UN Human Rights training - Kurdistan Parliament committees

23 September 2019, Kurdistan Regional Parliament, Erbil - UN Human Rights engaged in a dialogue with 17 members of the parliamentary legal, cultural and human rights committees, advisers and parliamentary researchers on UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies and Special Procedures including Universal Periodic Review.

UN Principles on Parliament and Human Rights, which emphasize the importance of civil society engagement with parliament on human rights issues, were also discussed. Iraq’s human rights performance will be reviewed on 11 November, by the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review Working Group.

Two complementary law reform proposals were also discussed, including a Human Rights Act listing all of the rights contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and requiring law makers to draft laws in accordance with those rights and to publicly certify that draft laws comply with those rights. The law would also require all public officials to act in accordance with human rights when performing their duties. The judiciary would have authority to refer laws that do not comply with human rights for review by the legislature.

Establishment of an Anti-Discrimination Commission with authority to investigation and issue binding rulings on discrimination complaints was also discussed. Examples from other jurisdictions were highlighted.