18.During 2014, the achievements of the subcommittees included the processing of 18,594 files in all. A total of 5,291 files regarding compensation for martyrs were processed, with the greatest number in the governorate of Baghdad (2,765 files). A total of 2,968 files regarding compensation for injury were processed with the greatest number in the governorate of Baghdad (946 files). A total of 110 files regarding compensation for missing persons were processed, with the greatest number in the governorate of Babylon (36 files). A total of 10,225 files regarding compensation for damage to property were processed, with the greatest number in the governorate of Baghdad (3,904 files). In 2014, the total amount disbursed in compensation was 50,908,448,570 Iraqi dinars (ID), the greatest amount — ID 19,242,946,629 — being disbursed by the governorate of Baghdad. The table below shows the compensation claims approved by subcommittees in the governorates during the period from 1 January to 31 December 2014, with the corresponding amounts paid out. The figures are provided by the central committee.

	Governorate	No. of subcommittees	Files processed	Total	Amounts (ID)
1	Baghdad	4	Martyrs	2 756	7 615	19 242 946 629
Injured persons	946
Disappeared persons	-
Property	3 904
2	Wasit	1	Martyrs	71	390	1 384 924 500
Injured persons	108
Disappeared persons	2
Property	209
3	Al-Muthanna	1	Martyrs	17	75	382 097 264
Injured persons	17
Disappeared persons	-
Property	41
4	Nineveh	3	Martyrs	166	1 649	4 025 746 750
Injured persons	491
Disappeared persons	3
Property	989
5	Al-Basrah	1	Martyrs	168	362	978 324 750
Injured persons	108
Disappeared persons	8
Property	78
6	Salah al-Din	3	Martyrs	167	474	2 649 914 750
Injured persons	87
Disappeared persons	-
Property	230

Reply to paragraph 13

19.The Iraqi High Criminal Court has tried 12 cases involving former senior regime officials charged with offences against the Iraqi people. It has convicted perpetrators of enforced disappearance as a crime against humanity in five of those cases, pursuant to article 12 (1) (i) of Act No. 10 of 2005. In addition, a department in the Ministry of Human Rights responsible for dealing with mass graves conducts DNA testing on any human remains that are discovered and seeks to match them with samples taken from relatives of persons who disappeared during that period.

Reply to paragraph 14 of the list of issues

20.Cases of enforced disappearance are first reported at a police station and then referred to an investigating judge at the Supreme Judicial Council. In this regard, see also the reply to paragraph 2 of the list of issues. Officers responsible for investigating cases of enforced disappearance receive training; some have already received training, while others are currently being trained.

Reply to paragraph 15 of the list of issues

21.The Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure provide legal cover for complainants and witnesses as well as protection for victims of all kinds of crime, including enforced disappearance. Nonetheless, the Ministry of Human Rights has drafted and presented a witness protection bill which has been scrutinized by the Consultative State Council and sent to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers for submission to the Council of Representatives to be passed into law. The new legislation aims to ensure that complainants, witnesses, relatives of the disappeared person and their defence counsel, as well as persons participating in the investigation into an enforced disappearance, are effectively protected against all ill-treatment or intimidation.

Reply to paragraph 16 of the list of issues

22.The State Officials Discipline Act applies to all civilian State officials while Act No. 17 of 2008 (Internal Security Forces Code of Criminal Procedure) applies to the police. Under article 15, paragraph 2, of that Code, an agency investigating one of its own officers accused of an offence attracting a prison sentence, including forced disappearance, must suspend the officer for the entire duration of their detention. This is an obligatory requirement and admits no interpretation on the part of the investigating agency. Article 15 makes the following provisions:

“1.An accused person must be detained in any of the following cases:

“(a)If the investigations concern an offence which attracts a prison sentence;

“(b)If reasons exist to suggest that the accused person will flee, alter or destroy evidence, confabulate with participants in the offence or influence witnesses;

“(c)If the offence is against public morals;

“2.The detained officer shall be suspended for the entire period of detention, during which time he shall receive all wages and allowances.”

