VZCZCXRO8471
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #3948/01 3521334
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171334Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0904
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003948 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV UN IZ
SUBJECT: MOHR HOSTS FOUR-DAY HUMAN RIGHTS EVENTS 
 
¶1.  Summary:  The Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) hosted four 
days of events throughout the country to celebrate the 60th 
anniversary of the declaration of human rights.  The 
highlight of the events was the first annual human rights 
conference in Baghdad on December 3.  The conference focused 
on human rights issues facing the ministry, the Parliament's 
human rights committee, the KRG, and civil society.  The 
conference was widely attended and was covered by many media 
organizations.  UNAMI also held a human rights celebration on 
December 7 in Baghdad.  The event featured speeches from 
Minister of Human Rights Wijdan Salim and SRSG Staffan de 
Mistura, a performance by the Iraqi National Symphony, and an 
art contest from students from Iraqi art institutes.  End 
Summary. 
 
MOHR EVENTS 
 
¶2.  In honor of the 60th anniversary of the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN 
General Assembly December 10, 1948, the Ministry of Human 
Rights (MoHR) held a series of events December 1-4.  The 
highlight was the first annual human rights conference on 
December 3.  On December 2, the MoHR inaugurated its Human 
Rights Institute, which will be located at the Ministry's 
headquarters and will hold trainings and workshops on human 
rights for NGOs and GOI human rights entities.  The Ministry 
sponsored sporting events for children around Iraq on 
December 1 and provided them with backpacks and jackets with 
the MoHR logo.  Throughout the four days, TV channels 
featured human rights awareness programs and commercials from 
the MoHR. 
 
FIRST ANNUAL HR CONFERENCE 
 
¶3.  PolMinCouns and PolOff attended the MoHR's human rights 
conference on December 3 in the Mansour Hotel in Baghdad. 
The conference was well attended by GOI officials and human 
rights NGO members.  Several media outlets covered the event 
and aired footage on Iraqi news channels.  Minister of Human 
Rights Wijdan Salim opened the event with a speech 
highlighting the importance of human rights issues in the 
country and the GOI's efforts to promote human rights. 
 
¶4.  The most substantive part of the conference was a panel 
discussion featuring representatives from the MoHR, 
Parliamentary Human Rights Committee, the KRG MoHR, and the 
NGO sector.  MoHR Director General for Humanitarian Issues 
Sa'ad Fathallah discussed the relationship between the 
improved security situation and adherence to human rights, 
stressing that as the GOI conducts successful security 
operations, the human rights situation should improve.  He 
said the respect for freedoms of expression and press and the 
expansion of NGOs has improved.  However, he said the rights 
of women and children had deteriorated, and sectarianism had 
become worse. 
 
¶5.  Judge Zakia Hakki, a member of the Parliament's Human 
Rights Committee, spoke about the need to pass legislation 
that would enumerate constitutional rights, such as freedom 
of press and speech.  She said the Human Rights Committee 
monitors human rights violations, visits detention 
facilities, and investigates terrorist acts.  Discussing 
establishment of the High Commission of Human Rights, which 
was recently passed by parliament, Judge Zakia said the 
commission and the MoHR should co-exist since the two bodies 
will complement the other's work.  The independent commission 
will be able to report and monitor on human rights without 
bias, and the MoHR can improve human rights from within the 
executive branch.  She also criticized the Ministry of 
Justice for blocking parliamentary committee inspection 
visits to detention facilities.  Iraq's executive branch 
needs to learn how to work with the parliament on human 
Qneeds to learn how to work with the parliament on human 
rights issues, she noted. 
 
¶6.  The representative from the KRG MoHR read a paper on the 
work of the Ministry in the Kurdish region.  The Ministry 
focuses on monitoring prisons and detention facilities, 
monitoring and improving the situation of women and children, 
holding conferences and trainings on human rights, supporting 
human rights NGOs, and reporting on overall conditions every 
three months.  The Ministry conducts regular inspections to 
most detention facilities in the KRG.  It also conducts 
training programs on human rights standards for prison 
officials and holds workshops on prisoners' rights for the 
detainees.  The Ministry closely follows the situation of 
women and children, particularly violence against women.  It 
visits orphanages and women's correction facilities and holds 
programs and lectures on women's rights around the region. 
The Ministry representative cited the weakness of monitoring 
authorities such as the Parliament and the media, Islamic 
extremism, culture and traditions, and the fact that Iraqi 
laws do not meet the standards of international human rights 
agreements as the main obstacles limiting the Ministry's 
 
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effectiveness. 
 
¶7.  The director of the Iraqi NGO Al-Amal, Hanaa Edwar, spoke 
on behalf on the NGO sector.  She said security and law and 
order were generally better, particularly in Baghdad, which 
is encouraging refugees and IDPs to return.  Edwar said life 
was returning to normal for residents in Basrah and Maysan. 
However, she claimed that Iraq is still facing serious 
challenges to human rights:  there are still mass arrests and 
detainees being held too long without charges, kidnappings 
for ransom are still common, and child kidnapping has 
increased.  She said a resurgence of tribal traditions is 
negatively affecting the rights of women.  Edwar claimed that 
70 percent of IDPs are women and children and they suffer 
more because they have less employment options. 
 
UNAMI HUMAN RIGHTS EVENT 
 
¶8.  On December 7, the UNAMI Human Rights Office sponsored an 
event in honor of the 60th anniversary of the declaration. 
The event highlighted the connection between human rights and 
Iraqi fine arts.  SRSG Staffan de Mistura opened the event by 
praising the work of the MoHR and welcoming the new High 
Commission of Human Rights.  The SRSG said more work needs to 
be done on improving detention facilities, reducing honor 
killings, helping minorities, and ending impunity for torture 
and other abuses.  Minister Wijdan highlighted the need for 
Iraq to continue its journey to raise human rights awareness 
and protect the human rights of all citizens. 
 
¶9.  Following the speeches, the Iraqi National Symphony 
Orchestra String Quartet performed "Song without Borders," 
which was composed in honor of the Declaration of Human 
Rights and given to the UN.  A group of students from two 
arts schools in Baghdad presented their human rights-inspired 
paintings, which had been hung on the walls of the 
auditorium.  The SRSG, Minister Wijdan, and the two 
professors judged the artwork and gave prizes to the artists 
who best expressed their thoughts on human rights. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶10.  The MoHR conference and the four-day celebration helped 
raise the public visibility of the Ministry and raising 
public consciousness of the importance of human rights in 
Iraq.  It was encouraging to see the MoHR successfully 
promote its (ambitious) agenda; the media coverage of the 
conference and other events will help the Ministry get its 
message across.  The UNAMI support was also important in 
lending weight and credibility to the MoHR events of December 
¶7. 
 
CROCKER