Iraq’s ever-increasing enforced disappearances
The number of forcibly disappeared persons in Iraq remains significant, amid no serious measures from the Iraqi government to address the issue.
Anas al-Azzawi, member of the Office of the Iraqi High Commissioner for Human Rights (IHCHR), reported July 24 that “7,663 people have been forcibly disappeared during the last three years. IHCHR confirmed that 652 disappeared persons were in detention and prisons, and the search is still ongoing to find the others.”
This number of enforced disappearances, which include neither those forcibly disappeared during the Islamic State (IS) phase nor those in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), is proof of the ongoing violence and political and sectarian conflict that began after 2014, following IS’ control over a third of Iraq. These forced disappearances have surpassed those that took place in Iraq during the sectarian civil war from 2005 to 2008.
Wahida al-Jamili, rapporteur for the parliamentary Human Rights Committee, told Al-Monitor, “Some were forcibly disappeared at the hands of political parties and others by armed parties, both of which find in such aggressive behavior a way to get those who oppose them out of the picture.”
However, she noted, "Those who forcibly disappeared for sectarian reasons are few compared to when IS was in control or during the civil war. All sectarian components have become more aware that it is pointless to eliminate one another this way. In addition, there have been political agreements and the political process based on the balance between components has been a success.”
