UN urges Iraq to safeguard women’s rights

Following the Iraqi Parliament’s endorsement on November 1 of amendments to the personal status law which provoked feminist anger, (: https://goo.gl/3MaAXD), The United Nations Mission for Iraq appealed in a statement on Thursday to all Iraqi factions to engage in wide consultations over these amendments in order to ensure women’s rights are fully respected and protected. “Attaining gender equality and eliminating all forms of discrimination against girls and women are fundamental rights and UN values,” the mission statement said, pointing to their suffering from violations of their basic rights and from violence in armed conflict, namely in areas controlled by the terrorist ISIS militants, and their aspirations to prioritizing the fulfillment of their rights to achieve equality with men. The UN mission made clear that this requires a comprehensive understanding of the legal and judicial processes which in some cases disrupt the realization of equality. Additionally, the statement noted, there is a pressing need for legal and institutional strategies to eradicate discrimination against women and girls. Besides, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Iraq, Jan Kubis called on the Iraqi House of Representatives to seize the opportunity to amend the personal status law, which is contrary to the UN conventions, and carry out a wider deliberation on the draft in a participatory manner to the end of reiterating commitment to and ensuring the full respect, protection and realization of women and girl’s rights in relation to matrimonial matters. (Al Hayat, November 11, 2017)

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Conservative amendments of Iraqi personal status law draw feminist criticisms