Iraq: un rapporto dell'ONU afferma che le forze di occupazione USA hanno maltrattato molti iracheni

U.N. Report Says U.S.-Led Forces Mistreated Many Iraqis
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

GENEVA (AP) -- A United Nations human rights report credited the U.S.-led coalition Friday with ending years of systematic violations by Saddam Hussein's regime but also cited concerns about prisoner abuse by coalition forces.

The report by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said the coalition's invasion of Iraq ``removed a government that preyed on the Iraqi people and committed shocking, systematic and criminal violations of human rights.''

But the report added that ``after the occupation of Iraq by coalition forces there have, sadly, been some violations of human rights, committed by some coalition soldiers.''

``Governmental leaders of the countries concerned have, at the highest levels, condemned these violations and have pledged to bring those responsible to justice and to uphold the rule of law. It is imperative that this be done, with accountability to the international community,'' the report said.

Iraq's interim government, set to take over sovereignty next month from the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, must ensure Iraqis do not face abuses in the future, it said.

``The serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law that have taken place must not be allowed to recur. Preventive and protection systems must be put in place,'' the report said.

Acting U.N. human rights chief Bertrand Ramcharan ordered the broad investigation in April, saying he was concerned because Iraq has been unmonitored by the world body since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

The 53-nation U.N. Human Rights Commission scrutinized Iraq for years when Saddam was in power, but the issue has been dropped since his ouster.

Human rights groups say monitoring is essential because ordinary Iraqis are suffering in the conflict between coalition forces and insurgents.

A U.N. team collected information from the coalition and individual governments involved in the occupation, including the United States and Britain. It also turned to foreign aid groups and Iraqi U.N. employees.

But it didn't travel to the Iraq largely because of security concerns, said Jose Diaz, Ramcharan's spokesman.

The United Nations withdrew its international staff from Iraq after the bombing of its offices in Baghdad last August. U.N. rights chief Sergio Vieira de Mello was among those killed in the blast.