23.The membership of the investigating commission, which consists of three officers, is decided by the Minister or his authorized representative pursuant to article 6 of the Code. Article 6 provides that: “The Minister of the Interior may appoint an investigating commission in the Office of the Minister, consisting of three officers the most senior of whom shall act as commission president. One member must be a jurist, with a minimum qualification of a university degree in law. The commission shall investigate cases referred to it by the Minister or his authorized representative. Once the investigation is concluded, the relevant documentation shall be sent to the legal adviser who will examine it and either forward it to the Internal Security Forces tribunal or return it to the investigating commission for further investigation and remedy any flaws, should any exist.” There is no legal provision that would dispense any civilian or military investigating authority from implementing the law, or sanction their committing or being involved in the offence of enforced disappearance.

24.The State Officials Discipline Act is not applicable to members of the Iraqi Army, who are subject to the following special legislation concerning their military service: the Military Criminal Code (Act No. 19 of 2007) and the Military Code of Criminal Procedure (Act No. 30 of 2007). Their legal provisions serve the same purpose. Thus, article 10, paragraph 5, of section II (Board of Inquiry) of the Military Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates: “The investigator or the board of inquiry shall order the detention of the accused where such action is deemed to be necessary. The grounds for detention shall be recorded in the report and the legal period provided for in this Code shall be complied with.” Article 9, paragraph 7, of the same Code stipulates: “The commander of the unit, the investigating officer and the board of inquiry shall exercise the same powers as are accorded to investigators in the provisions concerning detention and precautionary measures of the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 23 of 1971, as amended.” It goes without saying that the accused remains suspended from duty during the period of detention.

IV.Measures to prevent enforced disappearances (arts. 16-23)

Reply to paragraph 17 of the list of issues

25.We wish to provide the following information in response to paragraph 17:

1.The competent civilian courts and the Residency Department of the General Directorate of Nationality are the authorities responsible for the expulsion, deportation, return or extradition of persons who breach the provisions of the Foreigners’ Residency Act (Act No. 118 of 1978), as amended.

2.The procedure for deportation or expulsion is implemented when the judicial proceedings against persons who have breached the provisions of the above-mentioned Act have been completed. The persons concerned are handed over to the Residency Department with a view to completing the expulsion procedures, including measures to obtain passports or other travel documents from the responsible consulate or embassy in Iraq and to obtain fares for air transport. The responsible authority in the Residency Department then conveys the expelled persons to the airport and hands them over to the passport office in accordance with an official document so that they may leave the country safely.

Reply to paragraph 18 of the list of issues

26.There are no secret detention facilities. With regard to the allegation concerning Camp Justice in north-west Baghdad, it is not in fact a camp but a Justice Prison. Judgements have been handed down against the inmates in accordance with the legislation in force. The prison has three wings and all the facilities are subject to the oversight of human rights inspection and monitoring committees, parliamentary committees and competent international organizations. With regard to the allegation concerning Camp Honour in the Green Zone, the camp was closed down in 2011.

Reply to paragraph 19 of the list of issues

27.Administrative Order No. 57 of 1 December 2014 stipulates that:

1.A person may be arrested or detained only if a warrant has been issued by a competent judge or court or if such action is permitted by the circumstances described in articles 102 or 103 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

2.The party who undertook the arrest or detention shall record within 24 hours the name of the arrested person, the location of the place of detention, and the grounds and legal provision that led to the arrest in an electronic and manual register that is established and administered by the Ministry of Justice.

3.The Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of the Interior and the national security system shall establish the rules and procedures applicable to the recording of details of detainees in the central register.

4.None of the aforementioned parties shall be entitled to issue an arrest or detention order.

5.Any arrest conducted outside the circumstances prescribed in this regard shall be deemed to constitute criminal abduction and confinement and the perpetrator shall be brought to justice.

6.Detainees in respect of whom a judicial order has been issued for release within a period of not more than one month with a view to ascertaining that they are not wanted on other grounds shall be speedily released. The Minister of Justice shall implement the order and submit a monthly report.

