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</div> </form> </div> </div> <hr/> <div id="content" class="span-13 append-1"> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-13884"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/11/08/iraq-icrc-delivering-more-aid-where-it-is-needed-most/#respond" title="Comment on Iraq: ICRC delivering more aid where it is needed most">No Comments</a></span> Posted on November 8th, 2011 by Fatima Jameel</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/11/08/iraq-icrc-delivering-more-aid-where-it-is-needed-most/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Iraq: ICRC delivering more aid where it is needed most">Iraq: ICRC delivering more aid where it is needed most</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/analysis-briefings-commentary/" title="View all posts in Analysis Briefings Commentary" rel="category tag">Analysis Briefings Commentary</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/armed-conflict/" rel="tag">armed conflict</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/basra/" rel="tag">Basra</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/border-area/" rel="tag">border area</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/central-iraq/" rel="tag">central iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/civilian-casualties/" rel="tag">Civilian casualties</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/displacement/" rel="tag">displacement</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/essential-services/" rel="tag">essential services</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/health/" rel="tag">Health</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/humanitarian-activities/" rel="tag">humanitarian activities</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/icrc/" rel="tag">ICRC</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/international-committee-of-the-red-cross/" rel="tag">international committee of the red cross</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/iran/" rel="tag">Iran</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/khanaqin/" rel="tag">Khanaqin</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/kirkuk/" rel="tag">Kirkuk</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/mag/" rel="tag">MAG</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/missing-persons/" rel="tag">missing persons</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/najaf/" rel="tag">Najaf</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ramadi/" rel="tag">Ramadi</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/red-crescent/" rel="tag">Red Crescent</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/red-crescentred-cross/" rel="tag">Red Crescent/Red Cross</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/red-crescentred-cross-monitoring-of-human-rights/" rel="tag">Red Crescent/Red Cross monitoring of human rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/resources/" rel="tag">Resources</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/rural-areas/" rel="tag">rural areas</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/security-environment/" rel="tag">security environment</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/security-situation/" rel="tag">security situation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/turkey/" rel="tag">Turkey</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/who/" rel="tag">WHO</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <div style="text-align: left; unicode-bidi: bidi-override; direction: ltr"> <blockquote> <p>While the security situation in Iraq has slowly but steadily improved, there are many humanitarian needs that still have to be met. The ICRC has been improving its ability to do so. Magne Barth, the outgoing head of the ICRC delegation in Iraq, explains.</p> <p><strong>What is the situation in Iraq today and what are the ICRC’s priorities?</strong></p> <p>Iraq still faces a lot of challenges. The level of violence linked to the conflict is slowly decreasing, but its cost remains high in terms of civilian casualties. Central Iraq and Baghdad, especially, remain volatile, unpredictable and often dangerous due to acts of violence that still claim the lives of tens of persons every month. Meanwhile, the political process is still facing a lot of obstacles.</p> <p>The ICRC is expanding its humanitarian activities cautiously but deliberately. Our priority at the ICRC is to remain focussed on the areas and people most affected by the conflict and other violence. This means that we have to further expand our humanitarian work in the disputed territories and in the belt around Baghdad, giving priority to women heading households, physically disabled people, primary health in rural areas, displaced people and others who are not getting the services they are entitled to. The issue of missing persons continues to be one of our priorities.</p> <p>Furthermore, in line with our mandate, our work in behalf of detainees will continue to focus on conditions of detention and issues of treatment. The ICRC has generally good access, and this is an area in which we can talk to the authorities on how to improve compliance with international standards where necessary.</p> <p>As the country develops its great economic potential, the ICRC has scaled back and focused its assistance services. Nevertheless, we will continue to reach out to vulnerable groups and areas, and to provide the authorities with technical advice on how essential services can be improved. Increasingly, the ICRC is running medium- and long-term projects to help people make a living. The groups concerned include, for instance, women who are heading households, people with physical disabilities and displaced persons.</p> <p><strong>How do you see the situation on the Turkish and Iranian borders? What is the ICRC doing for the people affected?</strong></p> </blockquote></div> <p> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/11/08/iraq-icrc-delivering-more-aid-where-it-is-needed-most/#more-13884" class="more-link">» أقرأ التفاصيل .. | Read the rest of this entry »</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-13625"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/07/05/international-committee-of-the-red-cross-iraq-activities-update/#comments" title="Comment on International Committee Of The Red Cross: Iraq Activities Update">1 Comment</a></span> Posted on July 5th, 2011 by Burhan Aydin</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/07/05/international-committee-of-the-red-cross-iraq-activities-update/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to International Committee Of The Red Cross: Iraq Activities Update">International Committee Of The Red Cross: Iraq Activities Update</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/iraq/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/1990-1991-gulf-war/" rel="tag">1990-1991 Gulf War</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/abu-ghraib/" rel="tag">Abu Ghraib</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/al-rashad/" rel="tag">al Rashad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/al-khadra/" rel="tag">al-Khadra</a>, <a 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href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/shirqat/" rel="tag">Shirqat</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/statistics/" rel="tag">statistics</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/students/" rel="tag">Students</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/turkey/" rel="tag">Turkey</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/violence/" rel="tag">violence</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/wasit/" rel="tag">Wasit</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water/" rel="tag">Water</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-purification/" rel="tag">water purification</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-supply/" rel="tag">water supply</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-treatment/" rel="tag">water treatment</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/zaidan/" rel="tag">Zaidan</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/zubair/" rel="tag">Zubair</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <div style="text-align: left; unicode-bidi: bidi-override; direction: ltr"> <p>Three decades of conflict have left hundreds of thousands of families struggling to find out what happened to their missing loved ones. Abandoning the search is not an option. Since 1980, the ICRC has spared no effort to put an end to their anguish. Operational update, March-May 2011. </p> <p>"Iraq is currently one of the countries with the highest number of missing persons and, as a result, with the highest number of families seeking information on their missing relatives," said ‘Dika Dulic’, the ICRC delegate in charge of issues relating to missing persons in Iraq. A lack of clear statistics, however, makes it difficult to accurately establish the true size of the problem.</p> <div style="border-bottom: black 1px solid; border-left: black 1px solid; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 5px 15px; padding-left: 5px; width: 48%; padding-right: 5px; float: right; border-top: black 1px solid; border-right: black 1px solid; padding-top: 5px"> <h3>How do I report my relative as a missing person?</h3> <p>The Ministry of Human Rights is responsible for collecting information about any person reported missing in connection with armed conflict or internal violence. The ministry has offices in each Iraqi governorate. In northern Iraq, the Ministry of Anfal is in charge of this issue.</p> <p>The Department for missing persons, prisoners of war and human remains has two hotline numbers: <br/>+964 781 375 7020 <br/>+964 781 375 7021 <br/>and can also be contacted by <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/mailto:d.mom-mhr@humanrights.gov.iq">e-mail</a></p> <p>Information provided by Basra’s Al-Zubair Centre on soldiers exhumed or otherwise known to be dead can be found on the Ministry of Human Rights website: <br/><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.humanrights.gov.iq /">www.humanrights.gov.iq</a>  You can also contact Al Zubair Centre directly.</p> <p>If you believe that one of your relatives has been killed, you can contact Baghdad’s Medico-Legal Institute by telephone: <br/>+964 78 137 57 655 or by <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/mailto:mli_bag41@yahoo.com">e-mail</a></p> <p>In an effort to alleviate the agony of those still waiting for news, the ICRC, in its role as a neutral intermediary, facilitates dialogue between the parties involved in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War and in the 1990-1991 Gulf War, who have an obligation under international humanitarian law to account for those who went missing.Baghdad resident Hayat has led a sad life since her husband disappeared on 8 April 2003. "I lost hope," she said. "In the past nine years I have searched every prison. I ended up convincing myself that my husband Abdallah must have died."