WOMEN,S RIGHTS ACTIVISTS GRADE COUNCIL OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 004605

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/13/2016
TAGS: KWMN PGOV PHUM IZ
SUBJECT: WOMEN,S RIGHTS ACTIVISTS GRADE COUNCIL OF
REPRESENTATIVES, MINISTRIES, PERFORMANCE

Classified By: Deputy PolCouns Bob Gilchrist for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D
).


1. (C) SUMMARY: A group of prominent women's rights activists
gathered in early December to critique the government
institutions that most affect their work. Speaking on issues
beyond just women's rights, the group expressed the view that
none of the three bodies that most influence their activities
had yet reached a level of performance such that they could
be described as effective and responsive institutions. The
group gave the highest score (C-) to the Council of
Representatives (CoR) as, in the activists' view, it had
begun to function as a parliament but was distant from
average Iraqis and failed to move forward aggressively on
divisive issues. The Civil Society Ministry, from the
group's perspective, scored the worst - an "F" - for overtly
supporting the efforts of sectarian organizations while
impeding the work of many secular ones. The Ministry of
State for Women,s Affairs fared only slightly better, with
the women finally compromising on "incomplete" as they
asserted there were "too few activities thus far to actually
assess the ministry." Despite their expressed frustration,
the group underscored a commitment to trying to help
strengthen these institutions. All noted that the government
still lacked a fundamental understanding of the role of civil
society in a democracy. End Summary.

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Council of Representatives: Functioning, but Removed from
Citizens
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2. (C) The meeting was called by Al Amal NGO director Hanaa
Edwar, and included Besma Al-Khateeb, Youth Programs Director
for Al Amal (previously of UNIFEM); Salma Jabbo, gender
advisor to President Talabani; and Liza Nisan Hido of the
Baghdad Women,s Association NGO. They began with a
discussion of the performance of the Council of
Representatives (CoR). They agreed that it was good to see
democratic institutions finally starting to function
properly, but lamented the decision by CoR leaders to address
divisive issues before trust had been built. The women
agreed that as recently as last month, the parliament may
have scored a "C," however the relative inactivity of the
Constitutional Review Committee forced them to give the CoR a
"C-." "That score will probably drop lower, but we are
hoping for the best from constitutional review" Edwar
predicted.


3. (C) Al-Khateeb asserted that, while it may represent the
majority of political parties, the CoR won,t have legitimacy
as long as CoR members continue to appear more committed to
the parties than to the concerns of average Iraqis. Edwar
agreed, citing the vote on the regions formation law as an
example. "It was a mockery of democracy," she claimed, "with
140 random individuals deciding how 26 million will live."
Poloff reminded the women that CoR members were elected to
represent those 26 million people. Edwar reluctantly agreed,
but expressed the view that members should be focused on
transitional programs and development of the government
institutions and infrastructure of Iraq before deciding on
contentious issues.


4. (C) On the issue of constitutional review, the women
asserted that the constitution was only passed because of the
promise that there would be an opportunity for all parties to
review and revise the document. "The Kurds and Shia already
got what they wanted, so what is their motivation to take the
review seriously?" Jabbo worried. Al-Khateeb agreed, adding
that even if the committee was able to agree on substantive
changes, she doubted that the whole package would pass in the
national referendum. Hido lamented the committee,s apparent
lack of attention to Article 41, the article defining
personal status, expressing that "we shouldn,t be surprised,
considering that the committee is fully partisan and nearly
devoid of women." All of the women agreed that the current
committee should vote to postpone their work for at least a
year so that the political parties could learn to work better
together, and so that trust could be built between the people
and their representatives. "Public understanding of
democracy needs to catch up with the pace of democracy,"
Edwar noted.

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Civil Society Ministry - "More Harm than Benefit"
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5. (C) The women agreed that the Ministry of State for Civil

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Society Affairs caused, in their words, "far more harm than
benefit" to NGOs. They expressed concern that the Minister
abused his position to support organizations funded by
conservative Shia Islamic parties, while harassing
independent, secular oriented organizations. Although Edwar
noted that Al Amal had not had problems with the ministry
directly, she said that many of her counterparts at NGOs that
were smaller and less established had had their assets frozen
and had been subjected to repeated visits from ministry
"staff" based on their women,s rights agenda and activities.
"Why do we even need such a ministry?" Al-Khateeb
questioned, noting that the institution was against
international standards.


6. (C) Hido conceded that there were some legitimate reasons
for the registration process, but asserted that the ministry
collected too much personal information, such as full names
and addresses of staff members. She also said that ministry
officials asked staff whether they were Sunni or Shia during
meetings. (NOTE: None of this information is officially
requested in the registration packet, however we have
received reports of such behavior from time to time. For
example, in late October, Ibteesam Al Shammary of the
Patience Humanitarian Organization also told Poloff that the
minister,s secretary asked questions about her staff and her
religion before her first meeting with him. END NOTE) They
agreed that the system functioned much more smoothly and
securely when NGO registration had been processed by the
Ministry of Planning. "It just makes sense, from a strategic
development perspective, for the MOP to run the office,"
Al-Khateeb argued, noting that the ministry was generally
regarded as "technical" and "non-partisan."

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Women,s Affairs Ministry Scores "INCOMPLETE"
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7. (C) The women expressed strong concerns about sectarian
rumors that have plagued current Minister of Women's Affairs
Fatin Abd al-Rahman. Hido said that a contact of hers who
had been in the public relations section at the ministry had
recently been fired for apparently no reason. "She,s not
alone, we have all heard about the minister,s attempts to
eliminate the Shia from her staff," she claimed. They also
expressed the belief that the minister did not seem
interested in working with NGOs, although all of them had
reached out to her and had offered their support.


8. (C) Hido wondered what the minister's program for the
future of her ministry was. She noted that, apart from
"poorly executed conferences," she had seen little from the
ministry. She asked the group if anyone could name one
project that this minister had implemented. Al-Khateeb
asserted that the lack of initiative and direction was
particularly disappointing since UNIFEM had been conducting
training with the MOWA staff for the past three years.
Poloff asked what the group thought would help to make the
minister more effective, and the women agreed that a
competent advisor with real experience in women,s issues
could help.


9. (C) Ultimately the women decided that they had not seen
enough work or activity from the ministry to accurately
assess its performance. Poloff noted that the minister and
her staff were currently in US meeting officials and
receiving basic training. They expressed cautious optimism
that the trip would give the minister fresh perspective, new
ideas and enthusiasm for her job. They similarly underscored
their commitment to do what they could to help build the
ministry, as well as the other institutions key to their
work.


10. (C) Comment: The negative views of these activists --
who remain among the most effective and visible voices on
women's issues in Iraq -- reflect an increasing frustration
expressed by many NGOs that the Maliki government and the CoR
have not typically incorporated the views of civil society in
key legislative or policy decisions. Moreover, many complain
that few political leaders, with the exception of Human
Rights Minister Wijdan Salim, understand the fundamental role
of civil society in a democracy. The views expressed by this
group also reflect a growing impatience by many Iraqis with
the seeming inability of many government institutions to
address key security concerns or adequately provide basic
services. All four of women emphasized the importance of
continuing to try to strengthen Iraqi's nascent democratic
institutions. Nonetheless, none of them expressed optimism
they would see measurable change in the near to mid-term.
SPECKHARD