According to its Political Constitution, Iraq is a federal parliamentary republic. The current governor of the country is the Prime Minister, while the President is a symbolic figure, chosen by the Council of Representatives (Lower House of Parliament) by a majority of at least two-thirds (art. 68 of the Constitution). The President assigns the Prime Minister the mission of forming a government from the candidates of the parties that have obtained the highest number of representatives. The Council of Representatives is made up of 325 members, of which 82 are women (25.2%). Therefore, when Iraqi citizens elect their representatives, they are indirectly electing the President, Prime Minister and rest of Government. The Council of Union (a type of Senate) represents the regions and governorates. Given their federal nature, the Council allows the regions a certain autonomy. The Kurds, who already had a special regime under Saddam Husseins Government, have maintained it. They can elect their own Regional Parliament of Kurdistan and their President in direct elections. Iraq is an officially bilingual country, where Arabic and Kurdish are the official languages.
The President, Yalal Talabani, (leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the moderate Kurdish nationalist party) was re-elected in his role. In March 2010, parliamentary elections were held. A number of irregularities were reported and balloting was slow and confusing. The Prime Minister, Nuri al Maliki, (from the United Iraqi Alliance, a coalition of religious Shiite parties) sought his re-election. Complaints and objections followed and it was not possible to form a government for months. The new Parliament was formed in June 2010. Days of protesting followed on the part of citizens who were outraged by the political paralysis. Finally, in October 2010 the Supreme Court (Judicial Power) declared Parliaments decision to indefinitely suspend the sessions as unconstitutional and ordered the latter to elect the Prime Minister. Despite the still-existing doubts of the opposition, Nuri al Maliki has remained in power. This unresolved political situation has led to more instability and uncertainty in a country which, additionally, has been suffering the harsh consequences of a war. Meanwhile, violence and confrontations between religious and ethnic groups has not ceased.
Withdrawal of US troops: In 2010, President Obama ordered the return of troops, without accordingly ending American presence in the country. According to Brookings Institutions Iraq Index 2010 , 30% of the American soldiers have developed psychological and/or medical conditions, 4,427 American soldiers have died and more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians and 146 journalists have been killed. Insurgent forces were estimated at 15,000 members in 2003 and 70,000 in 2007. The continuing violence prevents the Government from ruling effectively in many parts of the country. Acts of war, occupation, insurgency and terrorism have affected all parts of life. Iraq is still neither a safe country nor democratic, two of the objectives that were used to justify the intervention. In October 2010, the website Wikileaks published hundreds of confidential documents which supposedly confirm the abuses and tortures suffered by detainees on the part of Iraqi and foreign soldiers. Human Rights Watch called on the Iraqi Government to carry out a transparent and credible investigation of those apparently commonplace practices, and prosecution of those responsible.
Except in some regions of the north, the people of Iraq continue to live in a state of emergency that restricts civil freedom. Cases of ill-treatment and impunity from the torture and humiliation of prisoners by soldiers of the occupation forces (Americans and British), exacerbate the continuing instability and unrest of the population. Corruption is widely perceived as a serious problem. According to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index-2010, Iraq ranks 175th of 178 countries (1.5 points out of 10). All citizens are equal in the eyes of the law, regardless of gender, sect, opinion, belief, nationality, religion or origin, but under current conditions these rights are not guaranteed. The law provides for an independent judiciary, but in practice the judiciary is subject to intimidation, violence and political influence. All sectors of society have suffered a wave of abductions. Press reports indicate that insurgents used children as informers and messengers, and that children sometimes participate directly in attacks. Public access to government information is not guaranteed. The Iraqi Association of Journalists says that reporters are censored and accused of collaborating with the insurgents if they report in an objective and independent manner. Human trafficking is still a major activity and, due to current security conditions, is difficult to halt. Instances of women and children who are victims of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation continue to be reported. Article 18 (2) of the Citizenship Act of 2006 establishes restrictions and hinders those Iraqis who have lost their nationalities for racial, political or religious reasons, precluding the Iraqi Jews from regaining their citizenship.