</p> <p>In an effort to alleviate the agony of those still waiting for news, the ICRC, in its role as a neutral intermediary, facilitates dialogue between the parties involved in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War and in the 1990-1991 Gulf War, who have an obligation under international humanitarian law to account for those who went missing.</p> </p></div> <p>Baghdad resident Hayat has led a sad life since her husband disappeared on 8 April 2003. "I lost hope," she said. "In the past nine years I have searched every prison. I ended up convincing myself that my husband Abdallah must have died."</p> <p>In April, the remains of 17 Iranian soldiers killed in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War were handed over from the Iraqi to the Iranian authorities under ICRC auspices at the Shalamja border crossing, near Basra.</p> <p>As a neutral intermediary, the ICRC facilitates the dialogue between the parties who were involved in the Iran-Iraq war and the Gulf war and who carry the responsibility to clarify the fate of persons still unaccounted for. This includes: <br/>supporting authorities in the collection of information <br/>facilitating transmission of information between the parties chairing meetings <br/>facilitating joint missions in the field and the handover of human remains</p> <p>The ICRC continues to provide training and other support for the Ministry of Human Rights, Basra’s Al-Zubair Centre of Iraq and Baghdad’s Medical-Legal Institute.</p> <h4>Bringing aid to people facing hardship</h4> <p>Many people in Iraq are still struggling to earn a living and support their families. Between March and May, the ICRC:</p> <p>Distributed over 8 million Iraqi Dinars through cash-for-work scheme, to 450 vulnerable displaced people and residents of Deralok in Dohuk governorate; <br/>Awarded 108 grants to disabled people and women-headed households in Ninawa, Kirkuk, Basra, Missan, Erbil, Baghdad and Sulaimaniya, enabling them to start small businesses and regain economic self-sufficiency. <br/>Distributed individual food and hygiene parcels, including essential household items, to 2475 internally displaced households, benefiting some 14850 people, in the group settlements of Ninawa, Kirkuk and Wasit;</p> <p>Following heavy rainfalls and consequential flooding in Ninawa, Erbil and Salah Al-Din governorates in April, the ICRC assisted affected/displaced households, distributing: 4984 blankets, 634 towels, 1340 hygiene parcels, 1315 tarpaulins, 317 kitchen sets, <br/>763 food parcels, and 11.1 metric tons of rice. The ICRC assistance also reached families affected by the floods in Rabea and Baaj districts.</p> <h4>Assisting health-care facilities</h4> </p></div> <p> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/07/05/international-committee-of-the-red-cross-iraq-activities-update/#more-13625" class="more-link">» أقرأ التفاصيل .. | Read the rest of this entry »</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-12873"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/03/28/violence-hits-education/#respond" title="Comment on Violence hits education">No Comments</a></span> Posted on March 28th, 2011 by Khaled</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/03/28/violence-hits-education/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Violence hits education">Violence hits education</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/children/" title="View all posts in Children" rel="category tag">Children</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/features/" title="View all posts in Features" rel="category tag">Features</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/women/" title="View all posts in Women and Children" rel="category tag">Women and Children</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/amil/" rel="tag">Amil</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/armed-conflict/" rel="tag">armed conflict</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/budget/" rel="tag">Budget</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/cairo/" rel="tag">Cairo</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/child-labour/" rel="tag">child labour</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/demonstrations/" rel="tag">Demonstrations</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/displacement/" rel="tag">displacement</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/economic-situation/" rel="tag">economic situation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/egypt/" rel="tag">Egypt</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/hts/" rel="tag">HTS</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/human-rights/" rel="tag">Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/illiteracy/" rel="tag">illiteracy</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/illiteracy-levels/" rel="tag">illiteracy levels</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/interior-ministry/" rel="tag">Interior Ministry</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/iraqi-refugee/" rel="tag">iraqi refugee</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/irin/" rel="tag">IRIN</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/jordan/" rel="tag">Jordan</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/kuwait/" rel="tag">kuwait</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/lebanon/" rel="tag">Lebanon</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/middle-east/" rel="tag">Middle East</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/millennium-development-goals/" rel="tag">millennium development goals</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/photos/" rel="tag">Photos</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/port-said/" rel="tag">Port Said</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/refugee-children/" rel="tag">refugee children</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/rural-areas/" rel="tag">rural areas</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/schoolchildren/" rel="tag">schoolchildren</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/security-situation/" rel="tag">security situation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/students/" rel="tag">Students</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sudan/" rel="tag">Sudan</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/syria/" rel="tag">Syria</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/unesco-report/" rel="tag">unesco report</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/violence/" rel="tag">violence</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <p>NAIROBI, 3 March 2011 (IRIN) – Several Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq and Yemen are unlikely to achieve the education-for-all Millennium Development Goals by 2015 because of insecurity and conflict, according to a new report by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). </p> <p> <a title="20110328_yemen_school_caption by Gorillas Guides, on Flickr" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.flickr.com/photos/gorillasguides/5568168739/" class="external" target="_blank"><img style="border-right: silver 1px solid; border-top: silver 1px solid; display: inline; float: left; margin: 3px 10px 5px 0px; border-left: silver 1px solid; border-bottom: silver 1px solid" height="326" alt="20110328_yemen_school_caption" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252im_/http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5063/5568168739_658b6e1305_o.jpg" width="350" align="left"/></a> <p>The education-for-all goals were endorsed by more than 160 countries in 2000. But according to Kevin Watkins, director of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/efareport/reports/2011-conflict" class="external" target="_blank">UNESCO’s 2011 Global Monitoring Report</a>, children and education are not just getting caught in the cross-fire, they are increasingly the targets of violent conflict. </p> <p>"The failure of governments to protect human rights is causing children deep harm – and taking away their only chance of an education," he said. </p> <p>The UNESCO report, entitled The Hidden Crisis: Armed Conflict and Education, says 35 countries were affected by armed conflict between 1999 and 2008, several in the Middle East. “Children and schools are on the front line of these conflicts, with classrooms, teachers and pupils seen as legitimate targets,” it noted. </p> <h3>Egypt </h3> <p>Recent demonstrations and clashes in Egypt led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, but also closed many schools. In mid-February, half-term was extended for two weeks. Schools in only seven of the country’s 29 governorates reopened after the recess, according to sources in Cairo. </p> <p>The Interior Ministry deployed police outside schools to beef up security and encourage a return to school, but thousands of parents still preferred to keep their children at home. </p> <p>“A deteriorating security situation hinders the opening of the schools and this affects the whole educational process,” Fathi al-Sharqawi, a professor of educational psychology at Cairo’s Ain Shams University, told IRIN. “Teachers will have to skip some parts of the curricula after the students go back to their classrooms, which will also affect these students’ learning badly.” </p> <p>Hundreds of parents have complained that their children are attacked by thugs on their way to school, according to human rights groups. The Egyptian Centre for Human Rights, for example, said some parents complain that criminals use weapons to grab money from children. </p> <p>Manal Abdul Aziz, an Egyptian journalist who opted for home-based tuition for her two children, told IRIN in Cairo: “There is total obscurity about the future of this academic year.” The cost of hiring five teachers for her two children (aged 12 and 15) is the equivalent of US$169 a month – a significant sum for most families. </p> <h3>Iraq</h3> <p><strong></strong>Decades of war in Iraq, UN sanctions, poor security and the economic situation have adversely affected education and increased illiteracy levels. According to data produced by the government and UNESCO in September, at least five million of Iraq’s almost 30 million people are illiterate. Of these, 14 percent are school-age children who left school to feed their families, are displaced or have no access to suitable schooling. </p> <p>Ahmed Khalid Jaafar, 14, told IRIN in Baghdad that he left school after his father died in an explosion three years ago, and sought work on the streets to feed his mother and two younger daughters. </p> <p>"I sell gum and my mother works is a seamstress," said Jaafar. "We make 200,000-300,000 dinars (US$160-250) a month. We spend that money on the most important things, mainly food. School is not important now." Jaafar and his family squat in an abandoned government building. </p> <p>The September data show that adult illiteracy in Iraq is now one of the highest in the Arab region. In rural