Introduction

Reconstruction of Iraq in Context

Brief History of U.S. and International Assistance to Iraq

Financial Management of Reconstruction

Other Major International Donors

Funding for Civil Society Development

Conclusions

About the Report

Library Links

SPECIAL REPORT 124

Summary

• The rebuilding of Iraq is the most far-reaching reconstruction enterprise since the efforts in Europe and Japan at the conclusion of World War II.


• The vast bulk of the civilian Iraq funding is being spent in rehabilitating physical infrastructure.


• About $730 million is now programmed for democracy, civil society, human rights, and refugees, including the Institute’s conflict management activities.


• So far, even in this area, the emphasis has been on the reconstruction of physical premises and infrastructure of civil society organizations (CSOs), with less money available for programs.


• Civil society organizations are nevertheless proliferating rapidly, creating a potentially large appetite for program funding.


• The funding so far for women’s organizations is targeted mainly at income generation rather than at programs that aim to enhance their ability to protect their rights as citizens and individuals.


• One of the main challenges of peacebuilding in Iraq will be overcoming the legacy of more than 30 years of Ba’ath Party terror, which has left deep psychological wounds.


• The effects of suppressed cultural, religious, and political identity will have enormous implications for Iraq’s future.


• The Institute and other conflict management organizations can offer value added by focusing on prevention of sectarian violence, aiding in the establishment of the rule of law and in institutions that promote truth and reconciliation, and training and educating a new generation of leaders.

[ Back to top ]

Introduction

The Institute began its work in Iraq by compiling information from donors, particularly those active in the civil society arena, to assess progress made in key areas and identify where further support is needed. The Institute followed up this preliminary donor mapping with an informal survey of activities, through interviews with major players active in civil society development, for purposes of “ground-truthing” its assessments. It quickly became evident that while essential aspects of civil society development were receiving more than adequate international attention and funding, other areas were being overlooked or insufficiently attended to by the donor community.

This report is not an exhaustive attempt to track reconstruction assistance to Iraq. Rather, it examines the slice of funds devoted to civil society development, including democracy training, civic programs, human rights, and education reform. Originally an internal document, it offers an overview of international assistance funneled into Iraq over a year of nation-building efforts. It also highlights crucial gaps in international donor assistance that call for immediate attention.

[ Back to top ]

Reconstruction of Iraq in Context

The rebuilding of Iraq has proved to be the most far-reaching international—and particularly American—nation-building enterprise since the reconstruction efforts in Europe and Japan at the conclusion of World War II. In fact, in financial terms, the first two years of civilian reconstruction in Iraq are proving more ambitious than the first two years of civilian reconstruction of post-war Germany, Japan, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan combined (though it should be noted that the Marshall Plan did not begin until 1947). At the Madrid donors conference held on October 23–24, 2003, some $32–$36 billion in grants and concessionaire loans were appropriated or otherwise pledged for the reconstruction of Iraq, while Germany, Japan, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan received a combined total of $25.6 billion (in 2003 dollar terms) in aggregate reconstruction assistance during the first two years of their reconstruction.

The comparatively large amount of aid flowing to Iraq is even more impressive in comparison to the nation’s GDP. Rough estimates, as conducted by the global rating agency Fitch Ratings, put Iraq’s GDP for 2004 at $19 billion. If a large portion of the total $32–$36 billion in international assistance pledged to Iraq ends up being spent as planned—in the first two years of reconstruction—it will make Iraq the largest international aid recipient in terms of a percentage of its GDP in history, at approximately 150 percent. By contrast, assistance to post-war Kosovo was estimated at 45 percent of its GDP in the first two years; Bosnia’s was estimated at 37 percent of its GDP; Afghanistan’s was estimated at 33 percent of its GDP; and Haiti’s was estimated at 20 percent of its GDP. (According to Ian Vasquez of the CATO Institute, total U.S. assistance never exceeded five percent of the GNP of any of the Marshall Plan countries, including Austria, Belgium-Luxembourg, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom.)

