections in Baghdad and the provinces, and those with weak souls do not leave them in peace, especially females. Rather, they will be harassed and may drag them into other matters."[/size]
[size=45]He explains that “there are no statistics on child labor in Iraq, and even the Ministries of Planning and Labor do not have the numbers, although they are the concerned and specialized authorities in this file,” indicating that “but child labor usually occurs among the self-employed, not in factories, workshops, and the like, and the child is given a wage ranging between 10 and 15 thousand dinars per week, under poor conditions and treatment by the employer.”[/size]
[size=45]He confirms that “the minimum wage for a worker is 350 thousand dinars according to the law, but there are many who underpay the worker and do not give him this amount, even though this amount is worth nothing compared to the high cost of living that Iraq is witnessing.”[/size]
[size=45]Iraq needs the activity of the legislator[/size]
[size=45]As for the legal expert, Walid Al-Shabibi, he explained that “Iraq has legislations related to children and their protection, most of which are derived from Islamic law as well as from Western legislation (positive laws from international agreements and others), and thus Iraq has not been negligent in this aspect, but in every period the need arises - due to the technological development that has occurred and the social situation due to what has occurred from wars, poverty, family disintegration, etc. - for legislative intervention in this aspect.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Shabibi adds, “In Iraq, there are original, direct laws that came to protect the child, and there are also laws and legislations that came to protect the child in an indirect way. The first, for example, is the Minors Protection Law, which is specific to how to deal with delinquents and violators of civil laws for ages under 18 years. As for the second type - which are indirect laws to protect the child - for example, the Personal Status Law, Article 57 of Custody, which came in the interest of the child and is a duty of the custodial mother. If the conditions of custody are not met, then it is transferred to another custodian or custodian, because the purpose of the law is to protect the child.”[/size]
[size=45]He continues, “There are also internal legislations that came to ratify international agreements, but these agreements are not recognized or implemented unless a law is issued by Parliament approving them, and Parliament may reject them or may approve part of them in what is called reservations on specific texts for certain reasons, and Parliament mentions these reasons.”[/size]
[size=45]He points out that “Iraq ratified the International Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1994, which was enacted in late 1989 and became effective in 1990. Iraq also ratified the CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women) in 1979, but Iraq has reservations about some of its texts because they are in clear violation of Islamic law and do not conform to national laws and prevailing customs, as most Arab countries have done. There is also a draft law on the protection of the Iraqi child, which was supposed to be enacted years ago, but was delayed for reasons specific to the House of Representatives.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Shabibi concluded his speech by saying, “Therefore, there is no problem in protecting children in Iraq, and the Iraqi legislator must correct every now and then whenever he finds texts that have deviated from their reality, by making them keep pace with the times and the social, political, economic, military and other circumstances, especially since Iraq is one of the unstable countries for at least 7 decades, so it always needs the activity of the Iraqi legislator to keep pace with what is new in Iraqi society.”[/size]
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