Iraq

Table of Contents

Overview

Iraq is now covered by the OHCHR Regional Office of the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA) effective 1 January 2026, following the closure of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq on 31 December 2025. Established in 2002, ROMENA focuses on monitoring and reporting the human rights situation in the region, providing technical advice and support, and promoting transparent and inclusive processes to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Read more >

See also: 

Middle East and North Africa Region

 

News & Statements

Latest news

29 Jun 2026

Special Procedures

Iraq: UN experts alarmed by trapped Australian engineer Robert Pether’s deteriorating health

24 Apr 2026

Special Procedures

Iraq: UN experts demand investigation into murder of woman human rights defender

25 Mar 2026

Treaty bodies

UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances publishes findings on Ecuador, Iraq, Malawi and Samoa

11 Mar 2026

Treaty bodies

Experts of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances Note Steps Taken by Iraq to Address Enforced Disappearance, Raise Questions on Preserving Evidence Collected by the United Nations Investigative Team and Excavations of Mass Graves

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Latest statements & messages

22 Sep 2026

Special Procedures

Capacity-Building on Embedding Oversight and Accountability and Monitoring and Evaluation Good Practices into Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Efforts

29 Apr 2024

Multiple Mechanisms

Comment by UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Iraq

09 Aug 2023

Multiple Mechanisms

UN Human Rights Chief ends visit to Iraq

07 Mar 2023

Multiple Mechanisms

Global update: High Commissioner outlines concerns in over 40 countries

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Featured Stories

A woman stands with her eyes closed and her gloved hands clasped at her chest, a scarf covering her head, in dry scrubland where others are searching.
28 August 2026 Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

Families searching for their disappeared still ask: Where are they?

Twenty years ago, families wrote into international law the right to make a State answer one question. This is what the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances and the Working Group do to get it answered — and what most families are still waiting for.
People seated around a large conference table in a wood-panelled UN meeting room, with country nameplates including France, Chile, Panama and the United Kingdom visible. Two screens on the walls show a speaker at the podium. The room is full, with bright natural light coming through tall windows on the left.
16 March 2026 Fund for Victims of Torture

Torture survivors push for landmark charter to turn rights into reality

Three survivors of torture from Iraq, Mexico and Burundi share their stories as a landmark new UN framework puts their voices at the heart of justice, reparation and prevention.
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UN and OHCHR Reports

UN Secretary-General and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

A/HRC/30/66: Technical assistance provided to assist in the promotion and protection of human rights in Iraq

Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the human rights situation in Iraq in the light of abuses committed by the socalled Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and associated groups

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OHCHR/UNAMI

Human Rights and Freedom of Expression: Trials in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Human Rights in the Administration of Justice in Iraq: legal conditions and procedural safeguards to prevent torture and ill-treatment Update on Demonstrations in Iraq: Accountability for Human Rights Violations and Abuses by Unidentified Armed Elements

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COVID-19 advocacy campaign

COVID-19 murals project

Domestic Violence advocacy short film

Universal Periodic Review

Core documents for the current and previous cycles

Special Procedures

Reports

A/HRC/44/41/Add.1: Visit to Iraq - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons

A/HRC/38/44/Add.1: Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on her mission to Iraq

A/HRC/38/44/Add.4: Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on her mission to Iraq: Comments by the State - Note by the Secretariat

A/HRC/34/53/Add.1: Report of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues on her mission to Iraq

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Special Procedures country visits

Treaty Bodies

Reports

CEDAW/C/IRQ/CO/8: Concluding observations on the eighth periodic report of Iraq

CRC/C/IRQ/CO/5-6: Concluding observations on the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Iraq

E/C.12/IRQ/CO/5: Concluding observations on the fifth periodic report of Iraq

CED/C/IRQ/OAI/1: Concluding observations

CEDAW/C/IRQ/CO/7: Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of Iraq

CRPD/C/IRQ/CO/1: Concluding observations on the initial report of Iraq (Advance Unedited Version)

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Status & Reporting

Status of Ratifications Reporting Status Standing invitation to Special Procedures General Assembly Resolutions, Decisions and Chairperson's Statements Commission on Human Rights Resolutions, Decisions and Chairperson's Statements Voluntary Pledges and Commitments

External Resources

Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions

Note: OHCHR is not responsible for the content of external links.

Contact Information

OHCHR Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa
UN House
P.O. Box 11-8575
Riad El Solh 1107-2812, Beirut, Lebanon
Tel: 00961-1-978505
Fax: 00961-1-981510
Email: ohchr-ro-mena@un.org
Regional Office website

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