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Iraqi activists live in fear as death squad killings rise – new report
December 2018 Report PDF: Civilian Activists under Threat [PDF] Civilian activists in Iraq are facing arbitrary detention, torture and premeditated assassinations, including at the hands of Shi’a militia members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), reports a new bulletin published today by the Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights and Minority Rights Group International. Hundreds of human rights

Using law to protect civilians: launch of The Grey Zone
September 2018 “The main legal norm being eroded in conflicts today is the distinction between combatants and civilians” How has the face of modern conflict changed? What happens to the civilian population caught in the grey zone between the traditional fields of application of human rights and the laws of war? These were among the

Syrian refugee women and girls facing gender-based violence in Iraq’s Kurdistan region – new report
May 2018 Seven years after the eruption of the conflict in Syria, refugee women and girls are facing gender-based violence in host countries in the region, says a new report from the Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights and Asuda, a leading NGO combating violence against women in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It finds that

Reparations for the victims of conflict in Iraq – new report
As Iraq prepares to rebuild and recover from the conflict with ISIS, ensuring accountability for violations committed and reparations for victims is an immediate priority, says a new report from the Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights and Minority Rights Group International.

Eyes on the Ground: Realizing the potential of civilian-led monitoring in armed conflict
July 2017 Technological advances have meant that civilians are now enabled to play a greater role than ever before in monitoring and documenting violations, finds a new report Eyes on the Ground: Realizing the potential of civilian-led monitoring in armed conflict. As UN rapporteurs and other official international monitors are effectively denied access to a wide

Ending enforced disappearance: from Baghdad to Belfast
January 2018 Pooling international best practice to support Iraq in ending enforced disappearances was the theme of a combined study and advocacy tour to Belfast and London undertaken by leading Iraqi MPs last month, organized by the Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights in partnership with the Institute for International Law and Human Rights. Iraq has

Justice for Syria: Small steps forward
July 2017 Recent months have seen a number of small steps forward in the struggle to achieve justice for atrocities committed in Syria. Criminal proceedings are now underway in a number of European countries, including Germany, Sweden and Spain, targeting perpetrators of torture and war crimes in Syria. For the first time, such proceedings target

Raqqa: Will the lessons from Mosul be learnt in time?
July 2017 As US-led coalition forces in partnership with a non-state armed group, the Syrian Democratic Forces, continue their attempt to take Raqqa from ISIS control, up to 200,000 civilians remain at risk, including some 70,000 inside the city. In June the chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria warned that the intensification

Thousands of civilians now at risk in Mosul assault – new report
October 2016 The lives of thousands of civilians are at critical risk in the assault on Mosul, a new survey of recent practice by Iraqi and international coalition forces finds. Civilian protection in the battle for Mosul: Critical priorities finds that recent precedents from military operations to retake Iraqi cities from ISIS control, including Tikrit, Ramadi,