Citizens are under the weight of a (red alert) that threatens their livelihoods and forces them to take to the streets again

• Demonstrations in Sulaymaniyah Governorate 03-03-2023

Dozens of contract employees from the Sulaymaniyah Provincial Commission demonstrated and staged a strike today in front of the commission's office in the province to demand their confirmation as employees of the commission.

employees and that the demonstrations will continue until our demand is achieved, which is confirmation, there are no elections without confirmation of contract employees, just as the strike will continue until the issuance of decisions in this regard.

In response to the Prime Minister's decision No. 284 of 2021, the demonstrators urged the High Commission for Elections and the relevant authorities to intervene and work to install them on permanent staffing or to transfer them to operating contracts.

• Kirkuk Governoratedemonstrations 07-03-2023

After stability that lasted for more than a year, tensions returned to the streets in Kirkuk

decided to move these stores to areas outside the city center. This decision led to the drivers' condemnation of this decision, which they viewed as an explicit threat to their source of livelihood. They also considered a lack of planning by the provincial council in this regard. It is very far from the new areas designated for them, which will negatively affect them.

In terms of security, the security forces-maintained neutrality concerning the demonstrations. This was because their work was limited to opening the road and organizing traffic without clashing with the demonstrators. As forthe media, there were several media channels, including the Payam channel, inaddition to social media.

• Najaf Governoratedemonstrations 03-10-2023

The demonstration started at exactly ten o'clock in the morning on Friday, when hundreds of

Due to the team's decline in performance, the fans of Al-Najaf Club became very angry and protested, blaming the current management for it. On the other hand, the administrative body of the Al-Najaf Club announced that there would be elections. What is remarkable is that the election process and the selection of candidates were not on a technocratic basis, but based on nepotism - as one of the demonstrators pointed out - as a public body, they were chosen from the relatives and friends of the members of the administrative body.

the decline of the team in this season, as well as in previous seasons, due to corruption that exists in the administration. Demanding the selection of a real administration to run Najaf Club.

On the other hand, some members of the committee expressed solidarity with the Najaf fans, as the captain - Kazem Hussein - the former player of Al-Najaf club and the youth coach of Al-Najaf club for the previous season, explained the captain - Diaa Abbas - the former player of Al-Najaf club and assistant coach of the youth of Al-Najaf club for the previous season. As Diaa Abbas indicated - as members of a public body, we renew our previous position to boycott the forged Najaf club elections and announce that we will not attend the electoral conference that the administrative body intends to hold illegal and fair elections to choose a permanent administrative body for the club.

This escalated the protest and anger of the demonstrators upon the arrival of a delegation and members of the administrative body to conduct the scheduled electoral process. The demonstrators’ response to this body prevented them from entering the hall, which led to the postponement of the elections. Which lasted about three hours.

In the media, satellite channels, media professionals, and journalists had a role in transmitting the event from the most important channels (Al-Rabaa satellite channel, Al-Iraqiya sports channel, News satellite channel, Koura satellite channel), as well as social networking sites that had the greatest role in transmitting and covering all events. As for security, there was a large presence of security forces. These forces included approximately more than 200 security personnel from the riot forces, SWAT, and the Federal Police. They worked to protect and organize these demonstrations, and their work was limited to maintaining the peacefulness of the demonstration without interfering with it.

The reasons for the demonstrations / the demands of the demonstrators

By reviewing the demonstrations and events in several Iraqi governorates, it becomes clear that the most prominent reasons that led to their launch are as follows:

• Appointment of permanent staff in the government sector.
• Addressing corruption
• Objection to government decisions
• Demanding fair local elections

Notes on the security authorities' handling of gatherings:

While monitoring the behavior of the security forces during the recent demonstrations, the security forces showed remarkable progress in dealing with the demonstrators. They also worked professionally in managing the demonstrations. The decrease in the index of the use of violence raises the question of the professionalism of the security forces in dealing with demonstrations within a positive framework and perspective. The progress of the work of the security forces and their professionalism may restore the path of democratic action to its proper place. This includes issues related to human rights and freedom of expression in Iraq.

Kurdistan Organization for Human Right Watch

www.KOHRW.org

Email: Reports@kohrw.org