A/HRC/38/44/Add.1 heard of cases where the sentence for honour killing was reduced to one or two years in prison, including suspended sentences. 42. The Kurdistan Regional Government passed a law in 2004 prohibiting mitigated sentences for perpetrators of honour crimes. It has also enacted a separate piece of legislation, the Law for Combatting Domestic Violence in the Kurdistan Region — Iraq (No. 8) of 2011, which includes in its definition of domestic violence not only acts of physical violence but also the marriage of minors. The Special Rapporteur learned that a draft amendment remains pending before the Kurdistan Regional Government Parliament and that parts of it need to be brought into line with international standards. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur heard of a range of measures taken to strengthen investigations into honour killings in the Kurdistan region, including obligatory forensic investigations into all reported deaths of women. 43. To protect the growing number of women and girls fleeing domestic violence and the threat of honour killings, there is a desperate need for more shelters. At the federal level, while the Government does not permit non-governmental organizations to run shelters, some do in practice, often at very high risk. The Special Rapporteur was alarmed to discover that the few organizations providing such shelters — filling a gap due to a lack of publicly funded shelters — are targeted and stigmatized, their offices raided by police and their staff intimidated and threatened by various actors. In the Kurdistan region, although such organizations are permitted to run shelters, it appears that the authorities have denied licences to organizations intending to establish private shelters, citing accusations of encouraging prostitution. 44. The safeguards against arbitrary deprivation of life apply to killings by non-State actors. Iraq incurs international responsibility when it fails to act with due diligence to prevent, investigate, punish and offer reparations for honour killings. In this regard, the mitigating effect of article 409 of the Penal Code may be seen as an almost complete failure to punish honour killings resulting in impunity for such acts. The lack of a proper legislative framework — coupled with the harassment of those working to protect women and girls against honour killings and the absence of authorization to run shelters — indicates that the State is not only failing to act with due diligence; it is failing to respect women’s right to life. C. Killings of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons33 45. The Special Rapporteur also received information on incitement to hatred through traditional and social media, and attacks, including threats, physical assaults and killings, of men and boys on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as of activists and organizations supporting the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. A notable example is the killing of Karar Nushi, actor and model, in Baghdad on 2 July 2017. The Government indicated that, in response to these killings, a committee had been established dedicated to this issue. It is, however, unclear to the Special Rapporteur which results, if any, it has yielded. There is further fear that, with the military victory over ISIL, attention may again turn towards those perceived as engaging in “immoral” activities and attacks on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community may increase. 33 The Government provided additional information (A/HRC/38/44/Add.4, sect. 18). 11