Volume 1 Cedric - revised luca Final - RUIG-GIAN

2.3.4. Social security and safety netsIn the area of social security and safety nets, law no. 39 of 1971 currently in force onSocial Security applied only on private enterprises that employ 3 or more workers. Inpractice, the implementation of this law, like most of the other legislation, suffers fromcorruption and non-compliance. Revision of the law should aim at ensuring incomemaintenance through social schemes for all employees and self-employed Iraqis. Anotherpiece of legislation is the law of social security no.126 of 1980, and instructions no. 98 of2000. These are supposed to ensure basic life support for families and citizens in need withno income sources, such as the handicapped, widows, divorcees, orphans, etc. Thesegroups receive subsidies of around 20 US$ per month (less than one US$ per day). Thisvery modest amount of money might explain why so few people are applying for it. Thetotal number of people eligible for this social benefit in February 2005 is 138,400 familiesnation-wide, according to the Department of Social Welfare (SWD) of the Ministry ofLabour and Social Affairs (MoLSA). 62 The SWD plans to increase this number to 300,000families by the end of 2005 in Baghdad and other governorates.There is no clear identification of a poverty line in Iraq that can secure a reasonableliving standard for vulnerable groups. Therefore, this matter should be well addressed byany future legislation.2.3.5. Vulnerable groupsReliable data on the most vulnerable population groups proved extremely difficult toobtain. It may be said, however, that general urban/rural and regional disparities grewsteadily over the 1990s. A growing gap had emerged between governorates in the southernand central regions, and those in the north. Most adult education activities and non-formaleducation programmes stopped in 1991, resulting in a rise of illiteracy among the youthand adults. One estimate suggests that fewer than 30 per cent of females and 60 per cent of15 to 25 year-old males were literate in 2000. The gender distortion is exacerbated in ruralareas and in more neglected southern governorates.It proved difficult to obtain reliable figures concerning post-conflict vulnerablegroups in terms of increased number of widows and women-headed households, orphans,the disabled, former soldiers with no vocational training, etc. However, estimatesconcerning the human toll of the wars often refer to one million orphans,more than200,000 widowed women, and 1,500,000 wounded. 63 The number of handicappedamounted to more than 244,659 persons - not considering Kurdistan - of which 172,765are males. 64Poverty in southern Iraq is particularly serious. The main vulnerable groups have littlecapacity to cope with further shocks. The WFP report on chronic poverty concluded thatapproximately 21 per cent of central and southern Iraq's population was chronically poor orunable to meet their basic needs over long periods of time. Within southern Iraq alldistricts of the Basrah governorate and most of southern Maysan have high or very highchronic poverty rates.62 Interview, Director General of SWD, MoLSA, March, 200563 Interviews with experts of Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation /CSO, and Ministry of Labourand Social Affairs/ Directorate of Social Welfare64 Interview, Department of Rehabilitation and Handicap Prevention/ Ministry of Health55