UN: Iraq rights situation troubling

"A lot" more needs to be done in Iraq with respect to the human rights situation despite modest improvements, a U.N. envoy said. An annual report on the human rights situation in Iraq was submitted to the United Nations under the terms of a U.N. Security Council resolution and in coordination with the peacekeeping mission there and the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The U.N. report states the human rights situation in Iraq is "fragile" as the country emerges from many years of dictatorship and war. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said long-term arrests without cause and detainee abuse are among the concerns expressed by authorities examining Iraq. "Steps have been taken to improve the human rights record of Iraq, including the establishment of the much needed Independent Human Rights Commission on April 9, 2012, but a lot more needs to be done. Human rights, including social and economic rights, need to be enforced, respected and protected for all Iraqis everywhere in Iraq," U.N. special envoy to Iraq Marin Kobler said. Kobler added that, as Iraq develops politically, there can be no sense of democracy without respect for human rights.