Mushreq Abbas – al-monitor Who represents Iraq’s Sunnis? Iraqis have not answered this incredibly sensitive question. The danger of being unable to clearly answer this question is directly related to the war on the Islamic State (IS), as well as the efforts of the Iraqi government, US troops and the international community to support the fighters tasked […]
Kurdistan’s Battered Women: Out of Shelters, Into Danger and Honour Killings!
niqash | Alaa Latif | Sulaymaniyah When a woman leaves a shelter for battered women in Iraqi Kurdistan, her family often has to sign a pledge guaranteeing the woman’s safety. This is because of the prevalence of honour killings in the region. But apparently the pledges, signed before a judge, are not working. So women’s […]
The Iraqi Social Forum: Its Origins, Its Current Work, And Its Ambitions For The Future
Ali Sahib- Coordinator of the ISF A paper prepared for the NSF- held in Oslo- Norway Nov. 2014 Origins Given the difficulties which Iraq has gone through, and continues to endure today — caused by the accumulated burden of dictatorship and occupation, the repeated failures of government due to the dysfunctional ‘quota approach’ that defines […]
Testimony about the Challenges Media Faces in Iraq after the Collapse of Mosul!
Journalist Saadoon Mohsen Damed Madarik Foundation Testimony submitted for ICSSI Conference Oslo – Norway – November 2014 Introduction: Talking about freedom of expression, particularly about the challenges the media is facing in Iraq, after the so-called “Collapse of Mosul” on 10 June 2014, might seem a kind of luxury, as we are facing serious and […]
Yazidis In Iraq: Current Situation, Priorities And International Solidarity Needed!
Husam Salim Ezidi Solidarity and Fraternity League Working paper dedicated for ICSSI Conference Oslo – Norway – November 2014 On 3 and 7 August 2014, respectively, the towns of Sinjar and Ba’shiqa (where the majority of the inhabitants are Yazidi) fell under the control of Daesh. As a result, tens of hundreds of civilian residents […]
Rethinking Sadr: From Firebrand to Iraqi Statesman?
By: RENAD MANSOUR, MICHAEL DAVID CLARK Source: carnegieendowment Muqtada al-Sadr, once labeled “the most dangerous man in Iraq,” now offers a potential solution to Iraq’s troubles. The scion of an influential religious family who rose by inheriting his father’s movement and building a militia after the United States toppled former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in 2003, […]
The Freedom of Expression Draft Law Restrict Freedoms and Recreates a Dictatorship!
Activists and Journalists Participate in a Seminar Organized by the Press Freedom Advocacy Association: Baghdad – November 15, 2014 On Saturday Nov. 15, the Press Freedom Advocacy Association conducted a discussion seminar on the freedom of expression, assembly and demonstration draft law. A number of activists, journalists and legal experts were present. The seminar, which […]
Iraq’s Media Cold War: Why Arabs Don’t Understand Kurds, and Vice Versa!
niqash | Mokrayan Kawa | Erbil Although it has quite possibly never been more important, the potential for conflict and misunderstanding between Iraq’s Arab population and its Kurdish one remains high. Part of the reason for this is the lack of Arabic-language media in Iraqi Kurdistan and the lack of desire on the part of […]
Reality of Women Journalists in Iraq!
Nibras Almamori / Director of Iraqi Women Journalists Forum Working paper dedicated for ICSSI Conference Norway – Oslo – October 2014 Despite the relative progress which was made by woman working in the media sector after the fall of the former regime — as evidenced, for instance, in radio and television and newspaper editing — […]
Can Iraq’s Oil Workers Win Freedom of Association from the New Iraqi Government?
Talib Hashim Jabur Executive Office of the Federation of Oil Unions Basra – Southern of Iraq Paper prepared for ICSSI conference – Oslo – Norway October/November 2014 Iraqi trade unions face difficult challenges today due to the fact that they are not now recognized by the Iraqi government, and laws which ensure the rights […]
Amid Terror Attacks, Iraq Faces Water Crisis
National Geographic – USA Islamic State’s assault on dams and water systems threatens Iraq’s supply, which was already squeezed by dams in Turkey and Iran. TELSKUF, Iraq—Viewed from afar, the two-mile-long Mosul Dam is an impressive sight on the flat, sunbaked northern plains. Move closer, though, and its appearance has a menacing air. The bullet-riddled […]
Water: A Defining Issue for Post-2015 Iraq
By Toon Bijnens, ICSSI and Save the Tigris Campaign Following the ICSSI Conference in Oslo (27-29 October 2014) Recently, the following article by South-Asian based journalist Amantha Perera was published. It exposes how water will be a defining issue for the world for decades to come. The issue is especially relevant for Iraq today. […]