areas, almost 30 percent of the population are unable to read or write. Significant gender disparities exist, with 40 percent of the illiterate being women. </p> <h3>Other countries </h3> <p>Bahrain is on track to achieve the goal of halving illiteracy levels by 2015, but countries like Iraq, Mauritania and Sudan are off track. "The recent experiences of Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait and Yemen show that literacy policy can be effective: all four countries have increased their adult literacy rates by at least 20 percentage points in the past 15-20 years," the UNESCO report said. </p> <p>In Yemen, a reallocation of 10 percent of the military budget to education would put an additional 840,000 children in school. In the north, 220 schools were destroyed, damaged or looted during fighting in 2009 and 2010 between government and rebel forces, according to the report. "In Yemen, many internally displaced children complement family income by begging, smuggling or collecting refuse, and there are concerns that child labour is increasing." </p> <p>In Syria, attendance rates in pre-school programmes varied from less than 4 percent for children in the poorest households, to just above 18 percent for wealthy households. </p> <h3>In harm’s way </h3> <p>According to the report, armed conflict places children directly in harm’s way. Some get killed while others are exploited as soldiers or forced to flee their homes and become refugees. </p> <p>“Children subject to the trauma, insecurity and displacement that come with armed conflict are unlikely to achieve their potential for learning,” it said. All too often, armed groups see the destruction of schools and the targeting of schoolchildren and teachers as a legitimate military strategy. </p> <p>In conflict situations, children fear to go to school, teachers to give classes and parents to send their children to school. According to UNESCO, in such situations, children suffer psychological trauma, as well as loss of parents, siblings and friends. One survey of Iraqi refugee children in Jordan found that 39 percent reported having lost someone close to them, and 43 percent witnessed violence. </p> <p>“Armed conflict remains a major roadblock to human development in many parts of the world, yet its impact on education is widely neglected,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova. “This groundbreaking report documents the scale of this hidden crisis, identifies its root causes and offers solid proposals for change.” </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=92091" class="external" target="_blank">IRIN Middle East | MIDDLE EAST: Violence hits education | Egypt | Iraq | Lebanon | Oman | OPT | Syria | Yemen | Children | Conflict | Education</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-12430"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/02/21/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%82-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%b7%d9%86%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b4%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%a6%d8%ad-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d8%aa%d8%b6%d8%b9%d9%81/#respond" title="Comment on العراق: المواطنون من الشرائح المستضعفة في خطر | Human Rights Watch">No Comments</a></span> Posted on February 21st, 2011 by Um Thalit</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/02/21/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%82-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%b7%d9%86%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b4%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%a6%d8%ad-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d8%aa%d8%b6%d8%b9%d9%81/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to العراق: المواطنون من الشرائح المستضعفة في خطر | Human Rights Watch">العراق: المواطنون من الشرائح المستضعفة في خطر | Human Rights Watch</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/human-rights/" title="View all posts in Human Rights" rel="category tag">Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/iraq/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/amputees/" rel="tag">Amputees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/armed-conflict/" rel="tag">armed conflict</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians/" rel="tag">Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/crime/" rel="tag">Crime</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/detainees/" rel="tag">detainees</a>, <a 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rel="tag">violence</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/violence-against-women/" rel="tag">violence against women</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/vulnerable-citizens/" rel="tag">vulnerable citizens</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/womens-rights/" rel="tag">Women's Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/yazidi/" rel="tag">yazidi</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86/" rel="tag">بالمسيحيين</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <div dir="rtl" align="right"> <blockquote> <p><strong>النساء والصحفيون والمحتجظون والجماعات المهمشة يواجهون المخاطر بعد 8 سنوات من الغزو</strong></p> <p>بيروت، 21 فبراير/شباط 2011) – قالت هيومن رايتس ووتش في تقرير أصدرته اليوم إن حقوق المواطنين الأكثر استضعافاً وعرضة للخطر، لا سيما النساء والمحتجزين، يتم انتهاكها بشكل متكرر مع الإفلات من العقاب. أجرت هيومن رايتس ووتش بحوثها في سبع مدن في شتى أنحاء العراق أثناء عام 2010 وانتهت إلى أنه مع استمرار العنف والجريمة في العراق، فإن انتهاكات حقوق الإنسان تقع بوفرة.</p> <p>تقرير "<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.hrw.org/node/95608" class="external" target="_blank">عند مفترق الطرق: حقوق الإنسان في العراق بعد ثماني سنوات من الغزو بقيادة الولايات المتحدة</a>" الذي جاء في 102 صفحة يدعو الحكومة إلى حماية حقوق الجماعات والفئات المستضعفة وإلى تعديل قانون العقوبات وجميع القوانين الأخرى التي تميز ضد النساء وتخرق الحق في حرية التعبير. ويدعو التقرير أيضاً بغداد إلى فتح تحقيقات نزيهة ومستقلة في جميع مزاعم الإساءات بحق المحتجزين والأقليات والصحفيين.</p> <p>وقال جو ستورك، نائب المدير التنفيذي لقسم الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا في هيومن رايتس ووتش: "بعد ثماني سنوات من الغزو الأمريكي، فالحياة في العراق تتدهور بالنسبة للنساء والأقليات، بينما الصحفيون والمحتجزون يواجهون انتهاكات حقوقية جسيمة. اليوم يقف العراق على مفترق الطرق – إما أن يتبنى مبادئ إجراءات التقاضي السليمة وحقوق الإنسان، وإلا فهو في خطر التحول إلى دولة بوليسية".</p> <p>الغزو في عام 2003 وما تلاه من فوضى أدى لتكبد المدنيين العراقيين خسائر فادحة. تدهور الوضع الأمني أدى لعودة بعض ممارسات العدالة التقليدية والتطرف السياسي المدفوع بتوجهات دينية، مما كان له أثر سلبي على حقوق النساء، داخل البيت وخارجه، كما تبينت هيومن رايتس ووتش.</p> <p>روجت الميليشيات لأفكار كراهية المرأة واستهدفت النساء والفتيات بالاغتيالات والترهيب لإبعادهن عن المشاركة في الحياة العامة. وبشكل متزايد تتعرض النساء والفتيات للوقوع ضحايا في بيوتهن نفسها، بسبب جملة من التعديات المتصورة للمرأة على شرف الأسرة أو المجتمع. وتنتشر ظاهرة الإتجار بالنساء والفتيات داخل وخارج العراق لأغراض الاستغلال الجنسي.</p> <p>وقال جو ستورك: "تحملت النساء والفتيات العراقيات أكبر الأعباء في هذا النزاع وما تلاه من انعدام للأمان". وتابع: "بالنسبة للنساء العراقيات المتمعات ببعض أعلى مستويات تدابير الحماية الحقوقية والمشاركة الاجتماعية في المنطقة قبل عام 1991، كان ما حدث غصة مريرة في الحلق يصعب تحملها".</p> <p>رغم التحسن الذي طرأ على الحالة الأمنية منذ عام 2008 مما أدى لانخفاض معدلات قتل العاملين بالإعلام، إلا أن الصحافة مهنة خطيرة في العراق، على حد قول هيومن رايتس ووتش. قام متطرفون ومعتدون مجهولون بقتل صحفيين وتفجير مقارهم ومكاتبهم. وتزايد تعرض الصحفيين للمضايقات والترهيب والتهديد والاحتجاز والاعتداءات البنية من قبل قوات الأمن التابعة للمؤسسات الحكومية والأحزاب السياسية. كما يسارع المسؤولون الحكوميون بمقاضاة الصحفيين ومطبوعاتهم إذا كتبوا عنهم موضوعات انتقادية.</p> <p>وقال جو ستورك: "مع مشاهدة ما حدث في شوارع مصر وتونس، على الحكومة العراقية أن تتخذ خطوات ملموسة من أجل حماية حرية التعبير".</p> <p>كما انتهت هيومن رايتس ووتش إلى أن المحققين العراقيين لجأوا بشكل ممنهج إلى الإساءة للمحتجزين، بغض النظر عن طائفتهم، وفي العادة يسيئون إليهم لانتزاع الاعترافات. ورغم معرفة وجود خطر التعذيب الواضح، فإن السلطات الأمريكية أحالت آلاف المحتجزين العراقيين إلى الحبس طرف السلطات العراقية، التي استمرت في ممارسة التعذيب القائم منذ عصر صدام حسين وقوات التحالف من بعده.</p> <p>بينما أصدرت الحكومة قوانين لحماية بعض جماعاتها المُهمشة، وفي بعض الحالات بادرت بفتح برامج مساعدات هامة، فإنها ما زالت تخفق في حماية بعض أضعف الفئات من المواطنين العراقيين، على حد قول هيومن رايتس ووتش. الأشخاص النازحون داخلياً والأقليات وأصحاب الإعاقات من بين الأكثر عرضة للخطر. الكثير من المساعدات الحكومية وبرامج الحماية لا تعمل بكامل طاقتها أو غير كافية لبلوغ أكثر من يحتاجون إليها.</p> <p>وقالت هيومن رايتس ووتش إن هناك أكثر من 1.5 مليون عراقي فروا من أحيائهم السكنية مع تمزيق العنف الطائفي لتجمعاتهم السكنية في عامي 2006 و2007. الآلاف من النازحين داخلياً يعيشون حالياً في بنايات مهجورة استوطنوها، دون توفر الضروريات الأساسية لديهم، مثل المياه النظيفة والكهرباء والصرف الصحي، على حد قول هيومن رايتس ووتش.</p> <p>أما الجماعات المسلحة التي تتبنى الأفكار المتطرفة فقامت بتنفيذ هجمات على الأقليات، أدت إلى ضرر بالغ لحق بجماعات من السكان الأصليين في العراق، وأجبرت الآلاف على الفرار إلى خارج البلاد دون نية للعودة. أخفقت الحكومة أيضاً في وقف الهجمات التي استهدفت الصابئة المندائيين والمسيحيين والأزديين، بالإضافة إلى جماعات أخرى.</p> <p>واكتشفت هيومن رايتس ووتش أن الآلاف ممن بُترت أطرافهم والجرحى خلال سنوات النزاع المسلح وجدوا أنفسهم وقد تحولوا إلى هامش المجتمع، غير قادرين على العثور على عمل، أو الحصول على رعاية طبية ملائمة، أو حتى الحصول على أطراف صناعية جديدة ومقاعد متحركة.</p> <p>وقال جو ستورك: "مستقبل العراق كمجتمع ديمقراطي يعتمد على احترام حقوق الإنسان الأساسية، سوف يستند إلى حد كبير على ما إذا كانت السلطات العراقية ستدافع بالشكل الكافي عن هذه الحقوق" وتابع: "حتى تعمل على تحقيق هذا، على السلطات العراقية تشكيل نظام عدالة جنائية موثوق يفي بالمعايير الدولية الخاصة بالتعذيب وحرية التعبير والعنف ضد المرأة وغيرها من الجماعات المستضعفة في المجتمع العراقي".