[ Back to top ]

Brief History of U.S. and International Assistance to Iraq

From 1990 through 2001, the United States was the single largest contributor of humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Iraq, with the majority of funds going to the northern Kurdish areas. U.S. assistance amounted to nearly $820 million during that period, accounting for almost 30 percent of a total $2.9 billion in multilateral assistance or nearly 40 percent of $2.2 billion in bilateral assistance to Iraq. Nearly $794 million were dispensed in humanitarian aid to internally displaced people in Northern Iraq, with the remaining $25.5 million in food assistance. Other bilateral and multilateral donors included Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the European Commission, and the United Nations.

Following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime in April 2003, the United States mobilized national and international resources to finance reconstruction efforts. At a donors conference in Madrid on October 23–24, 2003, 73 nations, 20 international organizations, and 13 NGOs were asked to assist Iraqis in rebuilding their country. Some $32–$36 billion dollars (the IMF and World Bank specified ranges) were pledged, with nearly 70 percent coming in grant money and the balance in loans. This amount excludes humanitarian assistance, export credits and guarantees, and in-kind assistance offered by several countries. Of the total, the U.S. contribution was the highest at $18.6 billion in grants, which were subsequently included in the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and for the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004. (This is in addition to the $2.5 billion for relief and reconstruction efforts authorized under the U.S. Emergency Supplemental Act “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” signed by President Bush on March 19, 2003.) Other donors pledging significant assistance in grant money include Japan at $1.5 billion and the European Community (including its member states and the acceding countries) at $1.25 billion, with the United Kingdom as its largest contributor.

Financial pledges committed in Madrid, however, are not the only sources of financing for Iraq’s reconstruction. Additional sources of financing come from seized assets of Hussein’s family as well as from Iraqi funds in various UN programs, including but not limited to the UN’s Oil-for-Food Program. While the amount of assets seized in Iraq remains unclear, funds that Hussein and his family were able to move to Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan are estimated at around $3 billion. All three countries have indicated that they will return the funds.

Iraqi women practice their computer skills at the Fatima Al-Zahra Center for Women's Rights in Hilla (just south of Baghdad). The women's center is the first of five to open with support from USAID in the south central region of Iraq. (Courtesy USAID)

As of May 2003, the Oil-for-Food Program had about $3.2 in uncommitted funds and another $10.1 billion that had been committed, although unpaid, for goods not yet delivered to Iraq. The funds will be channeled to Iraq through the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI), established through UN Security Council Resolution 1483 and administrated by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).

In sum, the four primary sources of financing for Iraq’s reconstruction have been: (a) U.S.-appropriated funds, available through the 2003 and 2004 Emergency Supplemental Acts, which account for more than half of total international assistance for Iraq to date; (b) other international donations committed in Madrid (primarily by Japan and the European Community); (c) seized family assets of Saddam Hussein; and (d) funds from UN-related programs, primarily the Oil-for-Food Program.

[ Back to top ]

Financial Management of Reconstruction

The CPA has been in charge of managing all U.S. Congress—appropriated funds for Iraq and of directing the management of other reconstruction funds. CPA’s Iraq Program Management Office (PMO) is responsible for all contracting funded by the fiscal year (FY) 2004 U.S. government appropriation of $18.6 billion for Iraq’s reconstruction. The PMO will be administered under the auspices of the U.S. Embassy upon the dissolution of the CPA on June 30, 2004.

The CPA also directs the management of the DFI, established by UN Security Council Resolution 1483 to channel non-U.S. foreign assistance to Iraq, funds inherited from the UN-related programs and Hussein’s assets that were seized by the Coalition. As of April 1, 2004, a total of $15 billion was transferred into the accounts of the DFI. The main decision-making body for recommending expenditures from the DFI has been the Program Review Board (PRB), created by CPA Administrator L. Paul Bremer and primarily including Americans, Britons, and Australians. The PRB consults with the Iraqi Governing Council, the Iraqi Minister of Finance, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq. An International Advisory and Monitoring Board was set up last May by the UN Security Council to oversee spending from the DFI, but its work has been delayed. Some of the seized funds are also managed by Coalition commanders in the field.

