Finnish report about North Iraq

This text about a report of North Iraq was published in Xebat the 24th June 2008. It can be read in Kurdish here.

Finnish Immigration Service has made a report about North Iraq and put it to internet. The 42 pages long report is made by a fact finding team of three people. They collected information from various sources, like UNAMI and other international organisations. They also made a six days long journey to Iraqi Kurdistan Region last October.

Finnish Immigration Service is making decisions to asylum applications and information has been collected mainly for this purpose. As there is common information about KRG Region in the report, it can be used also by people who are interested in North Iraq for other reasons.

The report gives mainly a positive picture about life in KRG Region, especially it pays attention to the good security situation.

During the spring there has been in Europe quite lot criticism about the situation of Assyrians and other Christian minorities in Iraq. For example in the International Compact with Iraq Conference in Stockholm at the end of May some Assyrians raised their voices.

The Finnish team found the situation of Christian minorities to be normal in KRG Region. The report says:

"Due to the stable situation the three northern governorates have become a safe haven for internally displaced persons, for instance Christians, who told the fact finding team that the situation of Christians resembles something like a normal life in the KRG region. Christians have been welcomed by the local population in the three northern governorates. They have had a good relationship and are respected by their moderate Muslim neighbours, but consider radical Islamists a threat."

The team noticed last October that the Christians were worried about the PKK conflict, which touches areas near the border where Christian people are settled, and where shelling has occurred.

“Some informants pointed out, that the Turkish army has already for years had several outposts inside the KRG region, at least in Bamarne and Zakho districts of Dohuk governorate“, says the report.

The Finnish team did not visit Kirkuk last October as they found it too dangerous. They write that the security situation in Kirkuk was bad and say:

“Some informants thought that the resolving of the Kirkuk issue would take a long time. Ownership issues remain a large problem, as lost property such as houses have been sold several times over, and may have many claims of ownership by different people.”

The report draws a potential link between the increase of Islamic terrorism and the situation of Kurdish youth:

“During the fact-finding journey, no terror attacks were reported in KRG Region. Some informants mentioned that the youth in Kurdistan is at a critical stage, due to economic hardships, unemployment and the lack of meaningful activities. Due to these circumstances, some join mosques and become extremists. Youth care is needed, and informants suggested that the West help to set up activities such as youth centres.”

In the human rights situation the report does not find too many causes for criticism. Any way, the long waiting times for some detained persons before trial is not acceptable according to international standards. The report says:

"Pretrial detaining periods are long. There are some detainees who are from Mosul or Kirkuk. KRG courts claim that they have no jurisdiction to try them. These people are therefore in a legal limbo. They have been detained, but have not been charged of any crime, and there is no apparent solution to their cases."

The team found problems also with the trial process:

“Most of the detainees are not satisfied with the trial process, often they have no information on the appeals’ process, and many have had no access to a lawyer”, says the report.

It also states that according to UNAMI, prison conditions do not meet international standards.

One area of criticism is the situation of women. The report mentions that it is bad in many rural areas. The situation of honour related violence is very alarming. The amount of women’s suicides has doubled between 2002 and 2007.

“An important factor in the increase of honour related violence is the increasing use of mobile phones, as SMS-messages and the saved phone numbers of men reveal unacceptable relationships”, says the report. But it continues:

“At the same time, awareness of the situation has increased. Women today seek help against domestic violence more readily than before. However, available shelters are full, and women cannot often return from the shelters to their families. Some women have been killed after they have returned to their families.”

The report pays mainly attention to problems where improvement is necessary. But it says about mass media that there exists some degree of freedom of expression. Journals have been able to criticise the administration and to write articles on corruption, without having been charged.

It also says that the civil society in KRG Region is active.

The report gives detailed information about the health care and problems in it. When thinking about them it should be kept in mind that the problems are caused by the international sanctions which hindered development of health care system.

It is noteworthy that there exists no public psychological treatment in KRG Region. There are no government programmes for the treatment of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). This is a big problem when keeping in mind in how much Kurds have suffered for decades because of wars, Anfal and other Saddam’s atrocities. NGOs (non-governmental organisations) are too busy with helping internally displaced persons with basic necessities such as water and sanitation to concentrate on mental care issues.

The report tells about the housing problems in KRG Region. The number of internally displaced families is about 100 000 – 150 000. The future of displacement depends on the outcome of the Iraqi war. The report pays attention that Kurdish families flee violence to KRG Region from Mosul but not from Kirkuk.

The report is available in English language in internet here.