WUNRN
SWEDEN HOSTS IRAQ CONFERENCE
May 29, 2008
Around
100 delegations took part in the one-day conference in
Stockholm, Sweden, co-chaired by Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's Prime Minister,
and Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General.
Reviewing
the International Compact with Iraq (ICI), a five-year plan adopted
last year in Egypt to bring peace, prosperity and political reconciliation to
the war-torn country, was to top the programme's agenda.
______________________________________________________________
Direct Link:
Via PeaceWomen
Kvinna Till Kvinna - Sweden
Seminar in Connection With the
International Compact With Iraq, Stockholm, Sweden
IRAQI WOMEN DEMAND PARTICIPATION IN
IRAQ'S FUTURE
Demands
for the Iraq Conference
May 28, 2008
| A breakthrough for the role of women in the Iraq rebuilding process?
Following demands from the Iraqi Women’s Movement, both the UN and the Swedish
government are pushing for women’s participation to be taken up at the Iraq
conference.
“Women must take part in the talks on Iraq’s future. We make up more than half
the population and the Women’s Movement has made an enormous effort to find a
peaceful solution to the conflicts in the country. Meanwhile the situation of
women is worsening all the time. Everybody’s rights must be observed if we are
to achieve sustainable peace.”
Hanaa Edwar Busha from the Iraqi Women Network is in Stockholm to give her view
of the issues that are central in the sustainable rebuilding of Iraq. Tomorrow
Sweden will be hosting the International Compact with Iraq (ICI) conference on
the political and economic reshaping of the country. But neither Hanaa Edwar
Busha nor any other representatives from Iraqi women’s organisations and civil
society have been invited. Close on 600 delegates are attending, chiefly top
politicians such as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Iraki Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation has invited three delegates from the Iraqi
Women’s Movement to Sweden to give them some limelight prior to the conference.
Hanaa Edwar Busha, Basma Al-Khateeb and Bakhshan Zangana today took part in a
well-attended and media-monitored seminar in Stockholm. Also at the meeting
were the UN Special Envoy in Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, Swedish Minister for
Development Cooperation, Gunilla Carlsson, and UNIFEM’s gender advisor for
Iraq, Dina Zorba.
Rights are restricted
Iraqi women’s rights activists bear witness to a society in which women’s
rights are becoming more and more restricted. Girls are denied education and
cannot decide over their own futures, violence against women is widespread and
the majority of the two million or so internally displaced refugees are women
and children.
“The new constitution from 2005 paves the way for sectarianism and undermines
family law. Attempts are being made to abolish the 18 age level for marriage.
Already today girls are being married off at a very young age,” says Hanaa
Edwar Busha.
She points especially to Section 41 of the constitution, which gives religious
groups more space at the cost of everybody’s equal rights in the eyes of the
law. Section 41 could lead to Iraq becoming divided into various religious and
ethnic factions with the right to make their own laws.
“This not only impacts women extra hard but the whole of Iraq as a unified
state. We therefore urge the Iraq conference to take up this part of Section 41
and strive to get it removed,” continues Hanaa Edwar Busha.
The Iraqi women say that security for women in Iraq must be given a higher
priority, efforts are required to improve women’s participation in the peace
process. They refer to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women’s
participation in conflict prevention and peace-pursuing initiatives:
“Iraq has many well-educated women. However, they are not that knowledgeable with
regard to international treaties, and lack awareness of their rights,” explains
Basma Al-Khateeb.
She emphasises the importance of women’s organisations and other civil society
actors being given a role in rebuilding along with support:
“See us as a partner. Ensure that organisations are free to act. Without the
help of civil society it will be difficult to build a new Iraq.”
Ten demands
Prior to tomorrow’s conference, the Iraqi Women Network presents a list of ten
demands. The first challenge relates to responsibility and transparency; that
the outcome of the meeting truly reaches out to the people of Iraq.
“We urge the international community to put pressure on the Iraqi government to
comply with international human rights treaties,” explains Hanaa Edwar Busha.
