United Nations said in a report that Iraqi Kurdistan which enjoys autonomy harass and arrest journalists and in particularly those who are exposing government’s corruption and poor public services.
The report also criticized the regional government for not doing enough to stop the "honour killings" of women, and said that there are hundreds of Kurdish detainees in the Kurdish jails without charges.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq said that the Kurdish authorities "continued to expose journalists to harassment, arrest and legal proceedings for their coverage of corruption or low level of government services, or other issues of public interest." It praised the report reviewed recently by the Kurdish Parliament of legislation on freedom of expression and the start of the investigation in several cases relating to the imposition of restrictions on freedom of information. The United Nations report said that women's rights to life, personal safety is still a "serious concern" in the governorates of Arbil, Dohuk and Sulaymaniyah, which have high percentage of incidents of "honour crimes and other violations against women." The report went on "between January and March the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq about received 40 alleged cases of honour crimes.