HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION LAW DELAYED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003591 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/27/2017 TAGS: PHUM KDEM PGOV IZ SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION LAW DELAYED REF: A. BAGHDAD 2586 ¶B. BAGHDAD 1974 Classified By: ACTING POLITICAL COUNSELOR ELLEN GERMAIN FOR REASONS 1.4 (B,D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Council of Representatives (CoR) Human Rights Committee is seeking the Presidency Council's support for its draft of the High Commission for Human Rights (HCHR) law, which CoR Deputy Speaker Khalid al-Attiyah (Eitilaf) blocked from moving forward during its second reading (October 6),CoR Human Rights Committee Deputy Chair Harith al-Ubaidy (Tawafuq) told PolOff on October 14. He speculated that the Maliki government does not want the HCHR to exist at all (ref A). Dismissing the CoR committee's concerns, Human Rights Minister Wijdan Salim on October 23 said that al-Attiyah deferred further readings of the law until the Shura Council completes reviewing and submits the Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR)-sponsored version of the HCHR law to CoR. Minister Widjan supports establishing three separate human rights institutions by law -- a HCHR, a MOHR, and a National Institute for Human Rights. United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Human Rights Chief Hania Mufti noted October 24 that the MoHR and CoR human rights committee do not appear to collaborate on initiatives, including the HCHR law. END SUMMARY. -------------- AL-UBAIDY: MALIKI GOVERNMENT AGAINST HCHR -------------- ¶2. (C) Noting that Deputy CoR Speaker Khalid al-Attiyah aborted the HCHR law's second reading on October 6, CoR Human Rights Committee Deputy al-Ubaidy speculated October 14 that opposition by the Maliki government to forming a HCHR at all is at the root of the law's delayed progress in CoR. The CoR Human Rights Committee, he said, is drafting a complaint letter to the Presidency Council to request its support for forming the Constitutionally-mandated HCHR. If the Presidency Council does not support the commission, then he would consider resigning in protest. Under such unconstitutional conditions, al-Ubaidy asserted, parliamentarians have no role. (Note: Article 102 of the Constitution calls for a HCHR as an independent commission, subject to CoR monitoring, and regulated by law. End note.) ¶3. (C) Al-Obaidy complained that while CoR Speaker Mahmoud Mashadani (National Dialogue Council/Tawafuq) has expressed his impatience with the law's slow progress, in contrast, Deputy CoR Speaker al-Attiyah "has no intention of supporting the proposal." Al-Ubaidy said that during the session, al-Attiyah declared that the language of the law is weak, rejected Human Rights Committee member Hanin Qeddo's (Eitilaf) request to speak, and then motioned for a vote to cancel further readings of the law. He reported that al-Attiya announced there were enough votes canceling the reading after CoR members began raising their hands to comment in protest. (Note: Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Safa al-Safi had formally removed from further consideration the version of the HCHR law the CoR Human Rights committee attempted to put forward for a second reading on October 6, sometime after its first reading on March 12 (ref B). End note.) ¶4. (C) Al-Ubaidy said Safa al-Safi denied there is any intention to derail the law, which he said was still under Shura Council review. Al-Ubaidy reported that when pressed, al-Safi told him that after the Eid al-Fitr holiday (October 13) he would set a date to continue resume reading the law. (Note: As of the last week of October, a new date for the HCHR's next reading had not yet been announced. End note.) -------------- - MoHR SUPPORTS HCHR's COEXISTENCE WITH THE MoHR -------------- - ¶5. (C) Deputy CoR Speaker al-Attiyah had delayed further readings of the HCHR law until the Shura Council could finish reviewing the MoHR's version of the law and submit it to CoR, said Human Rights Minister Wijdan on October 23. She stated the CoR Human Rights Committee had received a copy of the MoHR's version of the law before October 6. (Note: The Shura Council, under the Justice Ministry, is a body of legal experts that vets Iraqi. End note.) Meanwhile, the MoHR is planning to submit to the Shura Council two additional laws establishing the Ministry of Human Rights and a National Institute for Human Rights, which would coexist with the HCHR. (Note: Coalition Provisional Authority Order 60 created the MoHR in 2003, with the order remaining in force unless "superseded by legislation issued by an internationally BAGHDAD 00003591 002 OF 002 recognized Iraqi government." End note.) ¶6. (C) Minister Wijdan noted UNAMI Human Rights Chief Mufti had alerted her that the CoR's HCHR law draft would limit the HCHR's mandate to examining human rights violations occurring only during the former regime, rather than also including cases occurring after the fall of the regime. She said she agreed with Mufti that the HCHR's mandate should include oversight of post-2003 cases. Mufti (protect) reported to PolOff October 20 that although the CoR Human Rights Committee had realized that their draft of the law was flawed in that it limited the commission's mandate to examining only pre-Saddam cases. She noted the committee seemed to believe that procedurally, there was no other way to modify the text other than scheduling a second reading, during which the text could be debated. -------------- -------------- MUFTI: MOHR AND COR HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE DO NOT COORDINATE -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) UNAMI Human Rights Chief Mufti told PolOff October 24 she has observed little coordination between the Human Rights Ministry and the CoR Human Rights Committee, and said the relationship between them seemed competitive. Mufti noted that the committee -- without consulting with the MoHR -- recently contacted her office for help organizing a proposed human rights conference including representatives from provinces throughout Iraq, while the MoHR has not involved the committee in its planning of activities in observance of Human Rights Day on December 10. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) The idea that the HCHR could replace the MoHR -- supported by various government officials, including CoR members -- and Minister Wijdan's involvement in pulling the CoR committee's original HCHR law draft after its first reading has fueled obvious tensions between the MoHR and the CoR Human Rights Committee (ref A and B). However, the CoR Human Rights Committee and Minister Wijdan's shared goal of actualizing the Constitutionally-mandated HCHR could be the basis of cooperation to pass the HCHR law. It is still unclear whether the CoR Human Rights Committee would consider Minister Wijdan's vision of maintaining a human rights ministry to promote human rights within the government and a separate commission to work with NGOs and the media to monitor the government to be an acceptable compromise. Judging from her prior statements, Minister Wijdan would be quite unlikely to accept options dissolving her ministry (ref B). Post is working with the UNAMI Human Rights Office and the UK Embassy in Baghdad to encourage more dialogue between the CoR Human Rights Committee and the MoHR regarding the content and procedural progress of the HCHR law and other human rights initiatives. END COMMENT. BUTENIS