Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative

The Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI) is dedicated to bringing together Iraqi and international civil societies through concrete actions to build together another Iraq, with peace and Human Rights for all.

News

Girls and Women: Caught between Lockdown and Domestic Violence

Worldwide, lockdowns and curfews imposed due to the Coronavirus pandemic have caused a dramatic increase in gender-based violence, female suicide, and cases of domestic abuse. In Iraq, women are experiencing these violations without effective laws to protect them, lacking information about their legal options, and with significant fear of filing complaints due to inaction by […]

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Hit Responds to the Coronavirus Pandemic

The Shaqofian Organization for Development and Culture held a virtual seminar entitled ‘Reality in the City of Hit in the Shadow of the Coronavirus Pandemic’ on 20 May 2020. The seminar featured expert speakers who talked about the state of public health in Hit, the work of the crisis cell tasked to deal with the […]

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Trade Unions and Workers’ Rights in the Time of COVID-19

On the occasion of May Day, or International Workers Day, when people around the world celebrate the accomplishments of the labor movement in organizing trade unions and winning just wages and improved working conditions for their members, workers from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Italy discussed trade unions and workers’ rights in their countries. […]

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Kurdistan environmental Groups and Organizations, in a Consultative Meeting, to Discuss Local Challenges and Prepare for the Water Forum

To prepare for the Virtual Assembly of the Mesopotamian Water Forum, a local assembly for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) was organized with 15 participants from Sulaimaniyah, Halabjah, Erbil, Ranya, Garmian and Darbandikhan. the 2-hour discussion touched upon the impacts of the Covid-10 pandemic in the Kurdistan Region, and in particular its effects on […]

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Covid-19 and Climate Change – In an Online Seminar by Humat Dijlah

The global impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns is prompting those concerned with environmentalism to discuss the post-pandemic world. Climate change is one of the most pressing global issues. Many experts have stated that climate change must be mitigated through global solidarity, similar to the solidarity the world experienced during the pandemic. In this regard, Humat […]

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“Sports Against Violence” Organizes a Webinar to Discuss Women’s Sports in Iraq

Supporting and encouraging women’s sports is about far more than promoting the importance of physical activity, it also includes cultural and developmental elements. Women’s sports promote powerful social messages that advance women’s rights and freedom beyond a theoretical level to a level of practical application and behavioral practice. From this perspective, the “Sports Against Violence” […]

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Protests Begin Again in Southern Iraq as the Government Prepares to Count and Honor Victims of the Demonstrations

New Arab Baghdad – Bara Al-Shammari 18 May 2020 As tensions rise between nonviolent Al-Kazemis and the Iraqi security forces in the streets and public squares of several southern cities, the government of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazimi issued a statement saying that it would start the process of counting the victims who have died in […]

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Girls and Women Caught Between Domestic Violence and Lockdown

The Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI) continues its live webinars: this time with a particular focus on women, in an effort to build cross-community solidarity and promote peace as well as human rights around the world. In the face of the political, social, and economic anguish caused by this pandemic, ICSSI in collaboration with […]

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Security Forces in Iraqi Kurdistan Detain 8 Journalists in Duhok Covering Protest; Charge 4

The Committee to Protect Journalists CPJ New York, May 18, 2020 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the detention of at least eight Kurdish Iraqi journalists covering a protest in Duhok on May 16 and called on the authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan to drop all charges pending against four of them. On May […]

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Solidarity in Times of Covid-19: Read the Report of the Mesopotamian Water Forum Virtual Assembly

From 16-17 May 2020 the Virtual Assembly of the Mesopotamian Water Forum took place online, an initiative of Save the Tigris Campaign. With the world in the grip of the Covid-19 crisis, and the countries of the Tigris-Euphrates under lockdown, this 2-day event was an opportunity to connect digitally and express solidarity across the basin […]

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Will Passing the Domestic Violence Law Reduce Violence Against Women?

Dialogue on violence against women The She Revolution group held a webinar on 3 May 2020 entitled “A Dialogue on Violence Against Women.” The webinar coincided with other events in the surrounding days aimed at increasing public pressure on the Iraqi government to pass the Domestic Violence Act. The group hosted three speakers close to […]

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Iraq’s New Government Must Deliver on Promises to End Impunity for Deaths and Human Rights Violations of the Protesters

The Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI) has supported the non-violent protesters who have been demonstrating since October 1, 2019 for economic reform and employment, reliable public services, an end to corruption, credible elections and reform of the political system. The violence, killings, and violations of freedom of expression and assembly with which government and […]

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