16/03/2026
To: International Human Rights Organizations (Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights)
Subject: Urgent Humanitarian Appeal Regarding the Reality of Iraqi Youth: Caught Between Poverty and Conflict.
Dear Representatives,
The Peace Birds Organization for Human Rights addresses you today to convey a desperate plea from the heart of the suffering shared by many Iraqis, specifically the youth who have become fuel for endless conflicts due to dire economic conditions.
Through our field monitoring, we confirm that the involvement of young men in armed formations, including the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), is largely not a choice of ideology or a desire for warfare. Instead, it is a "choice of necessity" to escape extreme poverty and destitution. These individuals are the sons of impoverished families struggling for daily survival. Many are university graduates who, faced with a complete lack of employment opportunities and closed doors in the public sector, found the "frontlines" to be their final refuge to secure a living for their families.
The targeting of these young men by foreign powers, such as the United States and others, is a direct hit on the breadwinners of laboring families and a deepening of an ongoing human tragedy. Furthermore, the lack of opportunities at home has driven some of our youth to sell their lives in distant international combat zones (such as the Russian fronts) solely to support their parents and siblings.
Accordingly, the Peace Birds Organization for Human Rights demands the following:
International protection for the economic and social rights of Iraqi youth.
Pressure on the Iraqi government to provide genuine, dignified employment opportunities for graduates and youth, independent of military involvement.
An immediate halt to the targeting of Iraqi youth who represent the sole support for families living below the poverty line.
We trust you will take serious steps to shed light on this tragedy and internationalize this issue to ensure a better and safer future for our children.
Sincerely,
Maysoun Al-Qaisi
Secretary-General of Peace Birds Organization for Human Rights