Iraq
Advocacy
In the 2025 annual report on CAAC, the SG announced his decision to remove Iraq from future CAAC reports, “[i]n view of the continued decrease in grave violations in Iraq and the measures adopted by the Government to protect children.” Simultaneously, the SG delisted Da’esh from the annexes, previously listed for all five “trigger” grave violations in Iraq, without fulfilling the 2010 delisting criteria. In 2024, the UN verified 58 grave violations against 50 children and six violations that occurred in previous years. Seven children were recruited and used in combat roles. As of December 31, 2024, 531 children remained in detention on national security-related charges, including for their actual or alleged association with armed groups, primarily Da’esh. The UN also verified 42 children killed or maimed, mainly by explosive ordnance, one attack on a health facility, and the abduction of eight children , including for recruitment and use – seven of whom were released. Given the ongoing grave violations and the scale of the Government’s continued detention of children on national security-related charges, the delisting of Da’esh and the removal of Iraq from the report have raised concerns about future capacity to monitor, report, and respond to child protection needs in Iraq. The upcoming exit of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) in December 2025 could further reduce this capacity. In November, the SG reports on UNAMI per SCR 2732 (2024). The Security Council should:
- Recall that all children associated with armed forces and armed groups (CAAFAG) should be treated primarily as victims, including those allegedly associated with armed groups designated as terrorist by the UN and those who may have committed crimes, their reintegration should be prioritized, and detention should only be used as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate time;
- Encourage the Government to continue its efforts to repatriate children held in Northeast Syria, following a rights-based approach, in accordance with their duty under international law;
- Call on the Government to endorse the Paris Principles and Commitments and encourage the development and signing of a handover protocol to facilitate the release of children to child protection actors for reintegration; urge donors to provide long-term, predictable funding for reintegration;
- Call on the Government to implement international legal instruments on landmines and other explosive remnants of war, and to promote mine clearance and age-appropriate explosive ordnance risk education, conflict preparedness, and protection for affected communities;
- Call for all relevant UN entities remaining in Iraq to continue to monitor, report, and respond, as appropriate, to grave violations against children.
THE UNITED STATES IS THE SECURITY COUNCIL PENHOLDER ON IRAQ.
This information is based on Watchlist’s Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Update – November 2025.
In March, the SG published his fifth report on the situation of CAAC in Iraq (S/2024/247), covering a reporting period from July 2021 to September 2023. During this period, the UN Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting (CTFMR) verified 381 grave violations against 289 children (218 boys, 70 girls, 1 of unknown sex) and an additional 48 grave violations that had occurred in a previous reporting period. Killing and maiming remained the most prominent grave violation verified (236), followed by the denial of humanitarian access (76), and recruitment and use (32). Most incidents of killing and maiming of children were not attributed to a specific perpetrator, with 65 percent of child casualties due to explosive ordnance and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Other child casualties were attributed to ground engagements (62) and airstrikes (20). Recruitment and use significantly increased compared to the previous reporting period, and the CTFMR has indicated that the actual number is likely to be higher due to accessibility and security challenges to reporting and verification. The majority of recruitment and use cases were attributed to People’s Defence Forces of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (HPG/PKK). At the end of the reporting period, a total of 668 children continued to be detained on national security related charges, some as young as nine years old. The CTFMR verified rape and sexual violence against eight girls, as well as late-verification of this grave violation against an additional 14 girls – all cases were attributed to Da’esh. In addition to six attacks on schools and hospitals, 42 incidents of the military use of schools were verified, the majority of which were by Iraqi police (28) and security forces (7). The Working Group should:
- Strongly condemn all continuing grave violations against children in Iraq and demand that all parties to conflict fully uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights law (IHRL);
- Express concern at the increased incidents of recruitment and use of children and call for all armed groups to immediately release all children under 18 years old from their ranks and to engage with the UN to end and prevent grave violations against children; Encourage the Popular Mobilization Forces to continue to take steps toward full implementation of all aspects of its 2023 action plan and to sustain gains toward preventing any future recurrence of recruitment and use of children;
- Recall that all children allegedly associated with armed forces and armed groups should be treated primarily as victims, including those allegedly associated with armed groups designated as terrorist by the UN and those who may have committed crimes, their reintegration should be prioritized, and detention should only be used as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate time; encourage the Government to continue its efforts to repatriate children held in Northeast Syria, following a rights-based approach, in accordance with their duty under international law;
- Call on the Government to endorse the Paris Principles and Commitments and encourage the development and signing of a handover protocol to facilitate the release of children to child protection actors for reintegration and other support services; urge donors to provide long-term, predictable funding for reintegration;
- Call on all parties to immediately cease attacks on schools and education personnel and to take concrete measures to mitigate and avoid the military use of schools, pursuant to SCR 2601 (2021); encourage the Government to uphold its commitments under the Safe Schools Declaration;
- Urge the Government to intensify efforts to remove administrative barriers hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians, including children, and to issue identification documents to allow all children to access public assistance and basic services, including education;
- Call on the Government to implement international legal instruments on IEDs, landmines, and other ERW, and to promote mine clearance and explosive ordnance risk education, conflict preparedness, and protection for affected communities.
This information is based on Watchlist’s Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Update – May 2024.
UN Action
Year listed: 2009
Action Plans signed: No
Sanctions Committee: 1518 Sanctions Committee; ISIL (Da’esh) & Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee (Current Chair: Indonesia)
Secretary-General’s reports on CAAC in Iraq: 2022; 2019; 2015; 2011
Security Council Working Group conclusions on Iraq: 2020; 2016; 2011
UN Mission: UNAMI
Perpetrators listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s annual reports on children and armed conflict
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Qaida in Iraq (AQ-I)* | a, b | a | a | a, b, d | a, b, d | a,b,d | |||||||||
| Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)* | a, b | a, b, d | a, b, d | a,b,d | a,b,c,d | a,b,c,d,e | a,b,c,d,e | ||||||||
| Popular mobilization forces | a |
a: Parties that recruit and use children
b: Parties that kill and maim children
c: Parties that commit rape and other forms of sexual violence against children
d: Parties that engage in attacks on schools and/or hospitals
e: Parties that engage in abduction of children
f: Parties that deny humanitarian access to children
~ This party has concluded an action plan with the United Nations in line with Security Council resolutions 1539 (2004) and 1612 (2005).
* This party has been in the annexes for at least five years and is therefore considered a persistent perpetrator.