With the CPA’s Iraq PMO responsible for all contracting funded by the FY2004 U.S.-government appropriation of $18.6 billion for Iraq’s reconstruction, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Navy are the primary agencies issuing contracts on behalf of PMO. Their primary mission is to restore the capability for oil production, oil refining, and gas processing to pre-war conditions.

Other U.S. government agencies—such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS)—are also issuing contracts funded by the appropriation. Recent press reports, however, indicate that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) will continue to manage nearly 90 percent of the reconstruction funds, with USAID managing the remaining 10 percent. The current goals of USAID are to restore critical infrastructure, support essential health and education services, expand economic opportunity, and improve efficiency and accountability of government. USAID has, to date, awarded 12 multimillion-dollar contracts and five grants for reconstruction work in Iraq.

Most of the reconstruction funds, particularly U.S. Congress–allocated funds, have been directed toward the rebuilding of Iraq’s security and infrastructure. The civil society sector has received little attention in comparison. The September 2003 CPA draft request to rehabilitate and reconstruct Iraq earmarked $5.136 billion for security, $14.868 billion for infrastructure (broadly defined), and $300 million for democracy, civil society, human rights, and refugees. Of the total $20.304 billion requested, CPA eventually received $18.6 billion through the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and for the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004. (CPA funds described here do not include money earmarked for military operations, which amounts to nearly $60 billion, also appropriated through the 2004 Emergency Supplemental.)

Currently, according to CPA officials, approximately $730 million have been earmarked for democracy-related programming. The funds will be disbursed in seven distinct areas: anticorruption and government transparency; political party development; election administration; strengthening Iraqi governmental institutions; civil society building through grants, training, and capacity building; women’s programs; and media infrastructure development. The CPA Office of Human Rights and Transitional Justice has additional separate funding for human rights and transitional justice-related programming.

Future projects envisaged by the CPA are targeted at physical reconstruction and, to some extent, rule of law. On March 10–26, the PMO awarded 17 contracts, 10 for infrastructure and seven for program management, including one contract to support the PMO, and six others for each of the predetermined sectors of work: (a) electrical, (b) public works and water resources, (c) security/justice, (d) buildings/health, (e) transportation and communications, and (f) oil. Ten major design/build construction contracts also fall under the six program sectors.

[ Back to top ]

Other Major International Donors

Before the Madrid donors conference, Japanese government aid totaled ¥200 million ($1.9 million) in grant assistance to grassroots human security projects. In Madrid, Japan pledged an additional $3.5 billion in nongrant money and $1.5 billion in grant money for reconstruction efforts aimed at assisting (a) grassroots human security projects, (b) cultural grassroots projects, (c) international organizations operating in Iraq, and (d) Japanese NGOs operating in Iraq. Japan, in particular, is assisting the reconstruction of public life relating to power generation, education, water supply, sanitation, health, employment, culture, and sports, as well as improved security.

To date, the Japanese have either earmarked or disbursed $630 million to the multilateral trust fund and for various projects, such as the provision of police vehicles and water tankers, rehabilitation of key facilities like power stations and hospitals, and other grassroots type assistance. On March 26, the government of Japan announced its decision to provide grant assistance totaling $198 million to Iraqi ministries for four projects (health, electricity, water and sanitation, and firefighting) and $15.4 million for the Iraq Reconstruction and Employment Program (IREP2), a United Nations Development Programme employment creation project. IREP2 involves hiring Iraqis for programs aimed at employment generation, such as water and sewage systems restoration, garbage collection, and cleanup activities.

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) had initially committed more than £215 million ($394 million) for the prevention of a postconflict humanitarian crisis and for the rapid restoration of essential services. Much of this support was channeled through UN agencies (£113 million, or $207 million), the Red Cross and Red Crescent movements (£32 million, or $59 million), and NGOs (£6 million, or $11 million). As the situation in Iraq began to stabilize, DFID identified priorities for bilateral assistance. In 2003, DFID committed £45 million ($82.5 million) for programs to restore the essential infrastructure in southern Iraq, media development, macroeconomic advising, and provision of support to the CPA. DFID has also deployed its own staff and consultants to support the work of the CPA and advise Iraqi ministries.

