Shafaq News / While children around the world celebrate World Children's Day, their counterparts in Iraq face a myriad of fundamental challenges and issues that have exacerbated due to the repercussions of economic conditions, unemployment, escalating poverty rates, in addition to the wars and crises that have affected the country. Moreover, climate change has had a newly emerged negative impact on them. Children constitute about 13% of the prevalent illiteracy rate in the country, according to former officials from the Human Rights Commission.
Fadel Al-Ghrawi, head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq, highlighted the compounding crises, stating, "Severe climate changes have disrupted children's lives, displacing them post-loss of family economic resources, leaving many stranded in displacement camps."
Al-Ghrawi continued, "In addition to child labor to meet basic needs, children resort to begging, school dropouts, and many forego education."
He added, "In tandem with escalating domestic violence against children, they remain vulnerable to human and organ trafficking and fall prey to drug trades."
Highlighting the dire situation, Al-Ghrawi noted, "A vast number of homeless children exist, with care facilities insufficient compared to the homeless count. Religious-affiliated centers aid orphans due to governmental inadequacy."
He stressed, "While Iraq has a dedicated Child Care Authority and national childhood policy, it falls short of aligning with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified in 1994."
Al-Ghrawi stressed, "These myriad challenges demand attention, and World Children's Day serves as a timely reminder for officials to prioritize children's rights and tackle ongoing and future issues."
World Children's Day, established in 1954, fosters global unity, awareness, and welfare enhancement for children, celebrated annually on November 20th. This date marks the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 by the United Nations General Assembly.
Child displacement
Iraq confronts numerous crises, including repeated internal displacement due to conflicts. Recent events have tied displacement to climate change, sparking far-reaching consequences.
Child rights activist Shurooq Mohammed stressed, "Displacement detrimentally affects children's lives and development. Climate change, global warming, and water scarcity have led to dried Marshes and diminished animal wealth, severely affecting locals."
She noted, "Families, left with depleted resources, fled to cities, compelling children to seek work due to job scarcities, disrupting their lives."
Mohammed elaborated, "The transition from rural to urban life demands adaptation to new environments, differing in dialects and attire, akin to a new birth."
The International Labour Organization defines child labor as "work depriving children of their childhood, potential, and dignity, impeding physical and mental development."
Since 2002, the International Labour Organization urged immediate prohibition of child labor, establishing standards to eliminate child labor and human trafficking.
Alarming statistics
Former Human Rights Commission member Anas Al-Azzawi indicated that the illiteracy rate stands at 47%, with children under 10 constituting 13% per UNICEF statistics, often differing from official data.
Al-Azzawi cautioned that around 900,000 children engage in the labor market.
He emphasized the necessity for legislative measures to safeguard children's rights, combat domestic violence, implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and amend legal texts relating to children in the Iraqi Penal Code.
Physical and verbal violence
"In Iraq, children are subjected to physical and verbal violence, whether from parents, schools, relatives, or even the streets," according to Haqi Karim Hadi, the president of the Association for Family Protection and Development in Iraq. He highlighted that "this violence results from the absence of legislation regarding domestic violence and child protection laws in Iraq."
Hadi, speaking to Shafaq News Agency, urged "the government to enforce UN and international laws to protect children from domestic violence," explaining that "domestic violence is subject to political manipulation, hence there are no adequate remedies."
The Public Relations Department of the Supreme Judicial Council released statistics on rates of domestic violence concerning children, women, and the elderly during the years 2021 and 2022.
The statistics indicated that "the courts registered 1141 lawsuits of domestic violence against children, with the Court of Appeal in Baghdad Al-Karkh having the highest count of 267 cases."
According to legal expert Ali Al-Tamimi, "Article 41 of the Penal Code allows the husband, parents, and teachers the right to discipline within the limits of religious and legal principles." He pointed out that "the vague wording of this article is prone to misuse and restricts judicial accountability. It was challenged in the Federal Court for violating Articles 14, 29, and 30 of the constitution, but the challenge was rejected."
Al-Tamimi explained that "individuals, as criminal psychology suggests, are affected in their early stages of life (from five to 15 years)." He asserted that "such crimes shatter these young individuals, turning them resentful towards society and even into criminals."
He continued, stating that "these crimes contravene children's conventions, international covenants, and human rights. Therefore, there is an urgent need to legislate a law to protect against domestic violence, as the Kurdistan Region (KRI) has done by enacting such a law."
Since 2020, the Iraqi Cabinet approved the draft law "Combating Domestic Violence" and sent it to Parliament, but it has not been passed yet due to opposition from political entities in Parliament, particularly those associated with religious parties.
Furthermore, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) warned about the consequences of persistent violence against Iraqi children, reaching alarming levels. The organization reported that four out of every five children in Iraq face violence and physical abuse.
The UN agency stressed that there is no justification for violence against young children and that this phenomenon must be prevented and stopped.
UNICEF called upon the Iraqi government to establish mechanisms for monitoring and tracking perpetrators of violence and murder against children and to bring them to justice.