Phase II: Enhancing Iraqi CSOs Engagement with the UN Treaty Bodies
Erbil, Iraq - 8-10th November 2022
On Thursday, 10th November 2022, the training workshop delivered by the Geneva International Centre for Justice to thirty representatives of Iraqi civil society organizations, within the second phase of the project “Strengthening Civil Society and the Rule of Law in Iraq as a Peacebuilding Tool” was concluded in Erbil in the Republic of Iraq. This project is implemented in partnership with Mercy Hands Europe, and Mercy Hands for Humanitarian Aid in Iraq.
The training workshop entitled " Enhancing Iraqi CSOs Engagement with the UN Treaty Bodies" included academic lectures and practical training on how to write specialized international reports on the application of international human rights standards in Iraq in light of the observations and recommendations of the UN treaty body committees.
The training began with a presentation of information to the participants about the upcoming visit of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances to Iraq and its paramount importance in achieving positive results for the victims and hundreds of thousands of families suffering from the repercussions of this crime. After that, the recommendations and observations submitted to Iraq in 2022 by the treaty body committees were presented, including all recent recommendations of the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances and the Committee against Torture, followed by a discussion about the role of civil society in helping to implement them.
The main components of human rights treaties were reviewed and discussed with the participants. The participants interacted by shedding light on the violations taking place in Iraq, including enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, cases of gender-based violence, violations against children, and other relevant subjects.
The training also dealt with the powers and activities of the United Nations Investigation Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by ISIS (UNITAD) and the most important cases it has investigated to date. UNITAD’s eighth report submitted to the UN Security Council in May 2022 was discussed, which included violations and crimes committed by ISIS against groups of Sunnis, Shiites and Yazidis, and crimes committed in Sinjar, Tal Afar, and Tikrit.
The civil society organisations were active participants throughout our deep discussions on international human rights, how to document and report on cases of enforced disappearances and how to otherwise support families of victims in their legal claims. The active participants exchanged information on programmes and best practice to solidify the local and regional network of support.
Five working groups were formed based upon the five different governorates from which the civil society organisations originated to draw up detailed notes on the recommendations of the United Nations committees, and to establish the facts about the most prominent violations that have taken place in these governorates. Observations and recommendations were prepared to be presented to the Committee on Enforced Disappearances.
In the subsequent sessions, the five reports were presented and discussed. Following a reflexive methodology, participants agreed to continue working on making suggested amendments and improvements to their reports.
The implementation of the project “Strengthening Civil Society and the Rule of Law in Iraq as a Tool for Peacebuilding” by Mercy Hands Europe, Mercy Hands Humanitarian Aid Organization in Iraq and Geneva International Centre for Justice, funded by the German Support Institute and with the support of the German Foreign Ministry, comes amidst difficult circumstances in Iraq where impunity persists, and grave human rights violations continue.
This latest phase of the project follows the first phase which started in April 2022 and lasted for three months, during which 30 representatives of Iraqi civil society organizations (gender-balanced) received initial training in substantive legal frameworks and an introduction to international procedures over 4 working days to build their capacity. This was followed by a two-day roundtable discussion in Baghdad in June to which 50 key stakeholders in the Iraqi justice and prison system were invited, including judges, lawyers, and human rights in Iraqi law enforcement institutions.
Geneva International Centre for Justice has observed the impact of these programmes over the last 9 months with participants clearly demonstrating improved knowledge and capacity to engage with international mechanisms and UN bodies, utilising the legal framework as a tool to advance their objectives and deliver a consequent increase in protection of basic human rights in Iraq. We look forward to seeing these organisations continue to flourish and contribute to their future training needs.
At the end of the training, Certificates were distributed to the participants
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