At the October 2003 Madrid conference, the United Kingdom pledged an additional £329 million ($603 million) toward Iraq’s reconstruction, including its 13 percent share of currently planned European Community spending of EUR 300 million ($358 million). This segment of DFID assistance is broadly directed at supporting Iraq’s infrastructure, developing free media, and strengthening the judicial system. DFID funds are channeled through the Political Participation Fund and the Public Administration Reform. These programs direct £5 million ($9.1 million) over two years toward initiatives that aim to increase opportunities for political representation and participation by Iraqis, particularly women, and seek to ensure that the needs of marginalized and vulnerable groups are addressed in future government policymaking and implementation. The Administration Reform initiative will provide emergency institutional development support to Iraq’s system of public administration and will focus on institutions that are essential to the operation of the bureaucracy as a whole. Technical advice and training to strengthen existing institutions and systems will also be provided.

[ Back to top ]

Funding for Civil Society Development

Several institutions have been visibly active in the civil society and community-building arena.

USAID: The Research Triangle Institute (RTI)

RTI has been allotted $155 million for the implementation of USAID’s local governance project (LGP). RTI programs seek to empower local government entities in Iraq’s 18 governorates through capacity-building activities. Goals of the project include fostering democratic dialogue on policy issues and forging partnerships between government institutions and civil society organizations CSOs. (For the purposes of this report, we use CSOs as a much broader term than NGOs. It encompasses for-profit organizations, associations, unions, and any other entity that connects individuals to their communities, political representatives, or government institutions. NGOs, by contrast, usually focus on providing individuals with services that the government is either unwilling or unable to provide.) LGP’s key priorities are as follows:

• increased access to basic public services;


• transparent and participatory public policymaking and local governance processes;


• effective and efficient local services, use of resources, and staff management; and


• effective advocacy and participation of CSOs in local government processes and service delivery.

RTI finances projects identified as vital to communities, playing a crucial role in the establishment and empowerment of local councils. Through its ongoing Democracy Dialogue Activities, RTI aims to improve understanding of the current transition and encourage public participation. Ten percent of all funds go directly to emerging local CSOs. RTI’s LGP Technical Partners include Chemonics International (U.S.), Creative Associates International (U.S.), the Near East Foundation (U.S.), Bearing Point (U.S.), Solace Enterprise (UK), VNG (Netherlands), International City/County Management Association (U.S.), AMIDEAST (U.S.), and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (U.S.).

USAID: Community Action Program (CAP)

The CAP, operating on a $150 million USAID budget, targets community mobilization and cooperation, social and economic infrastructure development, employment and income generation, and environmental protection and management through the activities of five implementing partners: Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA), Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF), International Relief and Development (IRD), Mercy Corps, and Save the Children. The program’s methodology is distinct from that of LGPs as CAP mobilization teams strive to empower groups of well-respected community leaders or community action groups (CAGs). The CAP channels funds through CAGs, subsidizing up to three CAG-identified projects. Unlike many donor programs, each CAP project requires an in-kind community contribution. Iraqi CSOs, however, are not funded directly through this program, although some are created, such as teacher-parent associations. The CAP implementing partners also work through the local councils to identify victims of the conflict and provide non-monetary compensation.

• ACDI/VOCA has completed 141 intercommunal projects in the areas of Mosul, Kirkuk, the area northwest of Baghdad, and the Iran-Iraq border. An additional 144 development projects have also been completed. Examples include a youth center in Huwija and the establishment of a new local water supply in Tikrit.


• Cooperative Housing Foundation, with an emphasis on critical infrastructure, has completed 99 projects, spanning work on roads, sewage and water rehabilitation, school repairs, swamp cleanup, medical facilities, community centers, and sports clubs. Establishing active community associations in al-Hillah, as well as in the Shi’i holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, are other program highlights.


• IRD has completed 305 projects in Baghdad, 105 of which are development focused, establishing more than 74 CAGs. IRD’s work with 50 local community volunteers to rehabilitate Aruba Square Market in Baghdad’s Kadhamiya district is a typical example of an income and employment generation project.


• Mercy Corps has completed 89 projects in Basra and 93 other development projects focused on water, sewage, community cleanup, and school rehabilitation.


