Lyn Allison (Victoria, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a)   notes that:

(i)   despite the relative improvement in the security situation in Iraq, the Iraqi people continue to live in an atmosphere of general chaos including lawlessness, unbridled terrorism, insecurity and the spread of organised crime, and

(ii)   Iraqi women are subjected to various forms of discrimination, oppression and exploitation and face violence on a daily basis, they are facing mass killings because of widespread terrorism targeting them and that heinous murders are committed against them in broad daylight with impunity;

(b)   condemns the crimes of killing women in Iraq and denounces all forms of violations of their human rights; and

(c)   calls on the Government to promote an international fact-finding mission to Iraq, organised by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, with the participation of international human rights organisations, to investigate the crimes committed against women and to help the Iraqi authorities to identify the perpetrators and work to stop these crimes, and to:

(i)   expose the criminals and those who stand behind them, and bring them to justice,

(ii)   disclose the outcome of the investigations,

(iii)   take measures to safeguard personal freedoms that are constitutionally guaranteed,

(iv)   take deterrent measures to ensure the safety of citizens and to protect their lives, and

(v)   act firmly to improve the conditions of women and facilitate their involvement in the reconstruction process.