Iraq

The Islamic State (ISIS) has lost control of territory in Iraq but continued to carry out attacks during 2019. Key human rights challenges in the post-ISIS phase include fair trials for ISIS suspects that allow for victim participation, protection of families of suspected ISIS members from collective punishment, free movement of the displaced and accountability for abuses by anti-ISIS forces. Starting in October 2019, security forces responded to protests in Baghdad and other cities with excessive force, killing hundreds. Other violations of freedom of assembly and expression and women’s rights persisted, as well as the right to water, and the government’s extensive use of the death penalty.