The right to strike is limited by law, and strikes do not occur. Human rights monitors and other observers are restricted from investigating abuses. The government and security forces have harassed, intimidated, and reportedly offered rewards for killing international relief personnel. Men are granted immunity for killing daughters or wives caught committing immoral deeds. Women are not permitted to travel abroad unescorted by a male relative.
Numerous areas are off-limits for travel inside the country.
Foreign travel for all citizens is tightly restricted. In 1998, the government imposed extremely high exit fees on Iraqis leaving the country and, in an attempt to staunch brain drain, banned the emigration of well-educated citizens. These measures led to increases of illegal migration to Greece, Turkey, and Jordan. Within Iraq, the regime continued relocation policies of Arabization in 1998. At least 1,600 Kurds were removed from the oil-rich Kirkuk area and sent to Kurdish enclaves in the North.