By Ed Johnson
Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Iraq's Parliament must pass a law ending immunity for overseas security contractors that allows abuses to go unpunished, Human Rights Watch said today.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Cabinet approved the measure in October and Parliament has since struggled to draw enough lawmakers for a valid vote on the legislation, the New York-based organization said in a statement.
``The U.S.-led coalition created a legal vacuum that allows foreign contractors in Iraq to commit serious abuses with no fear of punishment,'' Sarah Leah Whitson, the group's Middle East director, said. Overseas personnel who commit crimes in Iraq must be brought to justice, she added.
The Iraqi government approved the measure after a Blackwater Worldwide team killed 17 Iraqi civilians while guarding a U.S. State Department convoy in Baghdad. Blackwater, based in Moyock, North Carolina, has said its guards acted in self-defense during the Sept. 16 shootings.
The U.S. Congress has since demanded Defense Secretary Robert Gates establish minimum standards for determining the qualifications of security contractors serving in battle zones and clear rules spelling out when force can be used.
The Pentagon has about 137,000 contract workers in Iraq, of which about 7,300 work in security, according to the military.
Immunity Law
A law granting immunity from prosecution to private security personnel was passed by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, which ran the country following the 2003 invasion until a government was established in June 2004.
The law remains in force unless superseded by new legislation, Human Rights Watch said.
President George W. Bush's government should prosecute American security contractors in U.S. courts if they have committed criminal offenses against Iraqi civilians, the organization said.
The U.S. Justice Department said in October that Blackwater security guards were being probed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and aren't immune from criminal prosecution.
Federal prosecutors issued subpoenas in November to employees of the company who were present at the shooting, the New York Times reported at the time, citing lawyers and U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
About 48,000 employees of private security contractors work in Iraq, Human Rights Watch said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net .
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