IRAQI WOMEN'S LEAGUE CAMPAIGN

That this House notes that in recent months there have been over 60 recorded murders of women carried out by extremist and reactionary forces and criminal gangs, under various social, religious and political motives and pretexts in the Basra area; fears that the figure may be even higher because the families of victims are often reluctant or too frightened to report these horrific crimes; supports the campaign launched by the Iraqi Women's League to highlight the plight of Iraqi women and to mobilise public opinion, exert pressure and intensify efforts to stop these inhuman and barbaric acts as well as allowing the voice of Iraqi women, rejecting all forms of exploitation and abuse of dignity, to be heard by the world; endorses their demands for an international fact-finding mission to Iraq, to be organised by the UN High Commission for Human Rights with the participation of international human rights organisations, to investigate the crimes against women, help the Iraqi authorities to identify the perpetrators and work to stop these crimes; further notes that the Kurdistan National Assembly has passed legislation to outlaw violence against women; and hopes that the Iraqi Parliament could follow suit.