Behind the Peaceful Protests: Cultural Transformation in Iraq
ICSSI Intervention in a hearing about Iraq before the Italian Foreign affairs commission Rome – 15 of January 2020 In the streets and public squares For over three months, Iraq has witnessed a powerful and widespread popular movement, one that is challenging the 2003, post-US invasion political regime. What is happening in the public squares […]
Stop New War in Iraq! The Time to Stop Escalation is Now!
The Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI) 8th of January 2020 The overwhelmingly peaceful and nonviolent youth-led protests taking place across Iraq since October 1—in Baghdad, Najaf, Karbala, Wasit, Diwaniyah, Babil, Omara, Samawa, Nasiriyah and Basrah—have over the past week had to react to a series of violent events, caused by forces outside Iraq. After […]
Professor Mushreq Abbas We are facing war. America does not give Iraq or its people any attention. This is a fact. Similarly, it is a fact that Iran intends to turn the country into a battlefield to settle regional and international accounts. This is what the Iranians currently in power desire. The reason that Washington […]
Iraqi Demonstrators Call to Keep Iraq Away from the American-Iranian Conflict
Aktham Saif Aldeen – Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed On Saturday 4 January, the public squares in Baghdad and in the southern governorates witnessed new momentum, reinforcing the enduring strength of the nonviolent demonstrations throughout the country which are now entering their fourth month: hundreds more protestors have now joined in, coming out to these public spaces to […]
Four Scenes From Iraqi Reality
Scene One – Cautious Government Response and Failure to Address Protestors’ Demands The political class has, since the start of the protests, expressed a variety of reactions to the protestors’ demands, ranging from skepticism and deceit, to rejecting any change, to finally making reluctant concessions when the pressure and influence of the protests mounted. This […]
The Status of Human Rights in the Iraqi Demonstrations, 25 October – 1 December Peace and Freedom Organization, Sergio di Mello Team — Report Summary — Introduction The Sergio di Mello Team (SDMT) of the Peace and Freedom Organization is a group of men and women human rights defenders working throughout the entire the Republic […]
Since October 1, 2019, massive demonstrations have taken place across Iraq to protest government corruption, high unemployment, and inadequate government services. These overwhelmingly peaceful protests have been met with brutal repression by state and non-state forces, resulting in more than 400 deaths, more than 15,000 injuries, and countless abductions, disappearances and arbitrary arrests as of the beginning of […]
The Iraqi Government Must Not Arrest Nonviolent Human Rights Defenders in Baghdad
Baghdad, 13 December (first posted) UPDATE: 21 December 2019 Omar and Salman have been released on bail provided by family members. We would like to express an enormous thank you to those who contributed to their release, especially to the Iraqi judiciary, the Human Rights Committee of the Bar Association, the UNAMI Human Rights Office, the […]
Call for the Immediate Release of 2 Activists!
Baghdad Salman Kairallah Al-Mansoori and Omar Kadhem Al-Amri, two Iraqi activists for human and environmental rights, have disappeared in Baghdad since yesterday and are still untraceable. They disappeared at 12 pm when they did not answer the calls of their colleagues, friends and family. The last contact with them was at 11:30, and they confirmed […]
STATEMENT by Human Rights Defenders Human rights defenders and activists were killed, kidnapped and shot at in Iraq on International Human Rights Day and the following day. On the night of 10 December 2019, poet and civil society activist Ali Al-Lami (photo 1), was kidnapped while he was returning to his sister’s house after participating in Al-Tahrir […]
Iraq Is the First Arab Country to Stop Sexual Harassment
SPUTNIK Thousands of girls — alone, in groups, with their classmates and co-workers — walked with pride and strength down a street in Baghdad they never thought they could walk down without encountering verbal or sexual harassment. The popular demonstrations in Iraq have brought about this extraordinary change. After passing through the popular neighborhoods of […]
‘Too Early to be Happy’: Iraq’s Fate Hangs in Balance After PM’s Exit
TRTWORLD Iraqi protesters are concerned whether Prime Minister Mahdi’s replacement will be acceptable to the nation, while experts warn that any bold moves by Iran could lead to further bloodshed or worse. When angry Iraqi protesters took to the streets in early October, they had one clear demand: the complete change of the government rather than so-called […]