The Iraq Foundation carried out a three months project to promote national reconciliation in Iraq. The goal of the project was to help the Iraqi government implement its national reconciliation initiative and strengthen the development of citizenship awareness in the country through engaging civil society actors in working towards peace and building trust among the communities.
Promoting National Reconciliation in Iraq Project

The Iraq Foundation (IF) received a grant from the International Republican Institute (IRI) to implement the Promoting National Reconciliation in Iraq Project. IF launched the project to respond to the increased sectarian tension and violence in Iraq and support governmental and non-governmental efforts at national reconciliation in the country.

The goal of the project was to help the Iraqi government implement its national reconciliation initiative and strengthen the development of citizenship awareness in the country through engaging civil society actors in working towards peace and building trust among the communities. IF proposed achieving our goal through developing a common platform for advocacy based on the Constitution, universal citizenship concepts, and the National Reconciliation Plan through sponsoring a five-day conference for IRI’s existing coalition of partners in Iraq. The NGOs came from different parts of Iraq, representing diverse sectarian groups.

The Iraq Foundation (IF) successfully completed all project activities under this grant during April-July, 2007. The months of April, May, and June were dedicated to planning and preparing for the conference that was held on July1-5. As part of the preparation process, the IF Basra office worked with three Iraqi experts to prepare working papers and surveys to jump start the discussions and debates during the conference and help the participants come up with a set of recommendations. IF also worked with the experts on preparing the working agenda and finalizing the material that was distributed among the participants during the conference. IF was responsible for all logistical preparation related to the conference that was held in Arbil, Northern Iraq .

The IF and IRI’s partners, with the assistance of the experts and facilitators, jointly agreed on a number of recommendations on constitutional amendments that could help achieve national reconciliation, ways to strengthen citizenship, and Prime Minster’s Nouri al Maliki’s National Reconciliation Plan.

Last Update: Thursday, June 12, 2008