UNAMI and INSM Network hold training on digital security and rights in Baghdad

On 30 September 2023, the Human Rights Office of UNAMI and INSM Network شبكة أنسم  completed a joint two-day training on Digital Security and Digital Rights held at the premises of the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) headquarters in Baghdad city.

The training brought together 24 participants (13 women and 11 men) who included civil society representatives, human rights defenders, journalists, bloggers, lawyers, and staff members of the IHCHR.

The training provided guidance on how to maneuver safely through cyberspace, with a focus on improving digital security for human rights defenders and enhancing their knowledge on digital rights, as well as the practical tools to strengthen their safety in the digital environment, including ethics of communication, data storage and protection from hacking.

Congratulating the participants upon the completion of the training on 30 September, Mr Dimiter Chalev, the Chief of the Human Rights Office of UNAMI, said, “The main objective of the training was to enhance the participants’ knowledge and skills related to online protection and the expansion of the online civic space.”.

This training was the first in a series of similar trainings scheduled to take place this year in Karbala, Kirkuk, Nasiriyah and Erbil and is the third phase of an ongoing initiative which began in 2021.  So far, a total of 327 participants have received these trainings on digital security and digital rights in both federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.