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Assessment of the child protection system in

Iraq/Kurdistan

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Background

• Diakonia in Iraq/Kurdistan since 1994

• Operating 3 centers for social protection/child protection

• Improve capacities and respect for child protection

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Assessment in two phases

• 1) A child protection systems assessment covering legislation, procedures and needs for capacity building

• 2) How to improve the quality of work performed by the three centers

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Iraq/Kurdistan

• Federal entity since 2005

• Population almost 4 million

• 36% 0-14 years, 4% above 63

• More than 50% are under 20 years

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Child protection systems assessment in Iraq/Kurdistan

• Legal framework• Coordination mechanisms• Available services• Human and financial resources• Children’s and parents’ access to

service

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Constraints and limitations

• Not possible to visit services providers• Not enough interviews with civil society• Not possible to meet with extremely

vulnerable children• Sample group of children and parents

came from Dohuk• Lack of reliable statistics

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International legal framework

• The CRC (1994)• The ILO Conventions 138 and 182 (1985

and 2001)

• Not party to the two Optional Protocols of the CRC

• Not party to the Conventions on the Status of Refugees or Statelessness

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National legal framework

The Iraqi Constitution (2005) endorses the CRC

• State and family the main duty bearers

• Economic exploitation prohibited• All forms of violence and abuse in the

family, school and society prohibited• All forms of psychological and

physical torture prohibited

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A Kurdistan Child Rights Law in process

• With UNICEF support

• Currently children’s rights and responsibilities are defined in the Juvenile Law, the Social Law and the Labour Law.

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Interviews

Ministries of • Labour and Social Affairs (and general directorate

in Dohuk)• Interiors• Justice• Education• Health (and general directorate in Dohuk)Five NGOs (partners of Diakonia)Parents and children (in Dohuk)

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UNICEF

• Study on VAC• Develop internal policies for law

encorcement• Support Child Helplines• Mine risk education, psychosocial

support

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Questionnaire for ministries

• The definition of child protection• The legal framework• The services provided in terms of

prevention, detection, reporting and response

• The coordination• The human resources

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MoLSAExample of matrix

What are the services provided? Who provides them?Action Details Provided by

whomContact details of provider

Prevention

Detection

Reporting

Early intervention

Family support

Response

Reintegration

Alternative care

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Coordination

MoE MoH MoI MoJ

Prevention

Detection

Reporting

Response

Legal framework,policies, protocols

Method of coordination

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MoLSA

• Juvenile law: ”Prevent the phenomena of juvenile offense by protecting the juvenile from delinquency”

• The social law: nothing but 2 small references to children with disabilities

• The child labour law

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Directorate of Social Care and Development:• Special care (”orphanages”)• Centers for children at risk of delinquency (street children)• No detection of children in need of social support• No reporting mechanism• Plan to establish Help-lines (with support from UNICEF)

Directorate of Labour• No programme to address child labour

Directorate of Reformatory:• In charge of institutions for children in conflict with the law in close collaboration

with Ministry of Interior

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Ministry of Interiors

• Protects the population from crime and terrorism

• Juvenile Police stations detect children in conflict with the law or children at risk of delinquency

• Child protection is a family matter• Need for capacity building on how to talk

to and interrogate minors

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Ministry of Justice

• Juvenile courts – minimum age 11If sentenced• Juvenile reformatoryIf delinquent• Rehabilitation centers• Parents risk to loose custody

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Ministry of Education

• Law prohibiting physical and phsycological punishment

• Law on free and compulsory education

• No mechanism for detection, response or referral

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Ministry of Health

• No protocol for detection, reporting and assistance – doctors are prohibited

• Children not allowed to go to the hospital without parent

• Need for capacity building on how to talk to children, help them overcome traumas

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Focus group discussions

• Fathers (10)• Mothers (36)• Boys (19) • Girls (8) Children aged between 4 and17

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Discussions focused on:

• Definition of child protection• national and international law• access to and opinion about

available reporting mechanism• access to and opinion about

responsive services

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Example of matrix

Reporting mechanisms YES

NO

Comments

Police station

Social workers in the MoLSA

Doctors in the hospital

Teachers in schools

Counselors in schools

Local or international NGOs

Mukhtars

Imams

Other members of the community

•Do you use these reporting mechanisms?•Which specific cases of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation you think should be reported?

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Fathers

• Concerned about protection in school• Law against domestic violence is

humiliating and increase divorce rate• Better to address root causes by

teaching children about non-violence

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Mothers

• Aware of law, but limited knowledge• VAC is culturally accepted and

mothers are the main perpetrators• If a child is punished in school he/she

deserves it• Protection issues in the home cannot

be reported

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Children

• Not aware of a law on child protection but some had heard of the CRC

• All aware of the juvenile law• All had been subject to physical

punishment in school - report to parents• Most violence takes place between

children

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Summary

• Violence against children is a family affair

• The system in place is a child correction system

• Children are perceived as perpetrators not victims of rights violations

• Protection is ”education, health, food”

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Summary cont…

• Reporting and referral mechanism do not exist – only for the detection and response of children in conflict with the law

• Lack of specialised staff on child protection within MoLSA

• General lack of capacity to understand child protection and knowledge about the law

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Summary cont…

• Lack of disaggregated data• Lack of awareness among parents

and children on children’s rights, the negative impact of violence, alternative discipline, how to prevent exposure to risks

• Insufficient coordination

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Reflections

• Did we ask the right questions?• What were the traditional

protection mechanisms?• The current law reinforces the

current belief• The ocean of preventive measures

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To be continued…..

Thank you for your attention!