Services that are free to citizens, including education, are not free to non-citizen children, a category that includes children of Iraqi mothers and non-citizen fathers. Almost one-half of the countrys population is under 18 years old. Tuition-free primary education is compulsory for 6 years. The proportion of students completing the fifth grade has increased, but only 44% of children complete primary education to the established age, 11 years. The deterioration of primary education leads to high dropout rates and lower enrolment between primary and secondary education. The net enrolment rate in secondary education is only 21%. Gender parity (MGD 3 and EFA 5) will be difficult to achieve in rural areas, where enrolment of boys is double that of girls. One in five Iraqis under the age of 15 is illiterate (12% men, 28% female). Iraq must also make a considerable effort to increase adult literacy by 50%, by 2015 (EFA 4). Enrolment in nursery school (3-5 years old) is only 3%. While teachers are trained, the quality of education (EFA 6) is hampered by poor learning environments - caused by poor quality infrastructure and overcrowding - and a study plan that does not adequately prepare young people for life and work.

The curriculum requires modernisation in order to optimise learning. Other factors such as malnutrition, child labour and early pregnancy also inhibit the development of children and young people. Chronic malnutrition affects one in five Iraqi children under the age of five, causing irreversible damage and impairing learning opportunities.

Attacks on educational institutions : Threats to educational institutions have remained at a high level in some areas. Threats against female students were painted on walls at the University of Basra. In an incident on 22nd January 2008, a suicide bomber exploded a bomb at the entrance of al-Mutwra school in Baquba, wounding 17 students and four teachers. In 2008, abduction was a serious problem for the Universitys students, particularly on roads leading to Kirkuk. In early March 2009, a car bomb exploded near the Faculty of Medicine in Mosul, killing three Iraqi soldiers and seriously wounding ten civilians, most of whom were university students. On 25th of that same month, four girls were killed and seven wounded when an explosive detonated near a primary school in Mosul; all were under 12 years old.

The two-year nursery school programme starts at age 4. The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) is 6%. All 5,865 ECE teachers are women. The pupil/teacher ratio (PTR) is 16:1.

Education is compulsory for children aged 6 to 11 years old. Primary education starts at 6 years old and lasts for 6 years. The net enrolment rate (NER) is 97% (with 44% girls). 74% of children who enrol in first grade reach the last grade of primary school. 8% of students repeat grades. 211,136 primary school teachers (72% women) have received the necessary training. The PTR is 21:1.

Secondary education starts at age 12 and lasts for 6 years. 23% of students in lower secondary education study in technical vocational programmes. The NER is 43%. 8% of students repeat grades. There are 90,825 secondary teachers, 60,018 (59% female) in lower secondary and 30,807 (56% female) in upper secondary education, and all are trained.

The PTR is 14:1, both in lower and upper secondary.

424,908 students (36% women) are enrolled in tertiary institutions, for a Gross Enrolment Rate of 15%. 6% of education at this level is private. 3,557 foreign students are studying in Iraq from unspecified countries of origin. At the same time, 24,356 Iraqi students study abroad, mainly in France (22,250), the UK (452), Germany (304), Switzerland (266) and Belgium (255). All female university students in Mosul, including non-Muslims, are required to wear the hijab. Al-Sadr loyalists attacked Basra University students, claiming they had violated the principles of Islam with their western-style clothing and by singing and dancing. The Sadrists beat and fired on the students. Police present during the incident did not intervene. University officials reported at least 15 students were hospitalised, many with serious injuries.

Discrimination against people with physical disabilities is prohibited by law. Several institutions exist to educate children and young adults with disabilities. However, funding is not available for teacher training and specialised technology. 17 institutes are available for persons with mental and psychological disabilities and 33 are provided for persons with physical disabilities, including several homes for the blind and the deaf. The living, educational and working conditions of thousands of war veterans and victims of violence and terrorism represent a serious problem. The government provides some support. Orphans and street childrens circumstances have also become increasingly serious. Infrastructure and resources are insufficient.

The law does not provide for the granting of asylum and refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the government has not established a system for providing protection for refugees who are the targets of frequent attacks. Iraqi society remains deeply divided. Baghdad neighbourhoods that were most affected by internal displacement are now more ethnically or religiously homogeneous than at any other time in the history of Iraq. Tensions are high in many areas, especially in the northern provinces of Kirkuk and Ninewa. According to the IDMC, 2,764,000 people, of who half are women, are internally displaced.

