Mosul no-go zone 'against human rights'

The government's decision to make it illegal for Australians to travel to the Iraqi city of Mosul is incompatible with human rights, a parliamentary committee says.

Mosul is the largest city controlled by the Islamic State extremist group.

Under new counter-terrorism laws, Australians who go to the area must be able to show they have a legitimate reason and aren't joining IS to fight, or face 10 years jail.

Parliament's joint human rights committee on Tuesday said the declaration of Mosul as a designated area is incompatible with rights to freedom of movement and the presumption of innocence, among others.

It reached that conclusion because it had previously ruled declared area offences under counter-terrorism foreign fighter laws were also incompatible with human rights.

However, the committee said there was a public interest argument in declaring no-go zones on national security reasons.