Call for formation of Union for Human Rights Defense Activists in Iraq

ARBIL / IraqiNews.com: Iraq’s Human Rights Ministry’s Undersecretary has called on Tuesday for the formation of a Union for Human Rights Defense Activists in Iraq, in order to follow up human rights violations in the country.   “Defenders of human rights are facing intensive violations by extremists,” Abdul-Karim Shallal told a Conference for Evaluating Conditions of Human Rights in Iraq, held in Arbil on Tuesday, calling on “the formation of a Union for Human Rights Defense Activists in Iraq, being a step in the right direction.”   Shallal said that “the activists that would form the Union shall enjoy special training in the system of protection and observation, along with personal safety, in order to face risks.”   The Director of the UN Human Rights Office in Iraq had said in a speech at the conference that the state of Human Rights Activists in Iraq is “fragile and miserable,” as the defenders are facing a lot of challenges and difficulties.   About 80 civil activists from difference parts of Iraq and representatives of the UN Human Rights Organization in Iraq and Czekia are attending the 3-day conference, discussing the state of human rights in Iraq. SKH (TI)/SR 248