Written question asked by Michael Moore (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 16 April 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 18 April 2007. It was answered by Baroness Beckett (Labour) on Tuesday, 1 May 2007 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Iraq: Casualties

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made on the Government’s discussions with the Iraqi government on the release of accurate and up-to-date figures on civilian deaths in Iraq.

Answer: The Government do not collate figures for civilian casualties in Iraq. Both the Iraqi Ministries of Interior and Health published figures in January, but there is no 100 per cent. reliable and accurate assessment of casualties in Iraq. Estimates of the numbers of civilian deaths vary according to the methods used. We continue to press the Iraqi government to release the most up-to-date figures.According to figures released by the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior on 2 January, 12,320 civilians were killed during 2006. The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq estimates that 34,452 civilians were killed in 2006, on the basis of information obtained through the Iraqi Health Ministry, hospitals and the Medico-Legal Institute in Baghdad. No further figures are currently available.

Secondary information