</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/21" class="external" target="_blank">العراق: المواطنون من الشرائح المستضعفة في خطر | Human Rights Watch</a></p> </p></div> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-12428"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/02/21/iraq-vulnerable-citizens-at-risk-human-rights-watch/#respond" title="Comment on Iraq: Vulnerable Citizens at Risk | Human Rights Watch">No Comments</a></span> Posted on February 21st, 2011 by Um Thalit</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/02/21/iraq-vulnerable-citizens-at-risk-human-rights-watch/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Iraq: Vulnerable Citizens at Risk | Human Rights Watch">Iraq: Vulnerable Citizens at Risk | Human Rights Watch</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/human-rights/" title="View all posts in Human Rights" rel="category tag">Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/iraq/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/amputees/" rel="tag">Amputees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/armed-conflict/" rel="tag">armed conflict</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians/" rel="tag">Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/crime/" rel="tag">Crime</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/detainees/" rel="tag">detainees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/egypt/" rel="tag">Egypt</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/extremists/" rel="tag">Extremists</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/freedom-of-speech/" rel="tag">freedom of speech</a>, <a 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rel="tag">journalism</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/justice-system/" rel="tag">justice system</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/middle-east/" rel="tag">Middle East</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/militia/" rel="tag">Militia</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/militias/" rel="tag">Militias</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/minority-communities/" rel="tag">minority communities</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/police-state/" rel="tag">Police State</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/political-extremism/" rel="tag">political extremism</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/political-parties/" rel="tag">political parties</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sectarian-violence/" rel="tag">sectarian violence</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/squatter-settlements/" rel="tag">squatter settlements</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/torture/" rel="tag">Torture</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/tunisia/" rel="tag">Tunisia</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/violence/" rel="tag">violence</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/violence-against-women/" rel="tag">violence against women</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/vulnerable-citizens/" rel="tag">vulnerable citizens</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/womens-rights/" rel="tag">Women's Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/yazidi/" rel="tag">yazidi</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86/" rel="tag">بالمسيحيين</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <blockquote><p>The rights of Iraq’s most vulnerable citizens, especially women and detainees, are routinely violated with impunity, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch conducted research in seven cities across Iraq during 2010 and found that, beyond the country’s continuing violence and crimes, human rights abuses are commonplace.</p> <p> <div style="border-right: black 1px solid; padding-right: 5px; border-top: black 1px solid; padding-left: 5px; float: right; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 5px 15px; border-left: black 1px solid; width: 300px; padding-top: 5px; border-bottom: black 1px solid"> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2011/02/02/crossroads" class="external" target="_blank">Read the Report</a> <br/>ISBN: 1-56432-736-1</p> <p><strong><font size="3">Get the Report</font></strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/iraq0211W.pdf" class="external" target="_blank">Download this report</a> (PDF, 708.78 KB)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.kintera.org/site/apps/ka/ec/product.asp?c=dhLOK6PGLoF&b=3444291&en=jkLOI1PLKjKTL6OQJ9KMKbMULnKZI8ONJbKVKgP0JuLbG&ProductID=903595" class="external" target="_blank">Purchase this report in print</a></li> </ul></div> <p> The 102-page report, "<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.hrw.org/node/95606" class="external" target="_blank">At a Crossroads: Human Rights in Iraq Eight Years After the US-led Invasion</a>," calls on the government to protect the rights of vulnerable groups and to amend its penal code and all other laws that discriminate against women and violate freedom of speech. The report also urges Baghdad to open independent and impartial investigations into all allegations of abuse against detainees, minorities, and journalists.</p> <p>"Eight years after the US invasion, life in Iraq is actually getting worse for women and minorities, while journalists and detainees face significant rights violations," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Today, Iraq is at a crossroads – either it embraces due process and human rights or it risks reverting to a police state."</p> <p>The 2003 invasion and its resulting chaos have exacted an enormous toll on Iraq’s citizens. The deterioration of security has promoted a return to some traditional justice practices and religiously inflected political extremism, which have had a deleterious effect on women’s rights, both inside and outside the home, Human Rights Watch found.</p> <p>Militias promoting misogynist ideologies have targeted women and girls for assassination, and intimidated them to keep them from participating in public life. Increasingly, women and girls are victimized in their own homes for a variety of perceived transgressions against family or community honor. Trafficking in women and girls in and out of the country for sexual exploitation is widespread.</p> <p>"The women and girls of Iraq have borne the biggest brunt of this conflict and resulting insecurity," Stork said. "For Iraqi women, who enjoyed some of the highest levels of rights protection and social participation in the region before 1991, this has been an enormously bitter pill to swallow."</p> <p>Although improvements in security since 2008 have reduced the murder rate of media workers, journalism is a hazardous occupation in Iraq, Human Rights Watch said. Extremists and unidentified assailants kill journalists and bomb their offices. Increasingly, journalists find themselves harassed, intimidated, threatened, detained, and physically assaulted by security forces attached to government institutions or political parties. Senior politicians are quick to sue journalists and their publications for unflattering articles.</p> <p>"Watching what’s happened in the streets of Egypt and Tunisia, the Iraqi government should take meaningful steps to protect freedom of speech," said Stork.</p> <p>Human Rights Watch also found that Iraqi interrogators routinely abuse detainees, regardless of sect, usually to coerce confessions. Despite knowing there was a clear risk of torture, US authorities transferred thousands of Iraqi detainees to Iraqi custodians, who have continued a tradition of torture that was also the case under Saddam Hussein and coalition forces.</p> <p>While the government has passed laws to protect some of its marginalized communities, and in some cases has instituted significant assistance programs, it is still failing some of its most vulnerable citizens, Human Rights Watch said. Internally displaced persons, minorities, and persons with disabilities are among those at risk. Many of the government’s assistance or protection programs are sub-operational or are insufficient to reach those who need it most.</p> <p>More than 1.5 million Iraqis fled their neighborhoods as sectarian violence tore up their communities in 2006 and 2007. Thousands of internally displaced persons now live in squatter settlements without access to basic necessities such as clean water, electricity, and sanitation, Human Rights Watch said.</p> <p>Armed groups proclaiming intolerant ideologies carry out assaults on minority communities, causing grave harm to Iraq’s indigenous populations and forcing thousands to flee abroad with no plans to return. The government has failed to stop attacks targeting Sabian Mandaeans, Christians, and Yazidis, among other groups.</p> <p>And the thousands of amputees wounded during years of armed conflict find themselves relegated to the margins of society, unable to find work, access adequate medical care, or even to obtain new prostheses and wheelchairs, Human Rights Watch found.</p> <p>"Iraq’s future as a democratic society based on respect for fundamental human rights will in large part depend on whether Iraqi authorities will adequately defend those rights," Stork said. "To do so, Iraqi authorities need to establish a credible criminal justice system meeting international standards with respect to torture, free expression, and violence against women and other vulnerable people in Iraq’s society."</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/21/iraq-vulnerable-citizens-risk" class="external" target="_blank">Iraq: Vulnerable Citizens at Risk | Human Rights Watch</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-11187"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/06/29/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%82-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%82%d8%aa%d9%84-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a3%d8%ac%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%a7%d9%87/#respond" title="Comment on العراق: القتل من أجل المياه">No Comments</a></span> Posted on June 29th, 2010 by Nabil</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/06/29/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%82-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%82%d8%aa%d9%84-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a3%d8%ac%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%a7%d9%87/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to العراق: القتل من أجل المياه">العراق: القتل من أجل المياه</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/features/" title="View all posts in Features" rel="category tag">Features</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/iraq/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/abu-ghraib/" rel="tag">Abu Ghraib</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/agricultural-land/" rel="tag">agricultural land</a>, <a 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euphrates</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/tigris-and-euphrates-rivers/" rel="tag">tigris and euphrates rivers</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/traditional-tribes/" rel="tag">traditional tribes</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/turkey/" rel="tag">Turkey</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/underinvestment/" rel="tag">underinvestment</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water/" rel="tag">Water</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-distribution/" rel="tag">water distribution</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-level/" rel="tag">water level</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-levels/" rel="tag">water levels</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-pumps/" rel="tag">water pumps</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-supplies/" rel="tag">water supplies</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/west-baghdad/" rel="tag">west Baghdad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/who/" rel="tag">WHO</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <div dir="rtl" align="right"> <p>في الساعات الأولى من صباح 18 يونيو، اقتحم مسلحون منزل فيصل حسن في غرب بغداد وقتلوه وزوجته وطفليهما الصغيرين. ولكن لم يكن الدافع وراء هذه الجريمة طائفياً أو سياسياً أو حتى اقتصادياً، بل كان مرتبطاً بالمياه. <br/>فقد كان حسن البالغ من العمر أربعين عاماً موظفاً في دائرة الري المحلية في مدينة أبو غريب، الواقعة على بعد 32 كيلومتراً من بغداد والتي اشتهرت في الآونة الأخيرة بالفضائح المرتبطة بالسجن المقام على أرضها. وكان القسم الذي يعمل فيه حسن يشرف على توزيع الحكومة للمياه على الأراضي الزراعية داخل مدينة أبو غريب ومحيطها.