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News from the Field: Human rights education and promotion in Northern Iraq

It is an essential aspect of UNDEF’s mandate to support activities related to democracy promotion in countries emerging from severe crisis or wars. In Iraq, UNDEF is currently funding three projects. One of them, called “Dove of Peace Program for Northern Iraq”, is aimed at increasing the knowledge about and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It also works towards social change to promote gender equality and respect for minorities. The project has been successfully providing human rights education and advocacy services to members of marginalized groups, such as ethnic and religious minorities, women or people with divergent political views, who had been largely unaware of their rights or the legal mechanisms to protect them.

The project is implemented by Concordia, a local NGO based in the Iraqi Kurdistan region in the North of Iraq. Concordia works in the governorates of Dohuk, Erbil, Suleimaniyah, and Ninewah, all of which are dominated by Kurdish people, who make up about 15-20% of the entire Iraqi population and were subject to brutal repression under Saddam Hussein’s regime. The Concordia staff is comprised of different ethnicities, thus bridging divides that continue to cause conflicts.

Concordia is carrying out seminars and workshops on human rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - celebrating its 60th anniversary this year - as well as gender equality and social change. Human rights advocacy services and assistance in resolving social and political conflicts with non-violent means are also offered. Furthermore, multicultural music festivals and art exhibitions focusing on human rights issues to help the people in northern Iraq to understand each others cultures better and ease prejudices and fractional tensions are also part of the project.

Concordia has set up three branch offices in Ain Sefni (Ninewa Governorate), in Sarchenar (Suleimaniyah Governorate) and in Shaqlawa (Erbil Governorate) with the main office in Dohuk which has been operating for more than 3.5 years. Close to 200 two-hour seminars on human rights have been held in Dohuk, Sheikhan and Shaqlawa reaching almost 5000 participants, both men and women. A number of the planned three-day workshops have been successfully carried out. Four Workshops on “Peace, Security and Equality” have been held in Dohuk in June, July and August 2007. Five workshops on “Human Rights” have been conducted in Dohuk and Sheikhan in August, September and November 2007 (sample program). Participants included Kurdish Izidi, Sunni Arabs, Kurdish Muslims, and Chaldo-Assyrian Christians.

More seminars and workshops are to be held and eventually about 50,000 men and women of various ethnicities throughout Northern Iraq will be left with a clearer understanding of human rights and gender equality. The first art exhibition on human rights is planned for early 2008 in Ninewa Governorate.

Future goals of Concordia include setting up offices in all parts of Iraq to educate people about their rights and to contribute to social change by strengthening cooperation between government, NGOs, private citizens and community organizations.

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