 The Iraq News Agency published today that the Iraqi Parliament’s legal committee is organizing a movement inside the parliament to legislate a law prohibiting homosexuality in Iraq and banning any kind of activity related to the queer community. Individuals like Muqtada Al Sader tweeted earlier a proposal for a day dedicated to fight against homosexuality. Official legal experts claimed that a 2001 law punishes homosexuality with death penalty. This proposed law constitutes another attack by Iraqi officials on the LGBT+ community. For nearly two decades, LGBT+ Iraqis have been the victims of rape, torture, and murder. The Iraqi government did not only fail to put an end to these crimes but has actually committed many of them through police forces and armed groups. Iraqi officials have continuously used LGBT+ people to spread fear amongst Iraqis and distract them from the real problems facing Iraq including the failure to form a government and the failure to provide the most basic services for Iraqis. The passage of this law will put LGBT+ Iraqis at great danger as it will allow the Iraqi government and armed groups to be legally protected when committing these crimes. Such a law will also put LGBT+ advocates and allies in danger reducing the already limited spaces available to LGBT+ advocacy inside Iraq and threatening the young queer movement in Iraq. The lives of LGBT+ Iraqis are on the line. We call on allies in the Iraqi government and the international community to act immediately. We urge the international community including the United Nations, European Union, Embassies, and International Organizations to put pressure on Iraq to refrain from passing this law. We also call on Iraqi LGBT+ people to join the fight for queer rights in Iraq. IraQueer is dedicated to advocating for LGBT+ Iraqis and we need to step up as a community to fight these attacks. If you have questions, please reach out to: [email protected] In Solidarity, IraQueer Team.
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