The legislation is principally backed by Shiite Muslim events that type the most important coalition within the Iraqi parliament.
Iraq’s parliament handed a legislation criminalizing same-sex relationships with a most penalty of 15 years in jail, in a transfer it mentioned was aimed toward upholding non secular values however was condemned by rights advocates. human rights as the newest assault on the LGBTQ neighborhood in Iraq.
The legislation adopted on Saturday goals to “shield Iraqi society from the ethical depravity and requires homosexuality which have gripped the world,” in line with a duplicate of the legislation seen by Reuters information company.
It was backed primarily by conservative Shiite Muslim events that type the most important coalition within the Iraqi parliament.
The Anti-Prostitution and Homosexuality Legislation prohibits same-sex relations with not less than 10 years and a most of 15 years in jail, and requires not less than seven years in jail for anybody who promotes homosexuality or prostitution.
The amended legislation criminalizes “organic intercourse change based mostly on private wishes and inclinations” and punishes transgender individuals and docs who carry out gender-affirming surgical procedures with as much as three years in jail.
The invoice initially included the demise penalty for same-sex acts, however was modified earlier than being accredited after robust opposition from america and European nations.
“A tough blow to human rights”
Till Saturday, Iraq didn’t explicitly criminalize homosexual intercourse, though vaguely outlined morality clauses in its penal code have been used to focus on LGBTQ individuals, and members of the neighborhood have additionally been killed by armed teams and people.
“The Iraqi parliament’s passage of the anti-LGBT legislation reaffirms the horrible file of rights violations towards LGBTQ individuals in Iraq and is a blow to basic human rights,” mentioned Rasha Younes, deputy director of the LGBTQ rights program. from Human Rights Watch. Reuters.
“Iraq has successfully codified into legislation the discrimination and violence to which members of the LGBTI neighborhood have been subjected with absolute impunity for years,” AFP information company quoted Amnesty Worldwide’s Iraq researcher Razaw Salihy as saying.
“The amendments relating to LGBTI rights are a violation of basic human rights and put in danger Iraqis whose lives are already persecuted day by day,” Salihy added.
Lawmaker Raed al-Maliki, who pushed for the amendments, advised AFP that the legislation “serves as a safety measure to guard society from such acts.”
Main Iraqi events stepped up their criticism of LGBTQ rights final yr, burning rainbow flags in protests by each the ruling conservative Shiite Muslim factions and the opposition.
Greater than 60 nations criminalize homosexual intercourse, whereas same-sex sexual acts are authorized in additional than 130 nations, in line with Our World in Knowledge.