7.Without prejudice to the legal provisions in force, the total period of remand in custody should not exceed the maximum permissible sentence for the offence with which the arrested person is charged and should under no circumstances exceed 6 months. Any extension of the period of detention beyond 6 months shall require the permission of a criminal court. The extension shall not exceed one quarter of the maximum permissible sentence. Alternatively, the court shall order the detainee’s release, with or without bail, in accordance with the terms of paragraphs B and C of article 109 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Act No. 23 of 1971).

28.The Department of Corrections and its sections also maintain records and files containing all legal and social data concerning juveniles (detained, convicted or homeless), who were arrested on the basis of a warrant or placed in rehabilitative facilities and schools run by the Department of Corrections on the basis of a judicial ruling and in accordance with the legislation, regulations and directives in force. All the records and files are regularly updated to include any new information concerning the aforementioned groups of juveniles. The updating process is coordinated with the Department’s general database centre.

Reply to paragraph 20 of the list of issues

29.We wish to point out that the restrictions referred to in paragraph 20 are not applicable to untried prisoners, who are entitled to inform their family of their detention. The aim of the legislators was to address organizational and administrative aspects of prison facilities in terms of visiting hours and security conditions with a view to maintaining order in the prison. Hence the restriction did not constitute a denial of the right but an organizational measure. The same applies to section 18, paragraph 3, of the Coalition Provisional Authority Memorandum, which stipulates that every prisoner shall have the right immediately to inform his family of his imprisonment or his transfer to another institution. It is thus an absolute and unrestricted right. However, provision must be made for the organizational aspect of prison work in connection with a prisoner’s right to inform his family of his imprisonment or his transfer to another institution. With regard to the allegations that the right of prisoners to inform their family of their imprisonment is not always guaranteed in practice, the law establishes a procedure for addressing such allegations in section 13, paragraphs 1 to 6, of (dissolved) Coalition Provisional Authority Memorandum No. 2 of 2003, which provides for the submission of complaints by prisoners and offers them the opportunity to meet inspection officers and to submit requests, without censorship, to the central prison administration or the judicial authority, which are to be promptly dealt with and replied to without undue delay.

30.According to sections 14, 18 and 19 of the Management of Detention and Prison Facilities Act, prisoners and detainees have the right to communicate with their family and reputable friends at regular intervals, both by correspondence and by receiving visits. Official delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are given access, at the request of the ICRC, to prisons or detention centres at mutually arranged times. In addition, every prisoner has the right immediately to inform his family of his imprisonment or his transfer to another institution.

31.In addition to the foregoing, the Human Rights Directorate, which reports to the Office of the Inspector General at the Ministry of the Interior, has set up a number of inspection committees that conduct regular inspections throughout the year of the conditions of persons held in detention centres run by the Ministry of the Interior. During the visits, the officials monitor and take note of all negative circumstances, including failure to inform detainees’ families of their imprisonment, with a view to ensuring that the families are subsequently informed of their location and with a view to facilitating visits at specific times.

32.Furthermore, the Department of Corrections permits all detained and convicted juveniles to have official meetings with their families, in accordance with the legal provisions, regulations and directives of rehabilitative facilities and schools. Juveniles are currently permitted to have telephone conversations with their relatives based on the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Human Rights. The new Juvenile Welfare Bill incorporates that right (detainees and juveniles placed in institutional care).

V.Measures for reparation and for the protection of children from enforced disappearance (arts. 24 and 25)

Reply to paragraph 21 of the list of issues

33.The Ministry of Human Rights and other State institutions are taking serious action to identify people who have been involved in perpetrating the crime of enforced disappearance with a view to bringing them to justice. They are seeking to ensure that all victims of such crimes receive appropriate compensation by enacting a law that provides for reparations for victims, given the State’s overarching responsibility to ensure the safety and security of its citizens. The bill is currently before the Chamber of Deputies with a view to its enactment. Article 21 of the bill on combating the crime of enforced disappearance requires the State to ensure that victims obtain reparation in the form of material and moral damages. It reads as follows:

Without prejudice to the provisions of Iraqi legislation concerning compensation for damages resulting from criminal offences, the State shall take the following action:

1.Provide compensation for damages resulting from the offences defined in this Act;

2.Establish health-care institutions and centres to rehabilitate victims and reintegrate them into society and to cover the costs of treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration.