• Save the Children has completed 271 projects in the south, which include about 40 percent female participation. Projects have targeted immediate community needs, such as sewage cleanup, water treatment and distribution, health, and girls’ access to education.

USAID/Civil Society

On March 10, 2004, USAID issued a presolicitation notice for an open competition to “acquire the services of a qualified U.S. contractor to implement a program to build the capacity of key sectors of indigenous Iraqi civil society and to promote the development of a professional and independent media in Iraq.” The USAID-funded partner for civil society, to be selected by June, aims to assist in establishing an informed, sustainable, and active civil society that effectively and responsibly participates in Iraqi democracy. This partner will administer a program of training, technical assistance, commodities support, and small grants to national, regional, and local-level CSOs and NGOs. The program will focus on three primary activities: (a) staffing and managing five CPA-established Civil Society Resource Centers; (b) targeting technical assistance and training to CSOs that promote civic education, human rights, women’s participation, and anticorruption; and (c) assisting with the establishment of independent media in Iraq.

CPA/Governance and Partners

CPA/Governance and its partners are providing support to the numerous indigenous CSOs throughout Iraq, with a focus on small grants and in-kind contributions with some training opportunities to CSOs. With funding through USAID, CPA will be supporting the establishment of five Civil Society Resource Centers (Centers), tentatively planned to be located in Mosul, Kirkuk, Nasiriya, Basra, and Baghdad.

The Centers program will serve as a primary instrument and network through which support to CSOs in those governorates will be channeled to strengthen civil society development throughout Iraq. Once the Centers are identified, USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) will fund the costs of rehabilitating and equipping the Centers. USAID has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the selection of a contractor to oversee management and staffing at the Centers. The contractor will work in partnership with other international and domestic CSOs operating in the regions where the Centers are located.

The Centers will provide a range of basic to more advanced capacity-building services to CSOs, from administrative, financial, and program management to practical training on conducting advocacy campaigns, servicing communities, developing membership, grant writing, and donor outreach. The Centers will also offer in-house support services such as libraries, communication centers, computer equipment/Internet access, and educational materials, serving as hubs for regional civil society networks. The Centers will also serve as information clearinghouses, through which CSOs can learn about grants available and partnerships with international CSOs. An informal advisory council of local CSO leaders will be established and trained to eventually take ownership of the Centers.

CPA also manages a Local Governance Fund and the Rapid Response Program Fund (R3P), through which funds are distributed to the governorates to support activities identified as priorities by local governance officials and CPA regional officials. The Local Governance Funds are distributed to the Provincial Council of each governorate and to the next five largest cities in the governorate. CPA has issued guidelines to support the allocation of funds and designated a committee structure for Provincial Councils to use in determining which projects to fund. The R3P funds are allocated to the governorate coordinators at the discretion of the regional coordinators.

USAID: Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI)

OTI has been the largest CSO donor, with a budget of $190 million over two years. OTI programming is designed to provide fast, flexible assistance to respond to needs and opportunities as they arise. OTI supports activities central to the democratic transition, and has, to date, dispensed more than $43 million in the form of 645 small grants. All projects aim to empower the local population, while filling crucial gaps in U.S. government assistance. OTI funds myriad CSOs, including women’s groups, former prisoner associations, student groups, civic organizations, and sports associations. More than half of the groups funded have a human rights or transitional justice mandate. Activities are primarily implemented through OTI’s current partner, Development Alternatives International.

The bulk of OTI’s funds in the initial transition phase have gone into the rehabilitation and equipping of government ministries and community buildings—schools, clinics, and women’s and youth centers—and to “brick and mortar” type activities, which, although critical to the transition, only indirectly strengthen the operations and performance of CSOs. OTI’s priority focus areas are as follows:

• civil society development;


• good governance;


• transitional justice/human rights; and


• conflict management and mitigation.

DOS, Office of International Women’s Issues: Women’s Democracy Initiative (WDI)

On March 8, 2004, the U.S. government announced the launch of its WDI, a $10 million initiative to boost women’s rights in Iraq. WDI will provide training in leadership skills and political and civil society organizing, including workshops on constitutional law, independent media, human rights, and fostering civil society. Together with a separate U.S.–Iraq Women’s Network, which will be modeled on the work of the U.S.–Afghan Women’s Council, WDI will unite prominent American and Iraqi nongovernmental representatives and business leaders.

