Progress Amid Resistance

IRAQ 165discriminate against women; Article 9, which requires equal rights regardingchanges and transfers of nationality; and Article 16, which concernsthe elimination of discrimination in marriage and family relations. Iraqalso filed a reservation on Article 29, paragraph 1, with regard to the principleof international arbitration on the interpretation or application of theconvention. 11 In practice, the former regime disregarded CEDAW at will.The current government has not discussed ratifying CEDAW or revokingthe existing reservations.The work of Iraqi women’s NGOs had been assisted by foreign andin ternational organizations like the U.S. Agency for International De -vel op ment (USAID), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), theUN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), the UN Development Fundfor Women, WADI, Women for Women International, the UN HighCommissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the U.S. military. However,most foreign civilian aid workers left Iraq after violence began to soar, andat least 94 aid workers were killed between 2003 and late 2007. 12 Onlylocal NGOs remained active in most areas outside the relatively peacefulKurdish region, and these lack support and protection from the governmentdespite a constitutional provision seeking to strengthen, support,develop, and preserve the independence of civil society (Article 45).RecommendationsF The parliament should expedite the process of reforming and replacingBa’athist-era labor and penal codes, drawing on the advice of internationalexperts and the experience of foreign legal systems to developlaws that will best serve the Iraqi people. Particular attention shouldbe paid to eliminating penal code provisions that provide leniency inhonor-related cases.F The parliament should revise Article 41 of the constitution to ensurethat personal status issues will be governed by a unified legal codeand will not be left in the hands of unaccountable religious authoritiesand tribal leaders. Lawmakers should consult with scholars andexperts to develop a personal status code that draws on the best elementsof different religious traditions, meets international standards,and protects women’s rights.F The government, in cooperation with international bodies, should de -velop mechanisms to protect local women’s rights activists who workin conflict zones.