Reply to paragraph 22 of the list of issues

34.The Ministry of Human Rights and other State institutions are taking serious action to identify people who have been involved in perpetrating the crime of enforced disappearance with a view to bringing them to justice. They are seeking to ensure that all victims of such crimes receive appropriate compensation by enacting a law that provides for reparations for victims, given the State’s overarching responsibility to ensure the safety and security of its citizens. The bill is currently before the Chamber of Deputies with a view to its enactment. Article 21 of the bill on combating the crime of enforced disappearance requires the State to ensure that victims obtain reparation in the form of material and moral damages. The article is quoted in the previous paragraph.

35.Reparations were provided to victims of the crime of enforced disappearance under the previous regime pursuant to the Act concerning the Martyrs Foundation and the Act concerning the Political Prisoners Foundation. By 2014 the Martyrs Foundation had provided compensation to 37,601 persons and the Political Prisoners Foundation had provided compensation to 48,176 persons. Article 10 of the Act concerning the Political Prisoners Foundation established an easy and appropriate procedure for ensuring that the prisoners obtain reparations, namely the creation of special committees to receive prisoners’ requests in Baghdad and the governorates. It reads as follows:

The following procedure shall be followed by the special committee:

1.The special committee shall decide whether the claims submitted by political prisoners and political detainees are covered by the provisions of this Act.

2.The committee’s decision shall be taken by a majority of its members.

3.Any person with an interest in the matter may file a complaint with the special committee against the decision within 10 days of the date of its communication or the date on which it is deemed to have been communicated.

4.The committee shall adopt a decision on the complaint and its decision shall be considered final in administrative terms.

5.Any person with an interest in the matter may institute legal proceedings to establish the applicability of the decision after the committee’s ruling on the complaint. The court’s decision shall be final.

Reply to paragraph 23 of the list of issues

36.The legal framework applicable to mass graves in Iraq is the Mass Graves Act (Act No. 5 of 2006) and Order No. 1 of 2007. The Parliament has amended the Mass Graves Act to make it applicable to graves dating from the periods before and after 2003. The amended version will enter into force as soon as it is published in the Official Gazette.

Number of opened and remaining unopened sites, updated on 16 February 2015

			Opened sites			Remaining sites
No.	Governorate	Number of sites	Based on recommendation	Opened	Number of graves	Number of mortal remains	Identified	Unidentified
1	Baghdad	6	1	2	2	7	1	2
2	Nineveh	2	0	0	0	0	1	1
3	Kirkuk	5	2	1	3	81	2	0
4	Al-Ramadi	3	1	1	31	954	1	0
5	Al-Diwaniyah	16	7	9	23	740	0	0
6	Salah al-Din	1	0	1	1	158	0	0
7	Diyala	5	3	1	1	12	1	0
8	Maysan	14	6	6	9	62	2	0
9	Babylon	9	5	4	8	898	0	0
10	Al-Basrah	24	7	13	13	33	3	1
11	Karbala'	15	5	8	8	80	2	0
12	Al-Samawa	19	9	10	14	160	0	0
13	Wasit	7	2	5	6	14	0	0
14	Al-Najaf	17	9	8	14	284	0	0
15	Al-Nasriyah	7	5	2	2	2	0	0
16	Al-Iqlim	4	0	3	5	17	1	0
Total	154	62	74	140	3 502	14	4

Total number of opened graves = sites opened based on a recommendation + number of graves = 62 + 140 = 202.

