At the 4th session of the Joint Sub-Committee on Human Rights and Democracy on 11 July, the European Union and Iraq welcomed the progress made by Iraq on a number of issues relating to human rights, democracy and governance, and the Iraqi government’s willingness to remain committed to the process of implementing the necessary reforms, announced the European External Action Service (EEAS) on Monday 17 July.
According to the EEAS, the EU has encouraged the Iraqi side to make further progress on women’s rights, in particular on work towards the adoption by the Iraqi Parliament of a law against domestic violence. It also reiterated the importance of a global approach to the right to a fair trial.
Discussions also focused on electoral reform and the Iraqi government’s efforts to combat corruption.
The Union also underlined its concern about reports of a shrinking civic space and allegations of ill-treatment, including torture, in police detention centres and prisons.
The two sides reaffirmed their desire to strengthen their bilateral cooperation on human rights and democracy and discussed their cooperation in multilateral human rights forums. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)