Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KIRKUK85
2006-04-12 10:12:00
CONFIDENTIAL
REO Kirkuk
Cable title:  

DRL VISIT TO NORTHERN IRAQ: CIVIL SOCIETY STRUGGLES FOR

Tags:  PGOV PHUM KDEM KISL KWMN IZ 
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VZCZCXRO0567
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHMOS
DE RUEHKUK #0085/01 1021012
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P R 121012Z APR 06
FM REO KIRKUK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0605
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 0569
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHKUK/REO KIRKUK 0633
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000085 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

BAGHDAD FOR POL, POLMIL, NCT, ROL COORDINATOR, USAID, ECON
BAGHDAD ALSO FOR IRMO, PAO FOR BATES AND CAPLES

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/12/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM KISL KWMN IZ
SUBJECT: DRL VISIT TO NORTHERN IRAQ: CIVIL SOCIETY STRUGGLES FOR
INDEPENDENCE, HUMAN RIGHTS (#1 OF 2)

KIRKUK 00000085 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Scott Dean, Acting Regional Coordinator, REO
Kirkuk, DoS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000085

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

BAGHDAD FOR POL, POLMIL, NCT, ROL COORDINATOR, USAID, ECON
BAGHDAD ALSO FOR IRMO, PAO FOR BATES AND CAPLES

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/12/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM KISL KWMN IZ
SUBJECT: DRL VISIT TO NORTHERN IRAQ: CIVIL SOCIETY STRUGGLES FOR
INDEPENDENCE, HUMAN RIGHTS (#1 OF 2)

KIRKUK 00000085 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Scott Dean, Acting Regional Coordinator, REO
Kirkuk, DoS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) Summary: During a visit by DRL to Northern Iraq, civil
society funding recipients said they struggled to maintain
independence against strong opposition, and in some cases
persecution, from political parties. Media sources said they
faced detainment and abuse from government authorities for
speaking out. NGO's requested funding and capacity building
from training and networking opportunities. End Summary.

Introduction
--------------


2. (U) DRL Program Officer Vitessa Del Prete visited Northern
Iraq March 24 - 29 to assess DRL grant recipients of over $100
million in funding to Iraq, a significant portion of which is
being spent in the Kurdistan Region on democracy, human rights
and women's programs. At the Kirkuk Regional Embassy Office,
Del Prete and IPAO led a roundtable with independent
non-governmental organizations (NGO's),and met with
representatives from the National Democratic Institute (NDI),
International War and Peace Reporting (IWPR),and ASUDA to
discuss program implementation issues.


3. (U) This cable is the first of two covering Del Prete's visit
to Northern Iraq. The second cable covers programs providing
treatment for the mentally ill, legal services for women in
jail, and reconciliation to victims of torture and imprisonment
under the regime of Saddam Hussayn.

NGO Roundtable Raises Needs and Obstacles
--------------


4. (U) Del Prete and IPAO led a roundtable with the Women's
Rights and Civil Society Council (WRCSC). The Kurdish Human
Rights Watch (KHRW) and representatives of fifteen other NGO's
discussed their programmatic needs and the obstacles facing
civil society development.


5. (SBU) Participants included: Dr. Pary Karadaghi, Director and
CEO of KHRW; Amera Hassan, Legal Adviser, KHRW / WAFDI; Venus

Shamal, WRCSC and KHRW, Sulaymaniyah; Sabria Ibrahim Najim,
Director of Qara Hanjir Women's Center, Kirkuk; Zahra Salih
Jassim, Director of Al Mahaba, Kirkuk; Sabria Omar Mahmud,
Center for National Dialogue, Kirkuk; Dilven Korel, LAIC,
Kirkuk; Muhealdin Ali Hiwa, LAIC, Kirkuk; Banaz Omar, Women's
Rights and Civil Society Council; Gulzar Mazhar, WAFDI; Kwestan
Abdul Rahman, New Life Organization for Anfal Women; and Raso
Hama Sadi, Human Rights Organization (HRO); Sirwa Shuku, HRO;
Sayran Salah, Astera Organization; Sozan Arif, Women's
Empowerment Organization (WEO); and Maysun Omar Hussein, FARAH,
Kirkuk.


6. (U) Participants identified funding and networking with other
women as the two greatest needs for independent NGO's. They
said they were frustrated with the greater attention paid to
women from southern provinces of Iraq, who had more
opportunities to participate in international programs and
conferences.


7. (C) Sozan Arif of WEO said that NGO's not associated with a
political party must network more heavily with the Ministry of
Interior (MOI) to get registered. Both KRG's, she said, made it
difficult for independent NGO's, and many had to close down.
Arif said the parties wanted to control NGO's finances,
staffing, and mission objectives. She said that when an NGO
registered, there was often pressure to employ staff provided by
the MOI. Further, the political parties would attempt to
proscribe who received the NGO's assistance.


8. (U) WRCSC members provide democracy training; basic care to
families affected by the Anfal campaign; safe havens to victims
of domestic violence; and vocational and literacy training for
women. Karadaghi said the KHRW had recently submitted to the
Kurdistan National Assembly a proposal for the Personal Status
Law that empowered prosecutors to take on cases of abuse or
violations of human rights against women.


9. (U) In a follow-up meeting in Sulaymaniyah with WRCSC member
the Islamic Sisterhood Union (ISU),ISU Director Fatma Ali Ahmed
highlighted female genital mutilation and honor killings as
local customs wrongly attributed to Islam. Ahmed proposed a
media campaign educating the public, particularly the poor,
about the ill-effects of these traditions and their

KIRKUK 00000085 002.2 OF 002


non-compliance with Islam. KHRW Director Dr. Pary Karadaghi
suggested the entire network take on the campaign in order to
reach a broader audience.

Media Facing Lack of Jobs, Human Rights Violations
-------------- --------------


10. (U) Del Prete and IPAO met with DRL funding recipient
International War and Peace Reporting (IWPR),a local NGO
training Iraqi journalists the standards of international
reporting. A trainer with IWPR, Asso Ahmed Hama Salih, said
IWPR provided hands-on training to journalists in radio
engineering, production, sourcing and reporting. From a class
of 20 students selected from throughout Iraq, eight were chosen
to produce a 15-minute segment of "The Other Half," a radio show
addressing women's issues.


11. (SBU) Salih and Mariwan Hama-Sayid, a freelance journalist
and IWPR trainer, said it was difficult for independent
journalists in Iraq. Salih said that as the editor-in-chief of
an independent newspaper, he often hired graduates of the IWPR
training; however graduates had few other employment
alternatives. Most media outlets, he said, were restricted in
what they could report by their relationship to the political
parties.


12. (SBU) Mariwan cited the recent Halabja incident, in which a
number of journalists remained detained without charges, and the
recent conviction of Kamal Sayid Qadir, who was sentenced to 18
months (reduced from 30 years after a retrial) for writing an
article critical of the KDP leadership. Mariwan said that both
of these incidents further affirmed to him the need for NGO's
like IWRP. He said, "Our mission to continue has become a moral
necessity."

Comment:
--------------


13. (C) This DRL trip helped uncover the extent of political
party efforts to dominate independent NGO's and media. Civil
society in the Kurdish regions appears to be in the nascent
stages and struggling; however there is reason to be optimistic.
Motivated individuals within certain sectors appear to be
making progress within the larger limits of the current
political environment, but would benefit from outside support
and resources. End Comment.
ORESTE