The Iraqi government on Thursday rejected as ”superficial” and ”unprofessional” a United Nations report this week that said 34 000 civilians were killed in Iraq last year, but it did not directly reject the figure itself.
Spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh also criticised a UN call for protection for homosexuals, who say they are targeted by Islamic militants. He said the report ”does not observe Iraqi traditions by asking the Iraqi government to give freedoms to homosexuals”.
Dabbagh told a news conference that the government, which branded as exaggerated a previous, similar UN estimate for civilian casualties, was compiling its own statistics, but was hindered by a lack of security in gathering data.
He declined to comment on the accuracy of the UN figure, which was contained in a bi-monthly report that also urged the government to do more to curb violence by its own forces. But he said: ”They were not committed to professionalism and neutrality … The report was superficial on some important points.”
Apparently referring to individual incidents of violence and human rights abuses collated in the 30-page report on Iraq, Dabbagh said: ”This report gets its information sometimes from unknown and secondary sources.”
Among groups in Iraq whose difficulties the UN highlighted were Palestinian refugees, women, Christians, professions such as academics, journalists, athletes, lawyers, artists and barbers, as well as homosexuals.
Though not illegal, homosexuality is ”not condoned” in Iraqi society, the UN said, adding that violence against homosexuals had increased in the past year amid general anarchy. — Reuters