</p> <p>وحسب محقق الشرطة، محمد خضير، رفع مقتل حسن عدد العاملين في قسم الري الذين تعرضوا للقتل في هذه المدينة إلى ثلاثة خلال الأشهر الثلاثة الماضية. وعلق خضير على ذلك بقوله: "لم يكن لأي من هؤلاء علاقة بالسياسة أو الأنشطة المعادية للمتشددين ولكنهم كانوا بدل ذلك ضحايا لطبيعة عملهم التي أصبحت محفوفة بالمخاطر". <br/><strong>خطر المواجهات المحلية </strong> <br/>وتتمتع القبائل والعشائر التقليدية في المناطق الريفية في العراق بسلطة كبيرة، إذ عادة ما تحصل من أعضائها على ولاء أقوى مما يقدمونه للحكومة الوطنية. وقد دخلت هذه العشائر في الماضي في اشتباكات حول الأراضي وموارد المياه ولكن مع غياب حكومة قوية منذ عام 2003 وانخفاض إمدادات المياه خلال السنوات الأخيرة، يرى بعض المحللين أن الخلافات المحلية المرتبطة بالمياه في ازدياد وأصبحت تنذر بخطر حدوث نزاعات مسلحة. </p> <p>وعلق جعفر محمد علي، وهو محلل بكربلاء على ذلك بقوله: "لا نملك اليوم حكومة تعمل بشكل كامل لأنها منشغلة كلياً بالحالة الأمنية والخلافات السياسية، ولذلك لا تلعب دوراً قوياً في ردع أي خلاف محتمل واسع النطاق. كما نعاني أيضاً من نقص حاد في المياه على الصعيد الوطني ومن وضع اقتصادي سيء للغاية يجعل من الصعب جداً على المزارعين القيام بأعمال أخرى". <br/>من جهته، أفاد علي اسماعيل الزبيدي، أحد شيوخ القبائل في محافظة الديوانية الواقعة على بعد حوالي 200 كلم إلى الجنوب من بغداد، أن قبيلته أجرت "مفاوضات صعبة" بشأن حصص المياه مع قبيلة أخرى مجاورة. وأضاف قائلاً: "نحن نعاني من مشاكل يومية فيما يخص المياه، فهم يستعملون مضخات مياه كهربائية ضخمة لشفط المياه ولا يتركون لنا سوى قطرات فقط. كما أن المسؤولين في الحكومة عاجزون عن تنظيم الري ووقف أولئك الذين ينتهكون اللوائح الخاصة به إما بسبب الفساد أو لأنهم يخشون على حياتهم. لذا يتعين علينا حل هذه المشكلة بأنفسنا". وأوضح أنه بحاجة لعقد المزيد من الاجتماعات مع شيوخ هذه القبيلة لحل النزاع حول المياه "ولكن هذا لا يعني أنه بإمكاننا الانتظار طويلاً، بل سنتصرف بسرعة لتأمين المياه التي نحتاجها لأرضنا حتى لو توجب علينا حمل السلاح". <br/><strong>أمة تفتقر للمياه</strong> <br/>وكان العراق تاريخياً واحداً من الدول الأكثر خصوبة في المنطقة بفضل نهري دجلة والفرات اللذين يتدفقان باتجاه الجنوب الشرقي عبر البلاد بأسرها. وكان شريطاً أخضراً من الأراضي الخصبة يمتد عبر وسط البلاد تغذيه مياه النهرين. غير أن مستويات المياه في دجلة والفرات انخفضت بشكل مطرد في السنوات الأخيرة بسبب قلة هطول الأمطار وبناء السدود على الأنهار في تركيا وسوريا. </p> <p>بالإضافة إلى ذلك، تعرض القطاع الزراعي في البلاد للشلل بسبب عقود من الحرب وانعدام الأمن وقلة الاستثمارات وقطع الأشجار من دون رادع لاستخدامها كحطب للوقود، مما زاد من ملوحة التربة وتسبب في تعرض بعض المناطق للتصحر. وقد تحولت مساحات كبيرة من الأراضي الزراعية التي كانت خصبة فيما قبل إلى صحراء شبه قاحلة أخذت تسبب عدداً متزايداً من العواصف الرملية في ظل ذبول النباتات المثبتة للتربة. <br/>وقد قامت الحكومة، استجابة لذلك، بتبني تدابير لتنظيم كمية المياه المستخدمة للري في كل محافظة ولكنها واجهت صعوبات في تنفيذها. وقال مهدي القيسي، وكيل وزارة الزراعة، لشبكة الأنباء الإنسانية (إيرين) أن "المزارعين لم يلتزموا بلوائح توزيع المياه. ونحن ننصحهم باتباع هذه اللوائح هذا العام لأننا لا نستطيع ضمان كمية المياه التي ستتوفر لدينا". </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://arabic.irinnews.org/ReportArabic.aspx?SID=2083" class="external" target="_blank">العراق: القتل من أجل المياه-العراق-بيئة-نزاع-المياه والصرف الصحي</a></p> </p></div> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-11176"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/06/28/international-committee-of-the-red-cross-helping-detainees-and-their-families/#respond" title="Comment on International Committee of the Red Cross: Helping detainees and their families">No Comments</a></span> Posted on June 28th, 2010 by Omar Khdhayyir</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/06/28/international-committee-of-the-red-cross-helping-detainees-and-their-families/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to International Committee of the Red Cross: Helping detainees and their families">International Committee of the Red Cross: Helping detainees and their families</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/amil/" rel="tag">Amil</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/armed-conflict/" rel="tag">armed conflict</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baghdad/" rel="tag">Baghdad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/camp-bucca/" rel="tag">Camp Bucca</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/children/" rel="tag">Children</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/detainees/" rel="tag">detainees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/detention-facilities/" rel="tag">detention facilities</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/diyala/" rel="tag">Diyala</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/expatriate-staff/" rel="tag">expatriate staff</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/fort-suse/" rel="tag">Fort Suse</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/health/" rel="tag">Health</a>, <a 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href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/kurdistan-region/" rel="tag">kurdistan region</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/kurdistan-regional-government/" rel="tag">kurdistan regional government</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/mosul/" rel="tag">Mosul</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/prison-visits/" rel="tag">prison visits</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/prisoners/" rel="tag">prisoners</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/prisoners-of-war/" rel="tag">prisoners of war</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/prisoners-families/" rel="tag">Prisoners' families</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/red-crescentred-cross/" rel="tag">Red Crescent/Red Cross</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/red-cross-messages/" rel="tag">Red Cross messages</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/repatriation/" rel="tag">repatriation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/security-environment/" rel="tag">security environment</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/social-affairs-ministry/" rel="tag">social affairs ministry</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water/" rel="tag">Water</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/who/" rel="tag">WHO</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%ac%d9%85%d8%b9%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b5%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a8-%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%87%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%ad%d9%85%d8%b1/" rel="tag">جمعية الصليب والهلال الاحمر</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <p>Laurent Saugy spent two years in Iraq coordinating the ICRC’s work in behalf of detainees and other categories of people protected by international humanitarian law. He replies to questions about the challenges faced by the ICRC in this part of its humanitarian activities.</p> <p><b>Where does the ICRC visit detainees in Iraq?</b> </p> <p>Let me say first of all that visiting detainees is one of the ICRC’s priorities in Iraq. Ensuring that detainees and prisoners of war are treated humanely and are held in acceptable conditions has been a constant concern for the ICRC ever since it started working in the country, in 1980. </p> <p>Currently, more than 30,000 detainees, held all over the country by three distinct authorities – the federal government, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and the United States Forces – Iraq (USF-I, the successor to the Multi-National Force – Iraq, or MNF-I) – are visited regularly by ICRC expatriate staff.</p> <p>We first visited a place of detention run by the current Iraqi government in October 2007, when we went to Fort Suse, near Sulaymaniya. Gradually, we have been able to go to other places. Since 2008, the ICRC has visited 25,000 people held in 35 places of detention under Iraq’s justice, defence and interior ministries, and its labour and social affairs ministry. </p> <p>In the Kurdistan Region, where visits started in 1992, the ICRC visits 3,000 detainees each year in more than 30 places of detention. </p> <p>Our organization also continues to visit around 3,000 people currently in US custody at Camp Cropper, near Baghdad’s airport. </p> <p><b>What are the main challenges you are facing? Do you have access to all places of detention in the country?</b> </p> <p>Although the Iraqi authorities generally welcome visits by the ICRC in places of detention, we have not yet been able to visit detainees everywhere in the country. </p> <p>One reason is the security environment. ICRC delegates cannot travel everywhere. It should not be forgotten that there is still an armed conflict under way, in a country that is struggling to deal with the legacy of decades of conflict. Some areas remain dangerous – in Mosul, Salahidin and Diyala, for example, ICRC delegates have not yet been able to visit detainees. </p> <p>Another reason is that, despite declarations that have been made, the ICRC has not in fact always been able to visit all detainees in all places. Right now, as we speak, the ICRC is still waiting for a response to its requests to visit more places of detention. As in many other contexts where it works, the detainees most in need of protection are often the ones that are most difficult to reach. The situation is just as frustrating, if not more so, for the hundreds of families seeking information about their relatives. </p> <p>An overall agreement formally granting the ICRC access to all places of detention throughout the country has yet to receive final approval. We are confident that this will happen in the near future, since the issue has now reached the level of the Council of Ministers.</p> <p><b>What are the main challenges you are facing? Do you have access to all places of detention in the country?</b> </p> <p>Although the Iraqi authorities generally welcome visits by the ICRC in places of detention, we have not yet been able to visit detainees everywhere in the country. </p> <p>One reason is the security environment. ICRC delegates cannot travel everywhere. It should not be forgotten that there is still an armed conflict under way, in a country that is struggling to deal with the legacy of decades of conflict. Some areas remain dangerous – in Mosul, Salahidin and Diyala, for example, ICRC delegates have not yet been able to visit detainees. </p> <p>Another reason is that, despite declarations that have been made, the ICRC has not in fact always been able to visit all detainees in all places. Right now, as we speak, the ICRC is still waiting for a response to its requests to visit more places of detention. As in many other contexts where it works, the detainees most in need of protection are often the ones that are most difficult to reach. The situation is just as frustrating, if not more so, for the hundreds of families seeking information about their relatives. </p> <p>An overall agreement formally granting the ICRC access to all places of detention throughout the country has yet to receive final approval. We are confident that this will happen in the near future, since the issue has now reached the level of the Council of Ministers. </p> <p><b>What impact has the ICRC’s work had on the lives of detainees in Iraq? What has the ICRC achieved by visiting detainees?