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED)

Through the Iraq supplemental, NED has received $25 million for Iraq programming. The goal of the NED in Iraq is to facilitate the emergence of political institutions and boost indigenous civil society through the provision of technical and material assistance to programs that support democratic education, party building, and voter and civic education. In addition to making its own grants to NGOs, NED has distributed money to the following three organizations:

• The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has received two NED grants. With $1.3 million for civil society development, NDI is conducting NGO capacity-building activities that include comprehensive training and technical assistance programs. Program activities, expanded geographically to cover the north (Mosul and Kirkuk) and the south (al-Hillah or Nasiriya) consist of materiel distribution, targeted skill-building training workshops and seminars, consultations, and micro-grants. NDI anticipates working intensively with approximately 45 to 50 organizations. Political party development and capacity-building training are the focus of another $5.5 million grant from NED.


• The International Republican Institute (IRI) is primarily focused on supporting the development of emerging political organizations and institutions. Other activities include building political parties; public opinion research, including polling and focus groups on political participation; voter education and candidate training; women and youth participation; and development of governmental institutions.


• The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) is working on capacity-building programs with the Iraqi business community to strengthen its leadership role during the democratic transition.

The United States Institute of Peace

The Institute has received $10 million from Congress that it plans to use for programs to prevent sectarian violence, promote the rule of law, train and educate a new generation of Iraqi leaders, and prepare American civilians for assignment in Iraq. In coordination with CPA’s Office of National Security, the Institute has already organized training for dozens of senior Iraqi diplomats, military, and police officials at the National Defense University focused on negotiation, consensus, and team-building skills. Over a two-year period, the Institute plans to train approximately 750 senior Iraqi officials. The Institute is also organizing training workshops for developing Iraqi leaders at the provincial level, with an emphasis on conflict management skills and coalition building with pragmatic, problem-solving workshops focused on intergroup issues. Additionally, interviews were conducted to capture the lessons learned by key U.S. personnel as they return from Iraq. This project aims to debrief civilian and military personnel who have worked on a range of reconstruction projects. The interviews—recorded on video—have been packaged into a briefing module along with other relevant material for distribution via DVD to personnel newly assigned to Iraq.

Through the Grant Program, the Institute is providing assistance to CSOs and activities aimed at the following:

• promoting intercommunal and interreligious reconciliation, such as the newly formed Iraq Council for Dialogue, Reconciliation, and Peace;


• training officials and civil society leaders in conflict management techniques and strategies;


• designing educational activities and programs to help the transition to democracy and reduce conflict;


• creation of Iraqi institutions committed to religious and ethnic coexistence; and


• support for projects promoting the rule of law.

The Institute is also actively seeking to support Iraqi women through targeted programs that will provide conflict resolution training and support their participation in civil society and the public arena.

Because the religious landscape of Iraq—with a long oppressed but fragmented Shiite majority, a once-privileged Sunni minority, a substantial Kurdish population habituated to a de facto autonomy, and a small Christian community—is the setting for an intense and sometimes violent competition for political dominance, the Institute, in partnership with Coventry Cathedral, has contributed to the establishment of an Iraqi Center for Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace. Key religious leaders in Iraq have already given the center their blessing and indicated a willingness to participate in it. They have already played a role in some tense mediations in connection with kidnappings.

The Institute is also sponsoring seminars for high-ranking Iraqis to help in the design and set-up of an Iraqi Special Tribunal to prosecute the perpetrators of atrocities under the former regime, including Saddam Hussein himself. The seminars bring together a broad range of international experts with Iraqi lawyers and judges, and focus on the legal and practical aspects of establishing a tribunal. Further technical assistance will be provided to Iraqis who will work on the tribunal.

In cooperation with the U.S. Army’s Center for Peacekeeping and Stability Operations, the Institute will seek to identify the military police structures that will need to be created to integrate coalition military efforts with the growing Iraqi security forces. The program will also sponsor a series of discussions on Iraq and its neighbors to anticipate and prevent regional conflict.

