Ten children aged one day to 10 years have been abandoned in Kirkuk in the first four months of this year, with only two cases officially registered by the local police.
According to KirkukNow reporter in Kirkuk; From January up to the end of April 2022, there were 10 cases of children being abandoned by their families in the streets of the city, some of them were reunited with their parents or one of them in less than 24 hours.
"Only two cases of child abandonment have been officially registered this year," Lieutenant Amer Shiwani, spokesman for the Kirkuk police command, told KirkukNow.
One of the two cases, was at the end of 2021 yet registered in 2022 statistics, was the abandonment of two newborn babies by their mothers.
"The two babies were girls and have been cared for by the maternity department of Azadi Hospital since then, because they were thrown out of the hospital by their mother and their relatives have not been found," a source familiar with the case anonymously told Kirkuk Now.
According to applicable Iraqi law, children found without origin are given names and identities by the court in case their relatives are not found.
The second case was reported last March when a baby was found in an empty carton of on the main street of Hadidi neighborhood, south of Kirkuk.
"The child was dead when he was found," an informed source said on the condition of anonymity.
According to Article 383 of the Iraqi Penal Code, anyone leaves a child in an empty place to face danger and hunger is punishable by imprisonment.
"There have been several other cases of child abandonment this year, but the problem was quickly resolved by the police and handed over to their parents, so these cases have not been officially registered with the police," the anonymous source added.
In April, two sisters, aged four and five, were abandoned in Al-Askari neighborhood of Kirkuk and picked up by police, but their families were found and handed over after that the investigation found out the factors behind that were poor economic conditions, social problems within the family and children born to unmarried parents.
It is important to have a special place for children born outside the marriage process
“The reason why children are thrown on the streets is often because the foundation of families was not strong and healthy. They have problems, so sometimes it gets to the point where they throw their children on the street,” said Sirud Ahmad, head of the Kirkuk branch of the Iraqi Amal (Hope) Association, a human rights organization.
On the evening of April 12, the community police picked up five children aged four to ten years old in one of Kirkuk streets, thrown out of the house by their “mother-in-law”.
Kirkuk emergency police managed to find the father, delivered back the children following a pledge to take care of the children
According to the Iraqi Personal Status Law, children have the right to family custody and care in a safe environment and a decent living.
"The government should have a comprehensive plan for this phenomenon, especially for newborns. It is important to have a shelter for children born out of wedlock and abandoned on the streets," Ahmed believes.
There are orphanages in Kirkuk to accommodate children whose parents cannot afford to raise them, or whose parents are no longer alive and there is no one to take care of them, but their parents are known.
According to the Juvenile Welfare Act, the juvenile court president has only the authority to donate an abandoned child to a family that meets certain conditions family's social status and reputation, economic conditions, mental state, and not having other children.
"There are many families who do not have children and want to legally adopt a child so it is important that the government regulate this with a strong law,” Ahmed thinks.
In addition to child abandonment, several cases of domestic violence by parents or families against their children have been registered in Kirkuk, while according to Article 29 of the constitution, violence and oppression in the family, school and society is not allowed.
According to statistics from the Judicial Council, more than 1,600 cases of violence against children were registered in 2019.
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund UNICEF said in a 2018 report that four out of five Iraqi children are experiencing domestic or school violence. The UNICEF called on both the federal and Kurdistan Regional Government KRG to provide full protection for children, adolescents and women.