</b></p> <p>Detainees often view the ICRC as a "gate to the outside world." We are the ones who can bring reassuring news from their loved ones, and who can carry a message back to the families. This is done in full transparency: the detaining authorities check the messages, which are allowed to contain nothing but family news. More than 400,000 of these "Red Cross messages" have been exchanged between detainees and their families in Iraq since 2003. </p> <p>For detainees, a visit by ICRC staff is also an opportunity to speak privately with someone who will truly listen to what they have to say. The ICRC holds private interviews with detainees to gather information about the treatment they receive and the conditions in which they are being held. On the basis of this information, gathered from as many detainees as possible, and of observations made by its own staff, it shares findings and recommendations with the authorities. </p> <p>The fact that the ICRC does not publicize its findings by no means indicates that it is satisfied with the conditions in any given place of detention, or that it is inactive. The ICRC uses confidentiality as a tool to make absolutely clear the exclusively humanitarian – and completely neutral – nature of its work: doing so is essential to its continued access to detainees. The ICRC believes that the best way to prevent or halt ill-treatment, and to ensure decent conditions of detention, is by maintaining unrestricted access to detainees and urging the detaining authorities to make any necessary improvements. </p> <p>Families and communities also suffer when one of their members is held in detention, which breaks ties, keeps parents apart from their children, and often results in families being left without a breadwinner. </p> <p>The ICRC provided financial support enabling the families of nearly 30,000 people held in Camp Bucca, a prison camp in Iraq run by the US military, to visit their detained relatives until the facility closed in September 2009. </p> <p>Families often turn to the ICRC when seeking information on their detained relatives. To help them, we have been running, for many years now, a telephone helpline system enabling them to request information on the whereabouts of missing and possibly detained relatives. From 2007 to April 2010, the ICRC helpline received 187,000 phone calls. </p> <p>Foreign prisoners, far from their countries and families, are particularly vulnerable not only during the period of their detention but also after their release. The ICRC can often facilitate their repatriation. In the past seven years, the ICRC has helped repatriate more than 300 ex-detainees. </p> <p><b>Has the ICRC’s work resulted in any improvements? What can the ICRC do to help improve detention conditions?</b> </p> <p>Our visits frequently lead to improvements in the way prisons are run, in particular when local authorities understand what we are trying to do. ICRC visits can only be expected to have a significant impact when the detaining authorities, both within the prisons themselves and in the upper echelons of government, understand the spirit of our work, see us as a partner and are willing to consider our recommendations as being in their own interest. </p> <p>Sometimes, it may not seem possible to reconcile security imperatives with humanitarian concerns. But I believe there is no real obstacle to doing so. It is not only detainees but also the detaining authorities who can benefit from the ICRC’s humanitarian services. In Iraq, for example, the ICRC plays a constructive role in the system of interministerial coordination. Although it cannot have a seat on interministerial committees, it advises and shares information on what it observes in prisons. The ICRC voices the concerns of detainees and their families, and shares its own findings, to promote improvements. Protecting the health of the detainee population, for example, requires that various ministries (health, justice, etc.) coordinate their efforts, which may be enhanced by the advice and information the ICRC can provide. The measures taken to promote better health among detainees are important not only for the individuals concerned but also for the entire country’s health system, which cannot stop at the prison gates. </p> <p>Nor can basic guarantees of due process and the rule of law stop at prison gates: people deprived of their freedom must not be deprived of their rights. And the gates must open in a timely manner for those who have served their sentences. </p> <p>Another important thing we do to improve living conditions for detainees is to build and repair water systems and other facilities. On the basis of assessments carried out with the Iraqi authorities in 12 places of detention since the beginning of the year, we will launch new projects in detention facilities located in several governorates. </p> <p><b>What are the main concerns and rationales prompting ICRC visits to Iraqi places of detention?</b> </p> <p>We know from experience that detainees are among the most vulnerable people in conflict situations, simply because attending to their needs is not considered a priority. </p> <p>The treatment they receive and the conditions in which they are held result from a complex range of factors, the most important of which is applicable law. It is essential that laws be adhered to at all stages of detention – by those who have direct control over detainees, but also by the entire system. </p> <p>During its visits, the ICRC also addresses basic issues of due process. For instance, if it appears that detainees do not have systematic access to a defence lawyer, the ICRC will raise the issue in its recommendations. </p> <p><b>How do the authorities react to the ICRC’s recommendations?</b> </p> <p>The reactions vary greatly from person to person and from area to area. The role of the ICRC is not yet understood by all. While some may view the ICRC’s activities as interference, others realize that they benefit from ICRC visits, which can, for example, ease tensions inside a prison. </p> <p>Some ICRC recommendations take time to be implemented. The ICRC is patient, however, and committed to a long-term humanitarian effort in Iraq. We are encouraged that some prison directors do implement ICRC recommendations whenever they can. The rapid turnover of prison officials makes it difficult, however, to build trust and develop a long-lasting working relationship between them and ICRC delegates.</p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/iraq-interview-280610" class="external" target="_blank">Iraq: helping detainees and their families</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-11115"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/06/24/killing-for-water/#respond" title="Comment on Killing for water">No Comments</a></span> Posted on June 24th, 2010 by Khaled</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/06/24/killing-for-water/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Killing for water">Killing for water</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/features/" title="View all posts in Features" rel="category tag">Features</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/abu-ghraib/" rel="tag">Abu Ghraib</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/agricultural-land/" rel="tag">agricultural land</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/agricultural-sector/" rel="tag">agricultural sector</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/agriculture/" rel="tag">Agriculture</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/air/" rel="tag">Air</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/armed-conflict/" rel="tag">armed conflict</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/average-rainfall/" rel="tag">average rainfall</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baghdad/" rel="tag">Baghdad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/bala/" rel="tag">Bala</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/children/" rel="tag">Children</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/construction-of-dams/" rel="tag">construction of dams</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/corruption/" rel="tag">Corruption</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/dams/" rel="tag">Dams</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/desertification/" rel="tag">Desertification</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/diwaniya/" rel="tag">Diwaniya</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/economic-situation/" rel="tag">economic situation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/farmers/" rel="tag">farmers</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/farmland/" rel="tag">farmland</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/feuds/" rel="tag">feuds</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/irin/" rel="tag">IRIN</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/irrigation/" rel="tag">irrigation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/irrigation-department/" rel="tag">irrigation department</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/land-resources/" rel="tag">land resources</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/rainfall/" rel="tag">rainfall</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/resources/" rel="tag">Resources</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/rural-areas/" rel="tag">rural areas</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/salinity/" rel="tag">salinity</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sandstorms/" rel="tag">sandstorms</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sanitation/" rel="tag">sanitation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/security-situation/" rel="tag">security situation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/shortage-of-water/" rel="tag">shortage of water</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/soil-salinity/" rel="tag">soil salinity</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/syria/" rel="tag">Syria</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/tigris-and-euphrates/" rel="tag">tigris and euphrates</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/tigris-and-euphrates-rivers/" rel="tag">tigris and euphrates