Violated Childhood.. Iraq suffers from the absence of law and the continuation of the cycle of viole

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[size=52]Violated Childhood.. Iraq suffers from the absence of law and the continuation of the cycle of violence[/size]

[size=45]In the absence of effective laws to protect children's rights in Iraq, cases of child abuse continue to increase, raising widespread concern among society and human rights organizations.[/size]
[size=45]Despite the efforts made by some local and international bodies to raise awareness of the importance of protecting children, this phenomenon is still widespread due to weak legislation and the lack of strict enforcement mechanisms to hold accountable those involved in these violations.[/size]
[size=45]The suffering of children living in unsafe environments is exacerbated, requiring urgent intervention to issue laws that protect their rights and guarantee them a dignified and safe life.[/size]
[size=45]Lawyer Sanaa Ahmed said in an interview with the official media, “There is nothing that justifies the abuse of children, and the state bears the responsibility of rehabilitating the child who falls victim to any form of violence, exploitation or abuse, in addition to reintegrating the child socially.”[/size]
[size=45]She added, “According to Iraqi legislation, the law guarantees the care of children and juveniles through a set of texts and legislation, including Law No. 76 of 1983, which stipulates in Articles 56-58 eight prohibitions, the most important of which relates to exploiting or abusing a child, such as committing the crime of kidnapping, for example, or rape crimes, exploiting him in prostitution or smuggling, and considers it a felony punishable by no less than 5 years in prison. As for the protection mechanisms, which are the practical aspect of reporting child protection, the legislator stipulated the formation of committees called ‘Child Protection Committees’, and their members have the status of judicial police in order to implement the provisions of this law.”[/size]
[size=45]She explains that, “According to Article (61), the committee is responsible for receiving complaints about any violations of the child’s rights or his exposure to violence, exploitation or abuse. Individuals also have the right to report any incident in this regard, especially doctors and teachers who may be informed of these incidents by virtue of their professions. As for children who are victims of violence, abuse or exploitation, they are placed in a temporary care home by a decision of the Public Prosecution based on the recommendation of the Child Protection Delegate. They are also returned to their guardian in the same manner after the reasons for the placement and its effects have disappeared and after the guardian has pledged in writing to take care of them.”[/size]
[size=45]For his part, legal expert Ali Al-Tamimi confirms that “the existence of Article 41 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which allows parents and teachers the right to discipline within the limits of Sharia and the law, is a vague text that is misused and makes any court restricted in holding those mentioned above accountable.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, "These crimes violate the Child Convention, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and therefore there is an urgent need to legislate a law to protect against domestic violence, as the Kurdistan Region did and enacted this law."[/size]
[size=45]Iraq was one of the first Arab countries to sign the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was approved in 1989, and to recognize its provisions and become an active member thereof. However, with the succession of Iraqi governments before and after 2003, the Iraqi state did not enact a national law to protect the rights of the child that is consistent with the provisions of the international convention, taking into consideration that the Iraqi constitution included a number of provisions that emphasize the state’s guarantee of the rights of the child, woman, and family.[/size]
[size=45]Previous reports revealed that about 90 percent of children between the ages of one and 14 are exposed to violence in one way or another.[/size]
[size=45]In 2019, 1,606 cases of violence against children were recorded, according to data from the Supreme Judicial Council. As for 2021, there were 1,141 cases of domestic violence against children, while 500 cases were recorded during the first half of this year.[/size]
[size=45]In November 2022, the House of Representatives completed the first reading of the Child Protection Bill, amid objections from some political blocs to its provisions. The bill included some controversial provisions, including establishing mechanisms that allow a child to file a complaint against his or her parents, and authorizing the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs to choose an alternative family for any child who has been abused or lost one of his or her parents, in addition to holding the public service employee responsible for not reporting that the child has been harmed. However, the law has been shelved until now due to disagreement over its provisions.[/size]
[size=45]The Public Relations Department of the Supreme Judicial Council published statistics on the rates of domestic violence against children, women and the elderly during the years 2021 and 2022, which showed that 1,141 domestic violence cases against children were recorded, and the Baghdad Karkh Court of Appeal had the largest share with 267 cases.[/size]
[size=45]Observers believe that the real number of cases of violence against children in Iraq is much greater than what was announced by the Supreme Judicial Council, because most of such cases remain in homes and do not reach police stations, the judiciary, or the relevant authorities, and the courts do not record them due to the lack of legal awareness and the dominance of social norms.[/size]
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