Finally, the Institute’s Education Program will launch a curriculum project to support a broad transformation in the teaching of conflict resolution in higher education. It will work to identify and develop curriculum and curriculum materials in relevant disciplines and will prepare, print, and disseminate resource materials in Arabic and Kurdish. The project builds on the belief that educators are essential participants in disseminating information and knowledge of conflict resolution and peace building and that students constitute a necessary network of present and future beneficiaries of civic peace.

Department For International Development-UK: Political Participation Fund

The UK’s DFID will be establishing a Political Participation Fund (PPF) to support the development of legitimate and inclusive political institutions in Iraq. PPF’s purpose will be to facilitate representation and participation of all Iraqi citizens, particularly women, in the political and electoral process. Accordingly, the project will provide additional resources, including project management capacity, voter education and public information activities, policy analysis, advice, and advocacy initiatives. Resources will be directed through a fund to be managed out of Baghdad. Project activities will be identified and approved by a committee to be convened in Baghdad and will include representation from the DFID Office Baghdad (DOB), British Office Baghdad (BOB), and the office of the UK’s Special Representative (SRO), ensuring that full consideration is given to the social and political context for each activity. Iraqi representation will also be considered, with envisaged project partners consisting of registered international and Iraqi organizations. Recipient institutions will be Iraqi groups and individual citizens, faith-based organizations, universities, colleges, trade unions and professional groups, members of the Iraqi Governing Council, government ministries, the Transitional Legislative Assembly (after the election), and the transitional government.

Activities targeting civil society organizations will cover outreach or voter education activities, including programming for independent or regional radio and television broadcasters, as well as activities seeking to improve print media coverage of the political and electoral process and activities supporting dialogue or access to public information.

[ Back to top ]

International NGOs and Others

A wide variety of international NGOs have been active in Iraq. Some of the most prominent include the following:

Women for Women International (WWI), a Washington-based NGO, gives direct financial and emotional support to vulnerable women; fosters awareness and understanding of women’s rights; offers vocational skills training; and provides access to income-generation support and microcredit loans that help women restart their lives in ways that are independent, productive, and secure.

WWI has received $1.4 million from the CPA for the establishment and operation of nine women’s centers in Baghdad for a period of 18 months. OTI has pledged an additional $800,000 for renovating and equipping the centers, each of which will offer a wide range of training opportunities and social services, including the following:

• vocational training in business and financial management, computer and practical skills, leadership, and career counseling;


• educational programs, including literacy, language, and health and nutrition programs;


• rights awareness, elections, campaigning, and general advocacy training;


• microcredit program, income-generation projects, and small business development; and


• social service referral (legal and benefits counseling, referrals to police and shelter systems in cases of abuse, honor crimes, and so on).

Civil Pillar (CP), a Danish NGO, is coaching Iraqis on establishing successful, nonviolent, and democratic civil associations. In late 2003, CP began to engage moderate Islamists in southern Iraq. Although CP has little funding for Iraqi CSOs, it offers training courses focused on the following:

• the structure and organization of an NGO;


• ways to become self-sufficient (e.g., fund-raising methods);


• interaction with government, political parties, and the media;


• methods of nonviolent action;


• fundamental human rights, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and


• methods and tools of effective advocacy.

NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq (NCCI)

NCCI, based in Baghdad, was established to provide a forum for information sharing and activity coordination to enhance assistance efforts. The platform was initially formed by 18 Iraq-based NGOs and a number of international organizations, including Agence Première, Care, Oxfam, and Life for Relief and Development. All NCCI members agreed on a set of principles, including a commitment to operate neutrally and independently, to avoid duplication of effort, and to employ as many Iraqis as possible. The committee set up sectoral working groups in a number of areas, including health, education, water and sanitation, food and non-food items, engineering and rehabilitation, logistics, and transport. A recently created working group seeks to enhance local capacity building, evaluation, and funding of local NGOs.

