The Basra Office of the Human Rights Commission
'Imminent danger'
Basra Human Rights Commission office calls for open debate on key societal issues
BASRA — The Basra Office of the Human Rights Commission has publicly urged the Basra Provincial Council to engage in an open debate addressing five critical issues where the council’s oversight has been lacking.
Mahdi Al-Tamimi, the director of the Human Rights Commission in Basra, issued a statement on Saturday urging a public discussion on matters deemed “imminent dangers,” including the spread of drugs, rising suicide rates among youth, environmental injustice, unemployment, and the right to housing.
Al-Tamimi stressed the importance of conducting this debate transparently, with the involvement of the judiciary, media, activists, and Basra’s intellectual community. The goal is to closely examine the council’s oversight of these pressing issues. As of now, neither the Basra Provincial Council nor the local government has responded to the invitation.
The proposed public debate would be an open event, inviting members of the judiciary, parliamentarians, experts from various fields, activists, and journalists in Basra. The objective is to scrutinize the council’s role in overseeing these critical concerns.
Among the issues highlighted for debate is the alarming spread of drugs across Basra society. The commission’s statement noted “thousands of arrests related to drug offenses, increasing drug use, and the lack of a comprehensive plan to protect youth and children through thorough investigative procedures,” the statement read.
In the first half of 2024 alone, Iraqi forces seized nearly two tons of various narcotics and arrested approximately 8,000 individuals linked to drug trafficking. Last year, over 15 tons of psychotropic substances were confiscated, and more than 19,000 people were arrested on drug-related charges.
The rising number of suicides, which poses an “imminent danger” to Basra’s youth and children, also raises concerns about the council’s effectiveness in addressing this crisis. Though the exact number of suicides in Basra is not available.
Similarly, suicide rates have been increasing in Dhi Qar governorate, where 46 cases have been reported as of August 10. Contributing factors include drug use, social issues, intense parental pressure on youths to perform well academically, economic hardships, and the influence of extremist groups.
Another critical issue proposed in the statement for debate is environmental pollution and the lack of environmental justice, particularly the local government’s failure to hold oil companies and demining firms accountable. Additionally, concerns have been raised about the preference for foreign labor by companies operating in Basra over Iraqi workers, exacerbating local unemployment. Finally, the deprivation of most Basra residents of their right to adequate housing, despite the region’s strategic importance and oil wealth, remains a significant problem.
