News
ROLI Releases Update to The Status of Women in Iraq Assessment
A new update to the Rule of Law Initiative’s Iraq Legal Development Project’s assessment The Status of Women in Iraq reports that significant progress has been made since 2003 on certain women’s rights issues, but security conditions and lack of political will have prevented many of those gains from being realized. Read more »»
Initiative Sponsors Regional Networking for Iraqi Lawyers and Judges
The Rule of Law Initiative recently held a three-day Rule of Law Conference in Amman, Jordan, with support from the British Foreign Commonwealth Office. The goal of the conference was to create an opportunity for judges and lawyers from Basra to network with their colleagues in other countries. Read more »»
Programs
Assessment of the Status of Women in Iraq
The ABA completed a comprehensive assessment of the status of women in Iraq. The assessment identified specific provisions of Iraqi law that fall short of international standards, as well as practices that perpetuate and promote discrimination towards women. Read more »»
Women and the law
The ABA organized a workshop for a delegation of Iraqi women in Washington, D.C. Participants included the two women members of the Iraqi Governing Council, members of the Baghdad City Advisory Council, as well as attorneys, law professors, doctors, economists, and representatives of human rights and women’s associations from all parts of Iraq. Read more »»
Human Rights and the Constitution
The ABA helped the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights convene a workshop for 35 Iraqi government officials and civil society leaders to discuss human rights protections in the constitution, identify priority issues pertaining to its implementation, and strategize about follow-up legislative initiatives. Read more »»
Human Rights Group:
As part of its support of the Iraq Human Rights Group (HRG), ABA ROLI’s Iraq Legal Development Project (ILDP) assisted with the development of a website for the HRG, www.iraqhrg.org. The ILDP worked with a local web-designer in developing the site. The site provides the HRG with a venue to provide the public with information about the HRG as well as information about Iraq’s human rights obligations under international law. The website also facilitates the HRG’s outreach efforts. ILDP assisted the web-designer with the design and formatting of the website and also prepared the international human rights materials contained on the site. View website »»
Ministry of Human Rights:
ABA ROLI’s Iraq Legal Development Project (ILDP) worked with the Iraq Ministry of Human Rights (MHR) in designing its website, www.iraqmhr.net. The website contains information about the Ministry, a venue for submitting a human rights related complaint, and information and links relating to human rights in the Iraqi and international contexts. The ILDP worked with a local web-designer in developing and formatting the site and also prepared the information on international human rights law and how it relates to Iraq. View website »»
Judicial Integrity Project
The ABA’s Judicial Integrity Project supported judicial development through strategic planning with judicial leaders, upgrading of court administration, and the development of a professional association for judges. Read more »»
Pledge for Iraq
As part of the U.S. Department of State's Ahd al-Iraq (Pledge for Iraq) project, the ABA conducted two major trainings for women judges, trainee judges and prosecutors to develop their skills and increase the professionalism of women judges in Iraq. Read more »»
Publications
- Update to the Status of Women in Iraq: An Assessment of Iraq's De Jure and De Facto Compliance with International Legal Standards December 2006. Also available in Arabic.
- ABA-ILDP English translation of the Iraq Personal Status Law of 1959.
- Judicial Reform Index for Iraq, Kurdistan Supplement, October 2006
- Judicial Reform Index for Iraq, July 2006
- The Status of Women in Iraq: An Assessment of Iraq's De Jure and De Facto Compliance with International Legal Standards July 2005. Also available in Arabic.
For more information about the ABA's Iraq Programs, contact Senior Program Manager Susan Goldman, at sgoldman@staff.abanet.org.
Background
Through its Iraq Legal Development Project, the Rule of Law Initiative initiated technical legal assistance to Iraq in 2003. Working first with the provisional, interim and transitional authorities in Iraq and then with the permanent government, as well as with a variety of civil society groups, the ABA’s assistance has encompassed the areas of constitutional development, judicial independence and integrity, women and the law, and human rights. Although the ABA suspended its office operations in Baghdad in late 2006 due to deteriorating security conditions, it remains committed to continued support for the development of the rule of law and human rights in Iraq.