rivers</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/traditional-tribes/" rel="tag">traditional tribes</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/turkey/" rel="tag">Turkey</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/underinvestment/" rel="tag">underinvestment</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water/" rel="tag">Water</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-distribution/" rel="tag">water distribution</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-level/" rel="tag">water level</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-levels/" rel="tag">water levels</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-pumps/" rel="tag">water pumps</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-supplies/" rel="tag">water supplies</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/west-baghdad/" rel="tag">west Baghdad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/who/" rel="tag">WHO</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <p>BAGHDAD, 23 June 2010 (<a title="IRIN" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=89586" class="external" target="_blank">IRIN</a>) – In the early hours of 18 June, gunmen broke into Faisal Hassan’s west Baghdad home killing him, his wife and their two young children. The motive was not sectarian, political or even economic – but water-related. <br/>Forty-year-old Hasan was an employee of a local irrigation department in Abu Ghraib city – 32km west of Baghdad and famed in recent times for scandals surrounding its prison. <br/>The department he worked for supervised government water distribution to farmland in and around Abu Ghraib. His death brings the number of irrigation department employees killed in this city to three in the past three months, Mohammed Khudhair, a police investigator, said. <br/>“All these employees had nothing to do with politics or anti-militant activities, but instead were victims of the nature of their work, which has become a risky one,” he said. </p> <p><strong>Risk of local feuds </strong></p> <p>In Iraq’s rural areas, traditional tribes and clans hold much sway and often attract stronger loyalty from members than the national government. Clans have clashed in the past over land resources and water, but with the absence of a strong government since 2003 and the decline in water supplies in recent years, analysts say local water feuds are on the rise and risk becoming armed conflicts.</p> <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: right; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 5px 15px; width: 360px; padding-top: 5px"> <div class="container"> <div class="shadow"> <div class="frame"> <p>Government officials can’t control the regulation of irrigation and stop those who violate their regulations either because of corruption or because they fear for their lives. So we have to solve this issue ourselves.</p> </p></div> <p> </div> </p></div> </p></div> <p>“Today, we don’t have a fully functioning government as it is totally preoccupied by the security situation and political wrangling so we don’t have a strong role to deter any possible widespread conflict,” Karbala-based analyst Jaafar Moahmmed Ali said. “Besides, we have an acute shortage of water nationwide and a very bad economic situation that makes it very hard for farmers to do other work.” <br/>Tribal sheikh Ali Ismael al-Zubaidi from Diwaniya Governorate, about 200km south of Baghdad, said he had been having “tough negotiations” over water allocations with another tribe that lives upstream from his. <br/>“We have daily problems with water. They are siphoning water with huge electric water pumps and leave only drops for us,” al-Zubaidi said. “Government officials can’t control the regulation of irrigation and stop those who violate their regulations either because of corruption or because they fear for their lives. So we have to solve this issue ourselves.” <br/>Al-Zubaidi said he needed to hold more meetings with the upstream tribe to resolve the water dispute “but that doesn’t mean that we can wait a long time. We will act swiftly to secure the water we need for our land even if we have to take up weapons.” </p> <p><strong>Water-scarce nation </strong></p> <p>Historically, Iraq has been one of the more fertile nations in the region, thanks largely to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which flow southeasterly through the entire nation. There used to be a thick, green ribbon of fertile land snaking through the middle of the country, fed by the two rivers. <br/>However, in recent years water levels in the Euphrates and Tigris <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=86222" class="external" target="_blank">have steadily fallen</a> due to below-average rainfall and the construction of dams on the rivers in neighbouring Turkey and Syria. <br/>In addition, the country’s agricultural sector has been paralysed by decades of war and insecurity, underinvestment and the unchecked felling of trees for firewood, which has increased <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=85987" class="external" target="_blank">soil salinity</a> and caused desertification in some areas. Large tracts of once fertile agricultural land have been transformed into semi-arid desert and are causing an increasing number of sandstorms as soil-binding plants shrivel up. <br/>In response, the government has adopted measures to regulate the amount of water being used for irrigation in each province but has faced difficulties implementing them. <br/>“The farmers didn’t adhere to the water distribution regulations. We advise them to follow the regulations this year because we cannot guarantee the amount of water we’ll have,” Mahdi al-Qaisi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, told IRIN. </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=89586" class="external" target="_blank">IRIN Middle East | IRAQ: Killing for water | Middle East | Iraq | Environment Conflict Water & Sanitation | News Item</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-9462"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/03/31/destroying-educational-institutions-or-using-them-for-military-purposes-is-a-war-crime/#respond" title="Comment on Destroying Educational Institutions or Using Them for Military Purposes Is a War Crime">No Comments</a></span> Posted on March 31st, 2010 by Nur Hussein Ghazali</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/03/31/destroying-educational-institutions-or-using-them-for-military-purposes-is-a-war-crime/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Destroying Educational Institutions or Using Them for Military Purposes Is a War Crime">Destroying Educational Institutions or Using Them for Military Purposes Is a War Crime</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/war-crimes/" title="View all posts in War Crimes" rel="category tag">War Crimes</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/abu-ghraib/" rel="tag">Abu Ghraib</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/america/" rel="tag">America</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/american-occupation-forces/" rel="tag">American occupation forces</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/american-war-crimes/" rel="tag">American War Crimes</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/amman/" rel="tag">Amman</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/armed-conflict/" rel="tag">armed conflict</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baghdad/" rel="tag">Baghdad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baghdad-university/" rel="tag">Baghdad University</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/bombing/" rel="tag">bombing</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/bombings/" rel="tag">Bombings</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/briefings/" rel="tag">Briefings</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/cia/" rel="tag">CIA</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/crimes-against-humanity/" rel="tag">Crimes against humanity</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/cultural-genocide/" rel="tag">Cultural Genocide</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/death-squads/" rel="tag">Death Squads</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/education/" rel="tag">Education</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/education-institutions/" rel="tag">education institutions</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/educational-system/" rel="tag">educational system</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/fallujah/" rel="tag">Fallujah</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/guides/" rel="tag">Guides</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/human-rights/" rel="tag">Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/international-humanitarian-law/" rel="tag">international humanitarian law</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/islam/" rel="tag">Islam</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/looting/" rel="tag">Looting</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/mosul/" rel="tag">Mosul</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/mosul-university/" rel="tag">Mosul University</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/museums/" rel="tag">Museums</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/mustansiriya-university/" rel="tag">Mustansiriya University</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/northern-iraq/" rel="tag">northern iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/occupation/" rel="tag">occupation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/occupation-of-iraq/" rel="tag">occupation of iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/rehabilitation/" rel="tag">rehabilitation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/resistance/" rel="tag">Resistance</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/resources/" rel="tag">Resources</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sadr-city/" rel="tag">Sadr City</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/students/" rel="tag">Students</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/tikrit/" rel="tag">Tikrit</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/unesco/" rel="tag">UNESCO</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/unesco-report/" rel="tag">unesco report</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d9%85%d8%af%d9%8a%d9%86%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b5%d8%af%d8%b1%e2%80%8e/" rel="tag">مدينة الصدر‎</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/war-crimes/" rel="tag">War Crimes</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d8%b3%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%85%e2%80%8e/" rel="tag">الإسلام‎</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <p> </p> <p>"The Education system in Iraq, prior to 1991, was one of the best in the region; with over 100% Gross Enrollment Rate for primary schooling and high levels of literacy, both of men and women. The Higher Education, especially the scientific and technological institutions, were of an international standard, staffed by high quality personnel." (UNESCO Fact Sheet, March 28, 2003)[1].