Please note that on our website we use cookies to enhance your experience, and for analytics purposes. To learn more about our cookies, please read our privacy policy. By clicking ‘Allow cookies’, you agree to our use of cookies. By clicking ‘Decline’, you don’t agree to our Privacy Policy.

No translations available

Reparations for the victims of conflict in Iraq: Lessons learned from comparative practice

8 November 2017

As Iraq prepares to rebuild and recover from the conflict with ISIS, ensuring accountability for violations committed and reparations for victims is an immediate priority, says this new report from the Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights and Minority Rights Group International.Millions of Iraqi victims have suffered over decades as a consequence of gross human rights violations and serious violations of humanitarian law. Conflict with ISIS has led to the displacement of over 3.1 million people, the killing of thousands, and targeted campaigns against ethnic and religious communities.The conflict has also resulted in widespread damage to infrastructure and personal property. At the same time, state institutions in large parts of the country have been left paralyzed and incapable of providing basic services to citizens.The report assesses Iraq’s existing reparations scheme, which has paid out over IQD 420 billion (USD 355 million) in recent years to the victims of ‘military operations, military mistakes and terrorist actions’. But the most recent and complex phase of the conflict raises new challenges, requiring that the existing reparations system be strengthened. Reparations for the victims of conflict in Iraq: Lessons learned from comparative practice seeks to inform the discussion on reparations in Iraq through analysis of both international and domestic practice, and suggests concrete recommendations to both the Iraqi government and the international community for providing adequate and effective reparations to victims.The international rights organisations say that reparations matter not only because they can redress the harm that victims have suffered, but because, if well conceived, they provide a transformative experience to victims.

Download (PDF, English)
Download (PDF, Arabic)

Author(s)

Clara Sandoval

Miriam Puttick