Iraq is a retentionist country. In 2018, the number of executions in Iraq decreased by more than 50%, with more than 52 executions carried out and more than 271 death sentences handed out.

While Iraq has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1971, it has yet to ratify its Second Optional Protocol aiming at the abolition of the death penalty (ICCPR-OP2).

29 November 2017: Hon. Faig Al-Sheakh-Ali, Leader of Party from ruling Coalition and Chairman of PGA’s National Group, attended a side-event to its 39th Annual Forum in Milan (Italy), entitled “Moving Away from Capital Punishment in Asia”. The event focused on the issues and arguments particularly relevant to the abolitionist movement in Asian countries.

6 November 2017: PGA Member Hon. Intisar Jabbouri, attended the a Parliamentary Roundtable on Strengthening the Rule of Law, with a special focus on the abolition of the death penalty, organised in the Senate of Jordan by PGA with the cooperation of the Coalition of Women MPs to Combat Violence against Women – Jordan. Her insight on how capital punishment is perceived in Iraq was widely appreciated by the attendees.