Because the Iraqi regime refuses to co-operate with human
rights mechanisms or allow investigations and observers on
its territory, this survey was conducted among Iraqis living
temporarily in Syria and Jordan: in the Saida Zainab district of
Damascus and in Amman. The investigative mission heard
numerous eyewitnesses, most of whom are refugees or
asylum seekers in Syria or Jordan, members of human rights
organisations and representatives of Iraqi opposition parties.
This limited investigation was conducted in the places most
easily and quickly accessible: the mission did not travel to Iran
or Iraqi Kurdistan.
"Iraq : an intolerable, forgotten and unpunished repression"
The investigative mission of the International Federation for
Human Rights (FIDH) and Human Rights Alliance France (HRA
France), a member of the Coalition for Justice in Iraq (CJI),
travelled to Syria and Jordan between 16 and 23 July 2001.
The mandate of the mission was:
"To investigate serious violations of the human rights of the
population of Iraq, particularly women, that can be attributed
to the Iraqi government".