United Nations human rights chief Louise Arbour on Friday called for an international probe into Iraqi jails after accusations of serious abuse of detainees at a secret Interior Ministry detention centre.
The Iraqi government has already promised to investigate the discovery in a ministry bunker this week of 173 malnourished and in some cases badly beaten men and teenagers, some of whom showed signs of having been tortured.
But a government probe might not be enough given the high international concern and the importance of reassuring Iraqis, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement.
An international probe should cover all Iraqi detention centres because of the rising number of people being picked up in mass security and military operations, Arbour added.
"In the light of the apparently systemic nature and magnitude of the problem, and the importance of public confidence in any inquiry, I urge the authorities to consider calling for an international inquiry," she said. "An international element would help the authorities address the problems in the system of detention in an impartial and objective way," she added.
Her call echoed that of Sunni Arab politicians - most of those found in the bunker were Sunni Arabs - who do not trust the government to investigate allegations that Shi'ite militias linked to Iraq's Interior Ministry were behind the torture and abuse of prisoners.
The underground bunker, part of a fortified building near the ministry's Baghdad compound, was discovered by US troops during a search on November 13 in a development likely to fuel sectarian tensions ahead of December 15 parliamentary elections. The discovery was a major embarrassment for the US-backed government, which has promised respect for human rights after decades of dictatorship under former leader Saddam Hussein.
The latest report in October from the UN's human rights monitoring mission to Iraq showed that numbers were continuing to rise to over 23,000 and that hundreds of detainees were being held even after courts had ordered their release, she noted.