The demands are also about the importance of acknowledging the efforts of Iraqi
women’s organisations, particularly the Kurdish women’s organisations. Pakhshan
Zangana, who leads the Women’s Commission in the Kurdish Parliament in Iraq,
speaks of the progress surrounding women’s rights:
“We are now reaping the effects of Resolution 1325 and are currently working on
legislation to outlaw violence against women, and have pushed through a 25 per
cent quota for all elected assemblies. In addition, several shelters have
opened for vulnerable women and children.”
The list of demands for the conference includes increased financial support to
the country’s women’s organisations. Dina Zorba from UNIFEM reveals that only a
half per cent of all support to Iraq goes directly to women:
“Women are compromised to the benefit of other interests. Neither are they seen
as actors, but rather recipients of aid.”
Security and participation in focus
UN Special Envoy in Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, says today’s meeting with women’s
rights activists is crucial prior to the Iraq conference. He takes up the
security situation as a vital area of debate:
“The security situation impacts all Iraqis, but women in particular,” he says
and emphasises the importance of women having a voice in Iraqi society:
“I am here, which is proof that the UN regards the situation and participation
of women as central in the rebuilding of Iraq.” This is a message to the rest
of the international community that the issue must be raised.
Sweden is hosting tomorrow’s conference but the UN and Iraqi government are
forming the agenda. Swedish Minister for Development Cooperation Gunilla
Carlsson claims this as being the reason that the Swedish government has not
had a say in the invites or the central issues. She does however agree with
Staffan de Mistura on the importance of Resolution 1325 being given room:
“We have a host of bilateral debates in connection with the conference where we
can push for more attention being paid to the situation of women. I cannot see
a better opportunity of implementing Resolution 1325 than in Iraq right now.
The Resolution is a key factor in the rebuilding process. Building a
sustainable society requires the participation of all members of society.”
These are words that obligate the Swedish government as much as the UN. The
outcome of tomorrow’s conference will show how willing the world is to
acknowledge the equal value and rights of all people in Iraq.
Anna Lithander
Iraqi Women Network calls on the ICI Conference:
1-In order for ICI to be effective, the implementation and review of the
Compact should be based on the principle of transparency and accountability
towards the Iraqi people and international community,
2-Ensure that the Iraqi constitution consider the International conventions of
human rights as one of the national legislation references.
3-Enhancing the principle of citizenship and equality before law for all
citizens without discrimination, by ridding the constitution from all articles
and items of sectarian nature in the constitution’s preamble and texts,
including article (41), to avoid the dedication of sectarianism, nurturing
terrorism and sectarian violence, planting hatred and disparity amongst the
components of Iraqi society, now and in the long run.
4-Creating a healthy atmosphere to empower women to achieve gender equality,
providing them with equal opportunities in all fields, widening their
participation in the decision making places at different levels, with a quota
not less than 25%, for the new cabinet, and elected councils,
5-The ICI and international community to make a priority to provide financial
assistance for Iraqi civil society organizations and women groups in accordance
with UNSCR 1325, to fund their advocacy and lobbying activities and campaigns
on violence against women
6-Acknowledge the experiences of Iraqi women groups, especially the Kurdistan
women organizations in peace building, national reconciliation, reconstruction,
and national development in accordance with UNSC Resolution 1325,
7-In order to assure the active partnership of civil society organizations, in
implementing and monitoring ICI objectives, it is necessary for Iraqi
government to adopt the draft legislation on NGOs, assuring NGOs’ independence,
freedoms, and free access to information,
8-Demanding to establish legal protection system, shelters, necessary health
and social care for vulnerable women groups, especially widows and victims of
violence, and lobbying for drafting a law on violence against women, alongside
with enhancing rule of law, equality, and justice in Iraq,
9-To assign a gender advisor in the diplomatic missions in Iraq, in order to
follow up the ICI objectives and commitments on gender mainstreaming and
respect of human rights in Iraq.
10-For the next revision of the ICI implementation, NGOs and women groups
should take part in the monitoring and evaluation process.
Stockholm,
May 27th, 2008
iraqiwomennet@yahoo.com
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