Training to strengthen the Kurdistan’s Department of Foreign Relations' engagement with the United Nations Human Rights System

Minister Falah Mustafa, Head of the Department of Foreign Relations in the Kurdistan Regional Government, and Dr. Francesco Motta, Director of the Human Rights Office, UNAMI, and Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Iraq, inaugurated the training on Wednesday 27 July in Erbil, which was attended by 25 participants from the Department of Foreign Relations, as well as the Directorate for Non-Governmental Organizations in the Council of Ministers and the Kurdistan Independent Commission of Human Rights.

The training focused on enhancing understanding of the applicable international legal framework for promoting human rights and the protection of civilians particularly in the current non-international armed conflict as well as the role of the relevant UN agencies working in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It also sought to strengthen the skills of staff in their interaction with UN human rights bodies and institutions by examining the relevant Charter and Treaty Bodies monitoring implementation of obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law.

Minister Falah Mustafa concluded that the training encompassed the issues that “exactly the Department of Foreign Relations deals with on a daily basis in the Kurdistan Region” and also added “this is a very relevant course that will enhance our capacity and understanding of applicable international legal frameworks in the conduct of our responsibilities”. Francesco Motta expressed the Human Rights Office’s commitment to providing further specialized and tailored courses for the Department of Foreign Relations. “The United Nations is working actively in partnership with the Government and people of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to promote the respect and protection of human rights, particularly in relation to the protection of civilians from the effects of armed conflict,” Francesco said. “It is my hope that this training will contribute meaningfully to the capacities of the staff of the Department of the Foreign Relations of the Kurdistan Regional Government to deliver better governance for the people of the Region, particularly in relation to people who have been, or continue to be affected by the ongoing armed conflict with the Daesh, to promote accountability for violations of human rights that may be committed in connection with that conflict, and to enhance understandings of ways the international community can support them in these tasks."