Iraq's missing persons file: constitutional protection exists, national law does not

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's forced disappearances file returned to public attention on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, marked each year on August 30, with activists and officials pointing to a gap between constitutional protections and domestic legislation. Enforced disappearance is recognized under international law as a continuing crime against humanity and is not subject to statutes of limitation. Iraq's accumulated cases include the systematic disappearance of Feyli Kurds, the Anfal operations, the abduction of Yazidi women and children in Sinjar during the Islamic State period, and activists who went missing during protests in central and southern cities. Articles 15 and 19/12 of the Iraqi Constitution prohibit deprivation of life and outlaw arbitrary detention, and Iraq ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances in 2010. However, no national law defines enforced disappearance as an independent crime, removes statutes of limitation, or criminalizes the concealment of security records, according to the issues raised around the observance. Recommendations circulating among families and rights advocates include consolidating scattered case files held by the Martyrs' Ministry, Erbil-based institutions and the forensic medicine department into a single digital center, sustained funding for DNA laboratories, and the issuance of temporary disappearance certificates. Families are also urging Iraq's Permanent Mission to the United Nations to submit a draft decision transmitting files to the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances and to establish a cross-border monitoring mechanism with INTERPOL.