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Iraq Foundation Newsletter |  |
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Dear Friends, Joseph Sandor Communication Officer Iraq Foundation
On July 20, 2007 IF's Executive Director, Rend Al-Rahim, met with Iraqi President Talabani to discuss the importance of establishing a moderate Iraqi national front. Both President Talabani and Ms. Al-Rahim agree that a moderate national front is key to successful national reconciliation. To further this goal, President Talabani stressed the importance of activating collective leadership.
As part of the Promoting National Reconciliation in Iraq Project, IF held a conference from July 1-5, 2007 in Erbil, Iraq. IF launched the project to respond to the increased sectarian tension and violence in Iraq and support governmental and non-governmental efforts at national reconciliation in the country. The conference engaged civil society actors from across the county and represented diverse sectarian group in working towards peace and building trust among the communities based on the Constitution, universal citizenship concepts, and the National Reconciliation Plan.
To support the continuing work of the Ahd Al-Iraq Campaign (Pledge for Iraq), IF's Executive Director Rend Al-Rahim, Selwa Gailani from IF's Washington DC office, and Suhaila Hassan from IF's Baghdad office participated in a workshop from June 28 to July 2 in Amman, Jordan. Over 30 individuals participated in the workshop, including Ahd Al-Iraq's first phase Board of Directors and Executive Director, first phase implementing partners as well as provincial representatives and other staff. During the workshop, IF delivered a presentation highlighting our watchdog activities, political and media monitoring and advocacy as well as seminars that we have hosted on Ahd Al-Iraq laws. Participants used this workshop as an opportunity to solidify goals and objectives for 2007 and 2008, build teamwork and negotiation skills, and formalize Ahd Al-Iraq's structure and mission statement.
IF is assisting the Iraqi Ministry of the
Environment (MoEn) and the World Health
Organization (WHO) on their joint human
rights education program. IF is sponsoring a
full day of their respective workshops, where
the primary focus is on using human rights as
a tool to protect the environment, building
bridges between communities, and enhancing
acceptance of others. The MoEn's and WHO's
program will hold 160 two day human
rights education workshops in eight different
Iraqi Governorates by December 2007.
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The Iraq Foundation, in partnership with the Iraqi Commission of Public Integrity (CPI) and the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA), the Lebanese chapter of Transparency International, held a three day strategy session from July 15 to July 17 in Amman, Jordan. The session was aimed at helping identify CPI's needs and developing the agency's capacity to implement anti-corruption laws and improve transparency and accountability through bringing it together with regional organizations working on corruption in the Middle East. The strategy session also focused on information exchange and sharing knowledge on anti-corruption initiatives. As a result of this meeting, IF, CPI, and LTA came up with a number of recommendations that could help CPI better combat corruption in Iraq and improve transparency throughout the country.
The Iraq Democracy Watch annual report, published earlier this year in Arabic, is now available in English on our website. The report, entitled The Status of Rights and Freedoms in Iraq in 2006, addresses violence against civilians in Iraq, individual rights and freedoms, the situation of Iraqi women, and the freedom of opinion and belief. To download a copy of the report in English, please click the link below.
The Human Rights Defenders Network (HRDN) published its third and forth newsletter in June and July. These newsletters discuss the human rights situation in Iraq. Formed in December 2006 by the Iraq Foundation, HRDN monitors, documents, and advocates for human rights in Iraq's Governorates. Published in Arabic, HRDN's monthly newsletters are available on our website.
IF is pleased to showcase Walk for Iraq, an innovative idea to fund lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection for Iraqi Refugees in Middle East. To learn more about this opportunity, how you can get involved, and the organizations that Walk for Iraq supports, please follow the link below.
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email:
iraq@iraqfoundation.org
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