Ethnically and linguistically the countrys population includes Arabs, Kurds, Turkomans, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Shabaks and Armenians. Assyrians and Chaldeans speak a different language (Syriac) and do not define themselves as Arabs. The law protects the right of citizens to educate their children in their mother tongue in government educational institutions or in any other language in private educational institutions. In the territories controlled by the Kurds, schools for other minorities are pressured to teach in the Kurdish language. With regard to religious groups, most of Iraq's population is Muslim (60-65 per cent Shite) and Islam is recognised as the official religion of the State (Article 2 of the Constitution). The Constitution guarantees minorities' rights to religious freedom. However, in practice, they experience major difficulties when exercising these rights. Reference is also made to reports of discrimination in the workplace on religious grounds. Non-Shite employees suffer mass dismissals, often for having occupied roles in public administration during the previous regime. The Christian minority suffered serious attacks during 2010, including the burning of churches, killings and threats.

According to reports from the United Nations University, approximately 84% of Iraqi universities have been set on fire, looted or destroyed. The Brussels Tribunal, which conducted an active campaign reporting assaults on university staff, has published a list of 450 academics killed until 2010. Kurdish parties in northern and southern Shite regions control the admission of students to higher education. These same groups determined the academic posts. There are accusations that corruption and de-Baathification are pretexts used to further political and personal agendas.

Human Rights Watch cited in its latest reports that the lack of security and conservative religious pressure increasingly compels women to withdraw from public life. The reports also mention that it is a requirement for women to wear a veil and be subjected to segregation, arranged marriages and honour killings. Militant extremists abduct, kill and terrorise women to prevent them from working in public. Amnesty International reports that women and girls are the victims of abduction, rape, killing and the lack of security. Female university students in a number of cities have been threatened and warned to stop wearing western-style clothing and to cover their heads while in public. A call for the separation of male and female students in universities has been made. No substantive assistance is available for victims of domestic violence.

The Kurdistan Islamic Scholars Union, the highest Muslim authority in Iraqi Kurdistan for religious pronouncements and court decisions, issued a "fatwa" or religious edict in 2010. This would not have been particularly significant, except for the fact that this fatwa in particular stated that the so-called "female circumcision" is not an Islamic practice. The edict did not manage to ban the practice, known worldwide as female genital mutilation, but expressed clearly and unequivocally that the practice is not part of the requirements of Islam, an event that was particularly significant for women in Kurdistan, where the practice is widespread.

The minimum age for employment is 15. Despite existing laws and regulations, children are used to earn incomes for families subsisting on an average daily income of less than US $1 (1,500 dinars). The law prohibits the worst forms of child labour. Working hours are limited for children under 18, as is their employment in dangerous occupations. It is not unusual for children to work in seasonal manual employment in rural areas or to beg or pedal small items in cities. Reports continue which state that some children are taught to become insurgents and participate in attacks or act as distractions during attacks. Children are used as informers and messengers.

Workers have the right to join and to form trade unions, except civil servants. However, labour rights remain limited. In 2009, as in previous years, the Iraqi authorities directly intervened in the affairs of the unions and tried to suppress and punish union activities. Last November, Majeed Sahib Kareem, General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW) Secretary of Internal Affairs, was killed in a car bomb attack. The Government tried to control the teaching union and several workers in the oil sector were detained and interrogated. The only officially recognised trade union is the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW), formed in September 2005 following the merger of three unions: the Iraqi Federation of Workers Trade Unions (IFTU), which was previously the only officially recognised organisation, the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) and the General Federation of Iraqi Trade Unions (GFITU). However, this situation considerably limits freedom of association, since organisations such as the Federation of Workers' Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI) have been denied recognition.

Law 52 prohibits public sector workers to form or join unions, and only six unions, mostly from the private sector and all members of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), obtained permission to participate. In addition, the controversial Order 8,750 of August 2005 froze all trade union-owned assets and bank accounts. The implementation of this order would only be revised and probably suspended after union elections, and only for those unions with the right to participate in officially recognised elections.

The Iraqi Teachers Union (ITU) reported that the Government had appointed an official body granted the authority to replace the union and seize documents and property. The Iraqi Government also made a list of people who form the union board, without taking into account the union elections. Despite union protests, the Government said that the union must once again hold elections, but the without the presence of the former leaders. The ITU had already organised two national conferences since 2003 and a third emergency conference in late 2007 to elect a new President, Jasim Al Lami. Government interference in the internal affairs of the ITU has made the union refuse to obey the former, or return to organise elections, unless the leaders are elected at a national open conference organised by the ITU. The teachers' union held a nationwide protest in the centre of Baghdad on 21st March 2009, but was interrupted by Iraqi security forces. On 28th March, another major protest was staged.

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