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IF Celebrates 15 Year Anniversary
Dear Friends,
It gives us great pleasure to announce that this
October the Iraq Foundation (IF) celebrated our
15th year anniversary. We would like to extend a
heartfelt thank you to all of our organizational
partners, donors, and the Iraqi community for 15
years of teamwork,
commitment, and support. We are proud to be a
pluralistic institution created by Iraqis for Iraqis
and we are equally proud of our work supporting
human rights and democratic principles, building
strong civil society institutions in Iraq, and
promoting the rights of women and children. In the
years to
come, we pledge to continue this commitment and
realize our vision of a free and democratic Iraq.
IF began its journey in the summer of 1991 when a
group of
Iraqi expatriates shared a bold vision for the
future of Iraq. This group committed themselves to
work for an Iraq that was free of dictatorial
tyranny, embraced human rights and democratic
principles, and contributed to the political,
social, and economic stability of the region.
Working with Iraqis and non-Iraqis in pursuit of
this vision, the Foundation incorporated in October
1991 as the first Iraqi non-profit
organization.
Working with Iraqi expatriates and Iraqis in
Kurdistan, IF carried out exciting projects. The
Constitutional Studies Project in 1994 and 1995
brought together Iraqi and international experts and
scholars to discuss a future Iraqi constitution.
The Iraqi Research and Documentation Project
documented human rights abuses under Hussein’s
regime through the classification and analysis of
over one million government documents. The Iraqi
Community Organization Project, launched in 1998,
established four Iraqi communities centers in the US
to serve the Iraqi refugees and immigrants. “Iraq
Issue,” our Arabic-English publication, went out to
3,000 Iraqis around the world from 1992 – 1999. The
Eden Again Project grew out of our intense
concern
over the plight of the Iraqi marshlands and the
marsh populations and has evolved from an academic
study of renewal to a full-blown, field-implemented
program of environmental revival. In addition, IF
held numerous conferences and seminars that brought
together Iraqis around common platforms and served
as important frameworks for Iraqi and international
exchanges.
Through these projects and our work with Iraqi
political groups and the diaspora, IF became a
leading voice for the Iraqi people in the US, the
UN, and the international community and a
non-partisan meeting forum for Iraqi political
groups and democracy organizations.
After the fall of Hussein’s regime in May, 2003, IF
opened offices in Baghdad and Basra to carry out our
projects and realize our vision. Our activities are
not confined to the green-zone; our dedicated staff
in Baghdad and Basra work on the ground to promote
our mission, often at great personal risk. Much of
our work involves grass-roots education and
training in human rights principles, constitutional
issues, democratization, and women’s rights. IF has
participated in the revitalization of the school
system, and provided capacity-building for new Iraqi
NGOs. For example, the Foundation provided
trainings of trainers in human rights education
instruments and tools as well as workshops on human
rights that reached nearly 2000 Iraqis. We
distributed 234,000 brochures on Iraq’s
constitution. We held 200 workshops on women’s
rights across Iraq. In the past two years, we have
produced and broadcast radio and television programs
that carry
our message to a wide Iraqi audience. In all our
work, we have remained true to our mission. In 2005
we launched a humanitarian initiative to assist
children’s charities, providing badly needed
donations of basic necessities to Iraqi orphanages
and institutions that care for physically and
mentally disabled children. With our commitment to
pluralism, we have ensured that our work is carried
out across Iraq and benefits all Iraqis.
We are proud of our achievements. At the same time,
we know that Iraq faces many challenges in the years
to come. We at IF are committed to seeing Iraq
through these difficult times and building an Iraq
that respects human rights and democratic
principles, embraces pluralism, and becomes a source
of stability, prosperity and security in the Middle
East. Thank you for 15 years of support,
dedication, and perseverance.
Haithem Al-Hassani
Chairman of the Board
Rend Al-Rahim
Executive Director
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IF Donates to Iraqi Children's Charities |
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IF’s Baghdad staff concluded the distribution of
supplies to
Iraqi children's charities in October. Our
staff in Baghdad delivered necessary humanitarian
supplies to the Children’s Rehabilitation and
Education Organization, the Rami Center for Autistic
Children and the Dar Al-Rahma Orphanage.
The latest donations included 25 Beds and blankets,
food,
desks, school bags, educational equipment,
refrigerators, stoves, magnetic blackboards,
and educational games. We have to date distributed
to five children’s charities and benefited over 200
children. Our
staff in DC is currently working hard planning the
second
annual fundraiser, which will be held on February
16, 2007.
