E/C.12/IRQ/CO/4
(f)
Take specific measures to provide psychological and other necessary
support services and recovery to women and girls freed from ISIL and ensure that
they are not further subject to tribal violence.
Harmful practices: early, temporary and forced marriages
41.
The Committee is concerned about the revival of early, temporary and forced
marriages in the State party (art. 10).
42.
The Committee urges the State party to take the steps necessary to address the
rise of harmful practices against girls and women, including early, temporary and
forced marriage. It should, among other things, ensure strict adherence to the legal
provision that sets the minimum age for marriage for both sexes at 18, provide for
deterrent punishments for forced marriages and conduct widespread educational
campaigns on the harmful effects of such practices.
Child protection
43.
The Committee expresses its concern about the large number of children who have
lost their parents, many of whom live in the street (about 500,000) or in State hostels. The
Committee further expresses its concern about the rise in child labour in the State party,
including under hazardous conditions, and that sanctions for those violating child labour
provisions are not enforced. Moreover, the Committee is concerned about the increased use
of children in the armed conflict, notably by ISIL and affiliated armed groups but also by
State-backed militias, and the insufficient safeguards to prevent the recruitment of children
(art. 10).
44.
The Committee recommends that the State party adopt an overarching child
protection policy, paying special attention to:
(a)
Strengthening its alternative care programme for children without a
family environment, with adequate human, technical and financial resources to
facilitate their recovery and social reintegration;
(b)
Addressing more effectively the situation of child labour, including by
increasing labour inspections and identifying, as a matter of priority, those groups of
children who are more vulnerable to being engaged in labour and assisting them, and
introducing harsher sanctions for those exploiting children;
(c)
Combating the root causes that lead to the increased involvement of
children in the armed conflict, adopting legal and other safeguards to prevent child
recruitment and bringing to justice all those involved in the recruitment and use of
children in the armed conflict;
(d)
Fulfilling its obligations to provide demobilized boys and girls with
appropriate assistance for their physical and psychological recovery and their social
reintegration.
Poverty
45.
The Committee is concerned about the prevalence of poverty in the State party,
which disproportionately affects children, women, minorities, internally displaced persons
and people living in rural areas. The Committee notes with concern that previous economic
growth in the years 2005-2012 did not yield satisfactory results in reducing poverty
(art. 11).
46.
The Committee recommends that the State party step up its efforts to reduce
poverty in the State party, including by adopting a human-rights-based poverty
8