Though Iraq has a human rights ministry, a special parliamentary committee for human rights and dozens of organizations that monitor the country's human rights situation, the practical results of these efforts are pitiful. Iraq still ranks very high among global human rights violators in areas such as torture in prisons, freedom of expression and journalist safety. 

In its World Report 2013, Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented numerous cases of torture, arbitrary arrests and other human rights violations in Iraq, describing the overall human rights situation in the country as “poor.” According to the report, detainees, journalists, activists and women are the most affected by human rights violations in Iraq. 

A separate HRW report, released Feb. 6, documented cases of abuse against Iraqi women — both Shiite and Sunni — during detention. The report revealed that thousands of Iraqi women have been arrested and detained illegally, and many have suffered torture and rape. The report concluded that corruption was rampant in the Iraqi judiciary, for a number of convictions based on confessions under duress have been recorded. Moreover, the documents demonstrate that international laws and conventions are not followed in Iraqi courts.

Surprisingly, Iraqi officials accused HRW of relying on false and biased information, even though they referred to HRW reports when Saddam Hussein was in power and they were in opposition to the regime.