[ Back to top ]

Conclusions

To engender citizen participation in Iraqi civil and political life and ensure the viability of a vibrant civil society sector that can hold the government accountable, the donor community will need to:

• empower women through education and training and incorporate them into the political process, concurrent with the accelerated creation of women’s organizations and centers in southern and central Iraq;


• provide professional training and capacity building to civil society groups with a focus on organizational development (fund-raising and proposal writing, advocacy and coalition building, program development, and information technology), political party building, and media training;


• reach out to educate communities about their constitutional rights and responsibilities, as well as wider issues relating to democracy and civil society;


• give priority to “training the trainer” programs, to empower local actors;


• engage moderate elements in civil society, not just to invigorate civil debate, but to counteract the increasing radicalization of religious groups; and


• ensure justice for the victims of human rights violations alongside ongoing changes to Iraq’s legal, judicial, and penal systems.

One of the main challenges of peace-building in Iraq, in particular, will be addressing the legacy of past violence. The road to reconciliation in postconflict societies is cemented, not just through the establishment of structures and processes for society built on participation, equity, and inclusion, but also through the rehabilitation of the national psyche and the rebuilding of relationships among communities, without which the structures will remain hollow. It is imperative to avert the temptation of ethnic and religious communities to resort to revenge to reverse past victimization. In designing a road toward a peaceful future, donors should therefore seek to foster, as a means for reconstituting social relationships and rebuilding the human infrastructure, a process of reconciliation that combines key ingredients of a lasting democracy: justice, truth, healing, reparation, and intercommunal harmony. Part of this effort should be directed at helping to cope with the past in ways that lead to a peaceful, cooperative future by promoting an understanding of the relationship between trauma, truth, and reconciliation. This includes investigating ways of repairing intercommunal relations and avoiding further segmentation of civil society along communal lines, with a strong emphasis on engaging communities in dialogue, and supporting projects that address the link among trauma, victimization, and legal remedies. The tragedy of Iraq today is the “loss of the ties that bind, not their nonexistence,” as the Iraqi academic Sami Zubaida has observed, and this is what makes the divisions so threatening. Confidence-building initiatives will help engage communities and restore citizens’ relationship of trust, accelerating social reconciliation. Iraqis need to explore ways to hold accountable perpetrators of human rights violations to bring a sense of justice to victims, perhaps by documenting the experiences of torture victims and acts of violence taking place under the Ba’ath regime. Finally, while the inclusion of human rights protections (especially for women and minorities) in the new constitution has been crucial, the realization of rights will take more than legal and institutional reforms. Public discourse and education around human rights are essential to generate a culture of human rights and provide the best protection against future abuses.

Despite the tremendous efforts of international organizations engaged in civil society development, more remains to be done. During the Ba’ath period, citizen participation in decision making was curtailed and Iraqi civilians had little opportunity to shape their lives and destinies. Today, it is crucial that a post-war Iraq be built on solid foundations of social, economic, and political justice and democracy. A viable democracy can only be sustained through the active involvement and support of citizens who are engaged in their communities and able to determine their future.

[ Back to top ]

About the Report

The $87 billion Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and for the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004, signed by President Bush on November 6, 2003 (Public Law 108-106) made available to the United States Institute of Peace $10 million for “activities supporting peace enforcement, peacekeeping and post-conflict peacebuilding” in Iraq. Aiming at identifying areas in which the Institute might provide added value, the Institute undertook a preliminary mapping of donor activities, focused primarily on the civil society and governmental sectors.

This report, originally produced for internal use, provides a snapshot of donor activities in Iraq as of early May 2004. It is unclear to what extent the security environment has affected the planned reconstruction activities discussed here. The Institute’s own activities are proceeding, albeit with some delays and added costs.

The report was written by Sloan Mann, program officer in the Peace and Stability Operations Program; Ylber Bajraktari, operations coordinator in the Peace and Stability Operations Program; and Patricia Karam, program officer in the Grant Program. Peace and Stability Operations director Dan Serwer and Grants Program director Judy Barsalou also contributed to the report.

The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect views of the United States Institute of Peace, which does not advocate specific policy positions.

[ Back to top ]

Institute Library Resources

Iraq Web Links

http://www.usip.org/library/regions/iraq.html

International Organizations Web Links

http://www.usip.org/library/io.html

[ Back to top ]

See our complete list of reports.