Reply to paragraph 24 of the list of issues

37.A person is deemed to be missing in accordance with article 36, paragraph 1, of Iraqi Civil Code No. 40 of 1951: “If it is not known whether an absent person is alive or dead, he shall be deemed, on the basis of an application filed by an interested party, to be missing.” Article 86 of the Welfare of Minors Act (Act No. 78 of 1980) defines a missing person as “a person concerning whom no news is available and it is not known whether he is alive or dead”. The laws applicable to missing persons are the Personal Status Act, military legislation, the Civil Code, the Welfare of Minors Act, provisions concerning the management of assets, and general provisions of the Islamic sharia concerning the status of missing persons. The missing person need not be legally competent; he or she may lack legal capacity or be legally incompetent. It is also of no consequence if a person’s whereabouts are unknown and if it is unclear whether a prisoner is alive or dead. The rationale underlying some of the provisions concerning missing persons and their relatives consists in the adoption of a measured and precautionary approach. Thus, a person is deemed to be alive until such time as confirmation that he is living or dead is secured. The person retains his assets, which continue to be managed and invested by his authorized agent or curator. As missing persons were competent members of society who had rights and duties, and as they usually possessed assets that might automatically increase, a judicially appointed agent should manage those assets to ensure that they are not lost in the absence of their owner. The court is required to appoint a temporary curator to act in legal proceedings with a view to determining matrimonial status and filiation. The court then issues a document confirming the person’s missing status and appoints a curator to manage his affairs and to ensure that no one disposes of his assets without the permission of the Directorate for the Welfare of Minors. Article 93 of the Welfare of Minors Act (Act No. 78 of 1980) stipulates that the court may declare a missing person dead if conclusive evidence of his death is discovered, if four years have passed since he was reported missing, or if he went missing in circumstances in which he can reasonably be presumed to have perished and if two years have passed since he was reported missing. If a person goes missing during a war, in a country struck by an epidemic, or as a result of the sinking of a ship or a plane crash in a remote area, he is declared missing. Article 87 of the Welfare of Minors Act stipulates that a decision declaring a missing person legally dead must be sent within 10 days to the Federal Court of Cassation. A judgement declaring the missing person dead entails the termination of his legal personality, the beginning of the legally prescribed period prior to his wife’s remarriage and the division of his estate among his surviving heirs at the time of the court judgement. Article 96 of Act No. 78 of 1980 stipulates that the estate of a missing person who is declared dead in accordance with article 95 of this Act shall be divided among his surviving heirs at the time when the court declares him dead. Any legal division of the missing person’s assets prior to the court’s declaration is deemed to be null and void. The legal division may be amended if the missing person’s wife is pregnant and gives birth to a child. If the missing person reappears, his legal personality is, of course, restored and all the consequences of the judgement declaring him dead are annulled. The assets of a missing person are managed in the same way as the assets of a minor. If the court appoints a curator to manage the assets or to sell those transferred to the missing person, the curator acts under the supervision of the Directorate for the Welfare of Minors. The curator may not purchase property on behalf of the missing person. The Directorate for the Welfare of Minors performs the customary management work on behalf of the missing or absent person if no curator has been entrusted with responsibility for the work. In the absence of the curator, the Directorate for the Welfare of Minors is also responsible for the management of a missing person’s assets in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Reply to paragraph 25 of the list of issues

38.Part seven of the Criminal Code of the Internal Security Forces (Act No. 14 of 2008) concerning abuse of authority provides for the punishment of senior officers in the following cases:

1.If they request subordinates to perform tasks or personal services that are unrelated to their functions;

2.If they order subordinates to commit an offence; the officer concerned is deemed to be the principal offender if the offence is committed or attempted.

In addition, article 10, paragraph 2, of the bill on combating the crime of enforced disappearance prescribes a harsher penalty for certain perpetrators of the crime of enforced disappearance than those prescribed in articles 7 and 8 of the bill. It thus prescribes life imprisonment for those convicted of committing the crime against a child or woman. Article 10 reads as follows:

1.A person who commits one of the acts described in articles 7 and 8 shall be sentenced to imprisonment.

