UNAMI/Coalition for Just Reparations Conference

Baghdad – A reparations framework that protects and strengthens the rights of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence must be established, backed by a law that places survivors at the heart of all efforts to address the consequences, a conference to strengthen awareness on the issue reaffirmed.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), jointly with the Coalition for Just Reparations comprising 27 Iraqi civil society organizations, convened the conference on 8 December to discuss concrete advocacy steps and strengthen awareness on reparations for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. The conference was organized in the wake of the Council of Representatives’ second reading of the draft Yazidi Survivors Law on 11 November 2020.

Participants agreed that the current draft needs to be strengthened. The draft should include all conflict-related sexual violence crimes, assist all survivors regardless of ethnicity, background and gender, and address the best interests of children born of Da’esh crimes.

In remarks at the conference, UN Deputy Special Representative for Iraq Ms. Alice Walpole echoed the call for the draft law to be expanded, to align it more closely with international human rights standards. She added that “a survivor-centred, rights-based response needs to place survivors at the heart of efforts to address conflict-related sexual violence in Iraq, building their resilience and enshrining their experience in historical record.”