Rape and trafficking of women in Iraq

WRITTEN QUESTION

Submission: To the Council

26 August 2003

Subject: Rape and trafficking of women in Iraq

In a statement, the president of the Organization for the Liberation of Women in Iraq, Ms. Yanar Mohammed, condemns the increase in violence against women in Iraq during the period of the presence of allied forces in the region. It is estimated that more than 400 women have been abducted, raped, and often sold. The attacks are carried out both by human trafficking groups that abduct and demand ransoms or sell the women, and by criminals who abduct them for the purpose of rape. The same organization accuses the American forces of being indifferent and of turning the streets “into a zone without women.”

The Council is asked whether it intends to exert pressure on the American Government in order to immediately stop and prevent in the future incidents of sexual violence, abuse, and trafficking of women, which constitute a blatant violation of their human rights.