To ensure the success of next year’s
fundraiser, IF needs your help. With your support,
we can help more orphaned and disabled Iraqi
children. Please click
the read-on link to visit
our charity initiatives page and see photos and
video of IF’s charitable activities as well as
information on our upcoming charity fundraising
event, Helping Iraq’s Children ...every step of the
way.
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IF Sponsors 3 Human Rights Workshops througout Iraq |
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In October, the Iraq Foundation held three human
rights education workshops in Iraq as part of our
Human
Rights Education Project. The three workshops
focused on basic international human
rights principles and standards, which included
discussions on women and children’s rights, as well
as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and
and human rights traditions in both the Arab and
Islamic cultures. From October 2-3, IF held a human
rights education workshop for 14 employees from the
Ministry of Environment (MoE) at IF’s Human Rights
Resource Center in Baghdad. On October 17-18, IF
held a second
human rights education workshop for a group of
university professors and staff at Baghdad
University. IF held the final workshop of the month
in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on October
28-29. Twenty-one participants attended the Basra
workshop, including employees of the Basra office of the
Ministry of Displacement and Migration, the Southern
Bureau of the Ministry of Human Rights, and the
Department for Distribution of Electricity, as well
as representatives form various human rights
organizations and the Bureau of Human Rights at the
Basra Police Station.
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IF in the News |
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Executive Director Rend Al-Rahim published an
opinion piece entitled Partition Is Not the Solution
. . . in the Washington Post on October 29, 2006.
In this article, Ms. Al-Rahim critiques the idea of
dividing Iraq along ethnic and sectarian lines.
Click
her to read the article
IF's Director of Programs in Baghdad, Shirouk Al-
Abayachi, was featured on
CNN's program "This Week at War" that aired on
October 28, 2006. In the interview,
Ms. Al-Abayachi discussed the social challenges
facing Iraq, Iraq’s future, and strategies for
success in Iraq.
Click
her to view the transcript from the program
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IF Broadcasts Human Rights Education Programs on Iraqi Radio |
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In an effort to broaden our outreach in Iraq
and reach a larger, more diverse audience across the
nation, the Iraq Foundation added human rights
education radio programs to the educational workshop
programming initiated in 2004. The first program was
broadcast on October 29, 2006 via al –Iraqiya radio
and featured Hanna Edwar, a well-known Iraqi human
rights activist and the Secretary General of the
Iraqi Al-Amal Association. The program discussed
constitutional articles that address freedoms and
rights as well as the role of
citizens in demanding their rights, and the need to
create human rights advocacy groups. The program
concluded with a discussion of the role of civil
society in protecting freedoms and rights and
preventing violations of these rights.
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IF Staff Meet with Iraqi Politicians to Discuss Iraq’s Pledge |
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In addition to our ongoing media monitoring and
political monitoring activities, IF staff
accompanied the Executive Director of Iraq’s Pledge
(IP) and the IP Board to meet with several Iraqi
Members of Parliament and ministry officials to
discuss the Iraq Pledge and its five laws. Our
activities included meeting with the Deputy Minister
of Interior and Mr. Baha Al-Araji, Chairman of the
Iraqi Parliamentary Legal Committee. We also met
with representatives of political parties, including
Mr. Hazim Al-Araji, the Director of Social Affair of
Al-Sadar Party, and the Prime Minister’s Advisor for
Internal Women’s Affairs, Mr. Fadhil Al-Shari’e, and
Mr. Ala’a Mekki, a member of the Iraqi Islamic party.
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IF’s Executive Director Co-Chairs the Salzburg Seminar |
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IF’s Executive Director, Rend Al-Rahim, co-chaired
the Salzburg Seminar’s session “Rule of Law:
Reconciling Religion and Culture in a Constitutional
Framework” from October 7 – 12, 2006 in Salzburg,
Austria. The Salzburg Seminar is an international
organization focused on global change that aims to
create a space where open dialogue and innovative
ideas can lead to practical solutions. In addition
to co-chairing the Seminar, Ms. Al-Rahim presented a
paper on "The
Making of the Iraqi Constitution in a Time of
Conflict" and hosted several discussion groups. Ms.
Al-Rahim co-chaired the Seminar with Judge Richard
Goldstone, Co-Chairman of the International Bar
Association’s Task Force on International Terrorism.
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