Ashraf Qazi, UN Special Representative in Iraq, has raised the issue of human rights violations with Iraqi officials, including the need for " structural changes" in the security system, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday.

Answering questions on the UN position on reports of abuses in Iraq, Dujarric told reporters that the UN team led by Qazi has brought up on a number of times directly to Iraqi officials, including the Defense Minister, the Interior Minister, the issues of human rights violations that have been reported to take place in some of the detention centers.

"Qazi has been advocating in his talks with the Defense Minister drastic structural changes in the Iraqi security system which, as you know, faces endemic problems of organization and discipline," he said. "So this is an issue that we are very much closely following."

Earlier this month, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour called for an international investigation into conditions of detention in Iraq, saying the recent discovery in an Interior Ministry building of detainees who appeared to have been tortured pointed to widespread problems with the system of detention.

Source: Xinhua