Training to Hone Skills on Reporting on Women’s Rights in Kurdistan Region

The training was provided by the Human Rights Office (HRO) of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) as part of its ongoing program of support to local civil society organizations. In November 2017, UNAMI HRO organized a study trip to Amman and Geneva for human rights non-government organizations (NGOs) working throughout Iraq. After observing proceedings before the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), some of the NGOs decided to develop a broader network of NGOs in the Kurdistan Region to prepare a shadow report to the Committee to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). With training from UNAMI HRO, the group will submit its shadow report alongside official reports prepared by the Government of Iraq.

Representatives from 12 NGOs (9 women and 3 men) participated in the training in Duhok. The training aimed to develop participants’ skills in collecting and analysing the required information and preparing the shadow report for CEDAW.

At the opening session, UNAMI HRO representative Mr. Zito Siany commended the role of civil society organizations in promoting and protecting human rights through their communications with UN human rights treaty bodies like CERD and CEDAW.

Ms. Shireen Jafaar, the Director of Sewan Organization and a participant in the training, stated that the training was tremendously significant for the NGOs as the first of its kind to be held in Duhok. “We received informative and useful clarifications regarding the UN mechanisms for the protection of human rights, particularly for the influential role CEDAW plays in eliminating discrimination against women,” she said.

The network of NGOs also plans to prepare shadow reports for other human rights instruments to which Iraq is a party. This will include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 2018 and the Convention Against Torture in 2019. UNAMI HRO will continue to support these valuable efforts.