Experts and Non-Governmental Organisations welcomed the adoption by Iraq of the Yazidi Survivors Law on 1 March 2021, establishing an administrative reparation programme aimed at giving effect to survivors’ right to reparation. While the law is ground-breaking in many respects, there are serious concerns regarding the recent imposition of an additional requirement for survivors to file a criminal complaint to be eligible for reparation. The undersigned would like to emphasise the importance of administrative reparation programmes as a crucial avenue for survivors of crimes under international law and other gross human rights violations to access reparation, particularly survivors of sexual violence. These programmes are designed to facilitate access for survivors and simplify evidentiary thresholds. It would be inconsistent with the nature and rationale of a non-judicial process to require survivors to file a criminal complaint to be eligible for reparation. It would also go against
international practice and the right to an effective remedy under international human rights law.
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