Iraq

Advocacy

Da’esh is listed in the annexes of the SG’s latest annual report on CAAC for all five “trigger” violations against children. In January, the SG is expected to report on UNAMI, pursuant to SCR 2682 (2023). According to the SG’s September report on UNAMI (S/2023/700), the Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting (CTFMR) verified 23 grave violations against children between May and September 2023. Violations included the killing and maiming of 13 boys and two girls by explosive remnants of war (ERW), the abduction and acts of sexual violence committed against three girls by Da’esh, the abduction of one boy by PKK, and one attack against a school by unknown perpetrator. The CTFMR also continued to support implementation of the action plan to end and prevent recruitment and use by the Popular Mobilization Forces, including through trainings. The Security Council should:

  • Call for the continuation of efforts to fully implement the action plan to prevent recruitment and use of children by the PMF; and call on all parties to end and prevent all further grave violations against children in Iraq;
  • Recall that all children allegedly 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 Member States, in line with the principle of non-refoulement, to take measures for the release, protection, repatriation, and reintegration of children with alleged links to Da’esh who are held in camps and places of detention in Iraq, in line with international law;
  • 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 the Government to implement international legal instruments on improvised explosive devices (IEDs), landmines, and other ERW, and to promote explosive ordnance clearance, in particular before the return of internally displaced persons, and explosive ordnance risk education;
  • Call on all parties to swiftly and fully implement the recommendations of the Security Council Working Group on CAAC (SCWG-CAAC), as elaborated in its fourth conclusions on Iraq.

THE UNITED STATES IS THE SECURITY COUNCIL PENHOLDER ON IRAQ.

This information is based on Watchlist’s Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Update – January 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; 20192015; 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.

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