By Antoine Craigwell

(New York, NY) - Cary Alan Johnson, executive director, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) sent a letter to Wijdan Salim, Minister of Human Rights of Iraq. In the letter, Johnson implored Salim to take "specific measures to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Iraqis and prevent hate crimes against those perceived to be gay," which was to coincide with the Minister's impending Washington, D.C. visit, and is in response to reports of violent crimes against Iraqi's suspected of being gay. IGLHRC has collaborated with the Washington, D.C.-based Council on Global Equality to bring the matter to the attention of U.S. government officials, with whom Salim is expected to meet next week.

 


 

 
US supported Iraqi government does nothing or tacitly supports gay murders.
 
Tellingly, an Iraqi group calling itself "Fazilat," which means virtue, posted flyers on walls in Sadr City, a neighborhood in Bhagdad, the capital, that threatened gays and lesbians with death. Distributed on Apr 17, some flyers listed names of people suspected of being gay and claimed, "we will soon punish all you perverts." According to reports from Sadr City residents, those named on the flyers have gone into hiding.

According to the IGLHRC press release, acts of anti-LGBT violence in Iraq include the murder of two men in the Sadr City on April 2, and one unidentified local official described the two men as "sexual perverts who were killed by members of their tribe to restore their family honor."
As with many cultures worldwide, prior to them being killed, the men's relatives had disowned them and excommunicated them from their respective tribes. To date, their bodies remain unclaimed for burial and the government has not launched an investigation into their deaths. One week before, on Mar 25, authorities discovered four men who were killed by gunshot and on whose bodies "pervert" and "son of a bitch" (jaravah, a derogatory term used to describe gays) was written on their chests.
 
 
These killings follow the torching of a coffee house, also in Sadr City, reputedly frequented by gay men. IGLHRC said it has received reports of arrest, torture and murder of several members of the Iraqi LGBT group, which is part of an Iraq-wide crack-down on gay-friendly businesses and many extra-judicial murders of gays and lesbians around the country.
In response to these reports, IGLHRC and Human Rights Watch, an international human rights organization, appealed on Apr 8 to the United Nations department handling Special Procedures to begin investigations into the abuses and deaths.

In the letter, Johnson said, he not only was writing to express his deep concern about the alarming increase in violence based on sexual orientation and or gender identity in Iraq over the past few weeks, with confirmation recently by Iraqi officials of the murder of six men whose bodies were found in Sadr City, but also the reports of official persecution-abduction, torture, trial without due process, and execution-of Iraqis who the government believes to have been part of a gay organization, and a government backed pogrom-styled witch hunt targeting gay men.
Johnson said that Iraq, as a signatory to several international treaties that ensure the right to privacy, liberty and security of the person and of non-discrimination, is obligated to offer protection to its citizens and to ensure that while human rights violations are investigated, the perpetrators are brought to justice.

He referred to Article 14 of the new Iraqi constitution, which enshrines the protection of all its citizen, Article 15 which guarantee of everyone's right to enjoy "life, freedom, and security," and Article 35, which reiterates the right of all Iraqis to live "in freedom and with dignity." Johnson said that the mob murder of men perceived to be gay also violates the Iraqi Constitution, since Article 17 explicitly protects the private lives of all citizens, Article 29, which makes any kind of violence against family members a crime, and Article 19, Section 2, which prohibits extra-judicial punishment.

Citing Article 2 of the Charter of the Ministry of Human Rights (CMHR), which was passed by the Iraqi parliament as law number 60 in 2006, Johnson said it is the responsibility of Salim's ministry to "promote...and secure the implementation of...the culture of human rights and personal freedom in accordance with international treaties that Iraq has entered... and prevent its violation," and in the fulfillment of that mandate, he requested that the ministry actively and thoroughly document cases of human rights abuses against all LGBT people and include this information in the annual report on the status of human rights in Iraq for submission to parliament and the cabinet, as demanded by the CMHR Article 3, Section 2; that the ministry should in accordance with CMHR Article 3, Section 3, prepare a comprehensive report on state, community and family violence based on sexual orientation with concrete recommendations on how to stop such human rights violations; launch an investigation into the Iraqi legal system-including police, judiciary, and penal systems-to assure the full enjoyment of human rights principles by all people, regardless of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity; and in keeping with CMHR Article 3, Section 11, to promote a culture of tolerance and respect for the rights of LGBT people at the tribal level and within the larger Iraqi society.