2.A sentence of life imprisonment shall be handed down if the offence is committed against a child or a woman, if the act leads to the death of the victim, or if the offence is committed by an organized group.

3.The court shall impose a more lenient sentence, notwithstanding the involvement of the accused in the commission of the offence, if he or she provided information that was used to establish the circumstances of the incident or the whereabouts of the disappeared person who was still alive, to clarify aspects of cases of enforced disappearance or to identify those responsible for the offence.

Reply to paragraph 26 of the list of issues

39.The information contained in paragraphs 160 to 162 of the report relate to the legal measures taken by the court mandated to consider the case submitted by the relatives of the missing person. Following their submission by the parties to the case, the relevant documents or other material supporting the claim of missing status and disappearance are investigated. If the legal evidence supports the claim, the court delivers a decision to the effect that the missing person is dead. After the final decision is handed down, the estate of the deceased is legally divided in accordance with the provisions of article 95 of the Act.

40.Article 29 of Social Welfare Act No. 126 of 1980 stipulates that:

1.The role of the State consists in caring for infants, children, adolescents and adults who suffer from family problems, loss of one or both parents, or domestic violence, and in placing them in a safe environment with a view to compensating for the loss of family care and affection and preventing them from feeling companionless.

2.The State believes that young children and adolescents should have access to free housing, clothing, food, health care and proper education, in accordance with the instructions issued by the Minister.

Article 31 of the above-mentioned Act highlights the State’s role in assisting any person who is under 18 years of age and whose father is not alive. Article 32 divides the State’s role into four parts:

1.The role of the State in support of infants: provision of care for infants under 4 years of age;

2.The role of the State in support of children: provision of support for children in the 5 to 12 age group;

3.The role of the State in support of adolescents: provision of support for adolescents in the 13 to 18 age group;

4.The State’s role in support of adults: provision of support for adults over 18 years of age until they complete their university studies; support may be extended to all female beneficiaries until they find appropriate accommodation, marry or find employment.

41.Article 1, subparagraph (1) (d), of Social Protection Act No. 11 of 2014 stipulates that orphans are entitled to the social benefits specified in its provisions. Article 29, paragraph 3, of the Act requires the State to allocate a portion of the benefits as daily pocket money for the orphan. The amount of the portion is specified in the instructions issued by the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs. The remainder is reserved for the beneficiary in a closed savings account at a Government bank until he or she reaches the age of majority. The total amount deposited on behalf of orphans, including the interest that has accrued during the period concerned, is paid at a rate calculated in terms of the gold value of the Iraqi dinar when it is transferred to an orphan who has attained the age of majority, in accordance with article 29, paragraph 4, of the aforementioned Act. The total amount, including the interest that has accrued, is paid to orphans who have attained the age of majority when they leave the orphanage. It should not be less than the minimum amount of loans paid to small-scale enterprises in order to assist them and guarantee their future, in accordance with article 29, paragraph 5, of the aforementioned Act.

42.Minors over 9 years of age and less than 18 years of age who are vagrants or whose behaviour is considered to be deviant, in accordance with paragraphs 24 and 25 of the Juvenile Welfare Act (No. 76 of 1983) are referred by the investigating judge to the juvenile court, which issues its final decision after receiving a report from the Office for Personality Studies. The court may decide:

1.To deliver the child or juvenile to his legal guardian who shall implement the court’s decision in the light of the report of the Office for Personality Studies with a view to ensuring the good conduct of the child or juvenile on the basis of an appropriate financial guardianship contract;

2.In the absence of a legal guardian or where a guardian breaches the provisions of the guardianship contract, to deliver the child or juvenile to a reliable relative who so requests and who shall implement the court’s recommendations in the light of the report of the Office for Personality Studies with a view to ensuring the sound education and good conduct of the child or juvenile on the basis of an appropriate financial contract;

3.To place the child or juvenile in one of the State institutions provided for in the Social Protection Act or in any other social care institution.