Iraq Fears Famed Marshes Could Be Pulled from World Heritage List
Hassan al-Shanoun, Al-Monitor The Iraqi government is committed to keeping the Mesopotamian Marshes on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Located in the southern part of the country, the marshes were added to UNESCO’s list in July 2016. Previously listed Iraqi World Heritage sites are the city of Ashur, the city of Hatra, the Erbil Citadel and the city of […]
Water Activists Meet Privately with the Minister of Water Resources, Dr. Hassan Al-Janabi
Activists from the Save the Tigris Campaign, Iraqi Social Forum and Humat Dijla were invited to meet with Iraqi Minister of Water Resources, Dr. Hassan Al Janabi, in Baghdad. They discussed shared concerns of civil society and the government on water issues. The minister expressed his satisfaction with Iraqi youth and civil society’s interest in […]
Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative, 23 May 2017 Iraqi civil society activists successfully pressured the Iraqi parliament to withdraw its draft law on freedom of expression that violated the principles of freedom of expression guaranteed by the Iraqi constitution and by international human rights conventions ratified by Iraq. In a hasty move at the beginning […]
Very early in the morning of May 8th, an armed group wearing civilian clothes and driving an SUV with tinted windows abducted seven university student activists from their apartment in Al-Bataween, an area of central Baghdad. The students were taken to an unknown destination. Iraqi civil society organizations responded with outrage on social networking sites […]
The Popular Mobilization Forces and Iraq’s Future
Carnegie Middle East Center – Renad Mansour, Faleh A. Jabar In the fight against Daesh, Iraq’s fledgling security apparatus has fragmented into groups under, parallel to, and apart from the state. The largest organization outside direct government control is the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)—over 60,000 fighters who stepped in to secure Iraq after state forces collapsed […]
No to Continued Violation of Trade Union Rights and Freedoms in Iraq
Iraqi trade unions and federations, and members of the Conference of Iraqi Federations and Workers Unions [CIFWU] issued a statement denouncing the Iraqi government’s continuing violation of the rights and freedoms of workers and trade unions. Highlights of the statement include: Trade unions and federations rejected the Draft Law of Professional Federations and Unions due […]
Hanaa Edwar:A Defender of Human Rights & Freedom of Expression
GULF Center for Human Rights (Cairo, Beirut – 16 May 2017) The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Maharat Foundation, and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), in cooperation with IFEX, have selected prominent human rights defender Hanaa Edwar from Iraq as the Defender of Human Rights and Freedom of Expression for […]
Anti-Domestic Violence Law, Shahrazad Seminar in Baghdad
In the forefront of the activities of Shahrazad project in its second season, the Iraqi Women Journalist Forum (IWJF) organize in cooperation with the Arab Union for Specialized Women a seminar to discuss “the draft law on the reduction of domestic violence” on May 7th in Baghdad. Rajaa Abd Ali, the legal advisor of […]
By Ercan Ayboga, Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive Yesterday local sources reported that the Zeynel Bey Tomb in Hasankeyf, which has been encased in a concrete foundation, has now been lifted from its original foundation. According to local reports, the tomb will be moved today (Friday), the DSI (the State Hydraulic Works), which is responsible […]
Sport as a Means to Renounce Violence in Baghdad
On the 25, 26 and 29th of April, The Iraqi Social Forum and Sports Against Violence Iraq, in cooperation with the Y-peer Network, organized a workshop entitled “Using sports as tools of Non-violence”, in which a number of youth and volunteers of both genders participated and contributed to the training. The three days training focused on […]
Update: The Seven students have been released a day after they have been abducted, however, no concrete steps have been taken to hold accountable the group that kidnapped them. The Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative – 9 May 2017 Civil society activists in Iraq are preparing to demonstrate in the central and southern Iraqi cities of […]
How Can Iraq Address Child Abuse and Torture?
Almonitor – Sara Alqaher Child abuse has become an increasingly widespread phenomenon in Iraq, with social networking sites playing a major role in detecting any of the abuse and torture cases. On April 10, the Human Rights Commission and the parliamentary Committee for Women, Family and Childhood condemned the rise of child abuse, describing it as brutal. […]