- Pascale Warda participating in a meeting called by the US Embassy in Baghdad on the subject of human trafficking.
- Warda: The problem is that the penalties fall on victims of human trafficking and not on those who cause them.
- Emphasizing on the importance of the Iraqi government's compliance with its international obligations and the implementation of the anti-trafficking law.
Ms. Pascale Warda, Head of Hammurabi Human Rights Organization, former Minister of Migration and Displaced, and a member of Iraqi Women's Network, has participated in a meeting called by the US Embassy in Baghdad, the Human Rights and Political Affairs Department on Thursday (13/7/2017), In the presence of a number of representatives of the interested non-governmental organizations, including Hammurabi Human Rights Organization. Those elites were selected to meet on the basis of past participations in the elaboration of the (10) points on combating all forms of human trafficking.
The meeting was run by Ms. Lindsay Blamley, Human Rights Officer at the Embassy, and Alexandra Zeitl, Director of the Foreign Affairs Unit of the Political department. The meeting reviewed the ten points of the previous meetings' recommendations related to the prevention of human being trafficking and the issue of Iraq's delay in fulfilling its obligations under the list published by the Human Rights Council of the United Nations.
The failure to fulfill these obligations has left Iraq in second place, and could move to third place where the Iraqi government must be held accountable if it fails to report on the development of human trafficking.
Ms. Warda mentioned during the meeting that the human right situation continues to witness many complex human rights violations. Regarding the human trafficking, she stressed that this phenomenon has been clearly discussed as a result of poor security performance in the cities points of protection, in addition to the armed violence practiced by gangs of impunity, and terrorist crimes. And that this phenomenon affected women and children basically with the absence of any legal deterrents and issues that limit them in the cities, likewise what happened during the Three years of ISIS invasion due to lack of security responsibility in the areas of minority, Mosel, Anbar, and others, including Baghdad.
Ms. Warda pointed to a paradox in this regard, stating that victims of human trafficking are subject to accountability and repression, while the deterrent measure should reach the person causing this phenomenon before the ones implementing it.
Ms. Pascal also discussed the government procedures, mentioning that, the conveyed cases to the committees regarding this matter have been delayed and neglected, adding to that that, there are no clear mechanisms for the implementation of the law against human beings trafficking no. (28) Of 2012, which can limit the phenomenon of human trafficking, as the security services are the first to undertake this task and to pursue and seriously investigate the imposition of bringing the guilty to justice and hold them accountable.