Iraq

In Iraq, institutionalized rape and forced marriage were part of ISIS’s pre-meditated genocidal campaign against the Yezidi in the area of Sinjar. A 2025 NGO report to the CRC found that vulnerable groups face difficulties in obtaining Iraqi citizenship due to the lack of legal proof of paternity. This is particularly the case for children of Yezidi mothers who survived gender-based violence during ISIS rule. Iraqi law, lacking legal provisions to explain the status of children born from rape and forced marriage, treats them as foundlings or as being majhoul al-nasb (of ‘undetermined paternal lineage’). Authorities register them as Iraqi Muslims. Many in the Yezidi community oppose having children with non-Yezidis. Registering the child as Muslim could result in family rejection, stigma, abandonment or ostracism. When the way a birth is registered can bring harm to the child, some mothers prefer to avoid registration to protect them.