D&P helps to rebuild Iraq, arming NGOs with conflict resolution, social development and management techniques
By KEVIN SPURGAITIS
In the fertile lowland between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, large areas of irrigated farmland, the world’s second richest oil reserves and one of the highest populations in the Middle East are only slightly sustained. This is present-day, war-torn Iraq, where there is now a right to free expression, to demonstrate, to move freely and to obtain health care, education and social security, but still little practice of these freedoms by ordinary Iraqis, aid groups like Development and Peace (D&P) say.
D&P, the official international development agency of the Canadian Catholic Church, this year launched a three-year project to build peace in Iraq, together with the Beirut-based Arab NGO Forum for Development, Culture and Dialogue (FDCD). Over the next three years, D&P and the FDCD will collaborate with key partners, including the Permanent Peace Movement, the local American Friends Service Committee, the Iraqi Network for Human Rights and Development and Iraqi Al Amal. Supported by a $1.7 million Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) grant, the joint-project is designed to link Iraqi youth from different cultural communities and to arm non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other groups with conflict resolution, social development and management techniques. An estimated 100 Iraqis in all will be provided with intensive peace-building training. They will be expected to teach these techniques to their colleagues, multiplying the impact of the project.
Major activities include one-week workshops for Iraqi NGOs on conflict-resolution and capacity building; one-week classes for youth on intersectarian violence in post-conflict society; and follow-up initiatives by workshop participants at community, local and national levels. The capacity building of civil society organizations and the promotion of youth movements in both Iraq and Lebanon will help Iraqis effectively participate in public, social, economic and political life, creating the necessary conditions in which democracy and peace can flourish, according to Sonia Lebesgue, D&P’s program officer responsible for Iraq and the Middle East.
“Iraq is extremely tense both socially and politically; we have maintained, in conjunction with our regional partners, our program to assist the poor and help develop Iraqi civil society,” Lebesgue said. “Iraqi NGOs and community groups are frequently asked to help people face the everyday challenges of living in the war-torn country, and to take leadership roles in national reconciliation and peace-building.”
Since 2003, D&P has sponsored 18 emergency, reconstruction and nation-building projects in Iraq, including repairing damaged hospitals, providing medical care and helping with emergency assistance after insurgent attacks. They have also trained Iraqi NGOs in the promotion of human rights, especially for women, in the country’s new constitution.
According to UN statistics, Iraq is made up of some 20 million Arabs, mostly Shiite Muslims and minority Sunni Muslims. About four million Kurds, a non-Arab Muslim people, live in the northeastern part of the country. More than three years after the U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq and captured then-President Saddam Hussein, militants continue to attack occupying forces and terrorize Iraqis working with the new government.
People’s standard of living is lowered by pervasive unemployment, kidnappings, honour crimes and domestic violence, the organization reported. Those under the age of 18, who make up nearly half of the country’s population, are especially vulnerable to disease and malnutrition. A rapid post-war nutritional assessment carried out by UNICEF in Baghdad found that one in four children under five years of age is chronically malnourished. One in eight children die before their fifth birthday. Additionally, UNICEF highlighted the risks posed to children by widespread water contamination, unexploded ordnance (UXO), land mines and other live ammunition littering the country. In Baghdad, alone, there are roughly 800 hazardous sites — mostly caches of dumped ammunition.
Lebesgue said, “Our project partners and other collaborators have unfortunately been affected by the violence raging in the country and have had to demonstrate exceptional courage and determination in order to overcome problems and carry out their programs successfully.”
Iraq’s reconstruction and rehabilitation are extensive, she said. They are requisites partly because of the neglect under Saddam Hussein’s 14-year dictatorship, which caused the spiraling degradation of the country’s infrastructure, environment and social services. D&P is also hampered by continued violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by coalition forces. D&P condemns the extended occupation — what the U.S. has deemed necessary to meet their strategic, political and economic objectives in Iraq and the region. The organization also deplores the fact that the roles of military and aid organizations have become blurred in the region.
Still, the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime opened up doors for Iraqi civil society, it is widely believed. For Iraq, D&P still wants a “liberal, democratic and constitutionally circumscribed political system, which would provide for minority freedom from majority dictatorship.” Direly needed are internal security, a constitutional overview and election assistance, as well as the monitoring of humanitarian, rehabilitation and reconstruction activities, according to the organization.
“With the proper tools at their disposal, these groups can play a crucial role in Iraq’s social and economic development, including helping young people and women assume a meaningful role in society,” Lebesgue said. “By strengthening Iraqi civil society, the D&P program will also play an important role in the reconstruction and democratization process in Iraq and in neighbouring countries.”
Originally published in the Catholic New Times, September 2006