</p> <p>As a result of the ongoing US Occupation of Iraq, today Iraq is more illiterate than it was five or 25 years ago because the US administration and the US forces occupying Iraq began to root and destroy every aspect of Iraq’s education.</p> <p>The Iraqi educational system was the target of US military action because education is the backbone of any society. Without an efficient education system, no society can function, wrote Ghali Hassan in May 2005.[2] Facts have proven him right. This is also one of the conclusions of the book "Cultural Cleansing in Iraq."[3]</p> <p><strong>Random Facts</strong></p> <p>A recent UNESCO report, "Education Under Attack 2010 – Iraq," dated 10 February 2010, concluded, "Although overall security in Iraq had improved, the situation faced by schools, students, teachers and academics remained dangerous."[4] The destruction of Iraq’s education is ongoing.</p> <p>Let’s present a few random facts that give an idea of the scale of the destruction of Iraq’s education sector under occupation:</p> <blockquote><ul> <li>The director[5] of the United Nations University International Leadership Institute published a report[6] on April 27, 2005, detailing that since the start of the war of 2003 some 84 percent of Iraq’s higher education institutions have been burnt, looted or destroyed[7]. </li> <li>Like most higher education institutions across Iraq, Baghdad University escaped almost unscathed from the bombing. In the subsequent looting and burning, 20 of the capital’s colleges were destroyed. No institution escaped: the faculty of education in Waziriyya was raided daily for two weeks; the veterinary college in Abu Ghraib lost all its equipment; two buildings in the faculty of fine arts stand smoke-blackened against the skyline. In every college, in every classroom, you could write "education" in the dust on the tables.[8] </li> <li>Ongoing violence has destroyed school buildings, and about a quarter of all Iraq’s primary schools need major rehabilitation. Since March 2003, more than 700 primary schools have been bombed, 200 have been burnt and over 3,000 looted. </li> <li>Between March 2003 and October 2008, 31,598 violent attacks against educational institutions were reported in Iraq, according to the Ministry of Education (MoE).[9] </li> <li>Since 2007, bombings at Al Mustansiriya University in Baghdad have killed or maimed more than 335 students and staff members, according to a October 19, 2009, New York Times article, and a 12-foot-high blast wall has been built around the campus.[10] </li> <li>"Education under Attack (2007) reported that 296 people serving as education staff were killed in 2005; and 180 teachers were killed between February and November 2006.[11] </li> </ul> </blockquote> <p>These are just a few examples to highlight the level of cultural genocide in Iraq. The list is endless, the real number of casualties much higher. More information can be found in the book "Cultural Cleansing in Iraq" and in the BRussells Tribunal archives on Iraqi education under occupation, perhaps the most comprehensive database on the Internet about the assassination of Iraqi academics and the destruction of Iraq’s education.[12] Our campaign to protect Iraqi academics[13] is still ongoing, because the tragedy continues. The UNESCO report "Education Under Attack 2010 – Iraq" is very clear: "Attacks on education targets continued throughout 2007 and 2008 at a lower rate – but one that would cause serious concern in any other country." Why didn’t it cause serious concern? Is it because it’s of US design?</p> <p>The petition we issued, also containing a call for action, is still valid today and can still be signed: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.petitiononline.com/Iraqacad/petition.html" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.petitiononline.com/Iraqacad/petition.html</a>. An excerpt:</p> <blockquote><p>1. We appeal to organisations which work to enforce or defend international humanitarian law to put these crimes on the agenda.</p> </blockquote> <blockquote><p>2. We request that an independent international investigation be launched immediately to probe these extrajudicial killings. This investigation should also examine the issue of responsibility to clearly identify who is accountable for this state of affairs. We appeal to the special rapporteur on summary executions at UNHCHR in Geneva.</p> <p>We urge that educators mobilise colleagues and concerned citizens to take up the cause of the salvation of Iraq’s intellectual wealth, by organising seminars, teach-ins and forums on the plight of Iraq’s academics.</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>Occupying Schools</strong></p> <p>When writing "Killing the Intellectual Class" for the book "Cultural Cleansing in Iraq," I added a short story about occupation of schools by the MNF-I (Multinational Force-Iraq, the official name of the American-led foreign forces):</p> <blockquote><p>"it certainly is our policy to not establish military headquarters or other operations in protected areas under the Geneva Convention," said Lt. Col. Gary Keck, a spokesman for the Department of Defense in Washington, when a journalist asked why the US army occupied a girls’ and boys’ school of a town in northern Iraq.[14]</p> </blockquote> <p>At a UN press briefings in Amman on April 30, 2003, the question was asked:" Do you know of any other schools that are still occupied and would you ask them of making a point to stay away from the schools, so they can be rehabilitated?"</p> <p>S. Ingram answered, "I am not aware of any other places that this situation holds. I remember the incident you referred to, there was a school in the north and some contacts were necessary to persuade the US troops there to leave the premises, which they subsequently did. I am not aware of any other places were schools are being occupied."[15]</p> <p>"I am not aware" – a pack of lies. Because occupying schools is exactly what the US Army did (and still does) on a regular basis. I heard and read numerous eyewitness accounts about Iraqi protests after US forces occupied schools and educational institutions.</p> <p>The origins of armed resistance in Fallujah f.i. can be traced almost precisely to April 28, 2003, when US troops, who had arrived in the city five days earlier, massacred 17 apparently unarmed protesters. The April 28 protest had demanded an end to Fallujah’s occupation and, more specifically, that US troops vacate the al Qaid primary school, where classes had been scheduled to resume on April 29.[16]</p> <p>And it continued. On February 29, 2008, the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMSI) published a press release condemning the American occupation forces for the seizure of an Islamic Secondary School in Baghdad.</p> <p>On May 1, 2008, the Iraqi News Agency "Voices of Iraq," reported, "The US military withdrew from a building of the education department in Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, which they used it as a barrack last month."[17]</p> <p>This was basically all the hard information I had found about the occupation of educational institutions by the occupation forces and I thought the evidence was a little thin to make a decent case, so I decided not to use it for the book.</p> <p>But, now, I read in the UNESCO report 2010: "MNF-I, the Iraqi Army and Iraqi police units occupied more than 70 school buildings for military purposes in the Diyala governorate alone."[18]</p> <p>This is only in one province. There’s no information at my disposal about the other regions, but we can almost certainly conclude that occupying schools by occupation forces was/is a general phenomenon throughout Iraq. Where else would you station a one million strong army and security forces?</p> <p>On April 11, 2003, a number of Iraqi scientists and university professors sent an SOS email complaining American occupation forces were threatening their lives.<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/destroying-educational-institutions-or-using-them-military-purposes-is-a-war-crime58159#19">[19]</a> The appeal message said that looting and robberies were taking place under the watchful eye of the occupation soldiers.</p> <p>The occupation soldiers, the email added, were transporting mobs to the scientific institutions, such as Mosul University and different educational institutions, to destroy scientific research centers and confiscate all papers and documents to nip in the bud any Iraqi scientific renaissance.<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/destroying-educational-institutions-or-using-them-military-purposes-is-a-war-crime58159#20">[20]</a></p> <p>John Agresto, in charge of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in 2003-2004, initially believed that the looting of Iraq’s universities was a positive act in that it would allow such institutions to begin again with a clean slate, with the newest equipment as well as a brand new curriculum.[21]</p> <p>The Hague IV Conventions<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/destroying-educational-institutions-or-using-them-military-purposes-is-a-war-crime58159#22">[22] </a>on Laws and Customs of War on Land, 1917, make explicit, in Article 56, that educational institutions are to be regarded as private property, and, thus, must not be pillaged or destroyed, that occupying forces in war are bound to protect such property and that proceedings should follow their intentional damage, seizure or destruction. Article 55 reinforces this duty relative to all public buildings and capital. Further, an occupying power is obliged, according to Articles 43 and 46, to protect life and take all steps in its power to re-establish and ensure "public order and safety."</p> <p>In addition, The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict[23] (ratified by the Republic of Iraq in 1967) creates a clear obligation to protect museums, libraries, archives, and other sites of cultural property. Paragraph 1 of Article 4 notes: "The High Contracting Parties undertake to respect cultural property situated within their own territory as well as within the territory of other High Contracting Parties by refraining from any use of the property and its immediate surroundings or of the appliances in use for its protection for purposes which are likely to expose it to destruction or damage in the event of armed conflict; and by refraining from any act of hostility, directed against such property."</p> <p>Using schools and universities for military purposes; destroying educational institutions and assisting in looting; criminal neglect when educational staff is being harassed and assassinated; dismantling the Iraqi education system; and active involvement in training, funding and arming murderous militia’s … War crime upon war crime upon war crime.</p> <p>When will there be justice for Iraq? When will there be a serious investigation into these crimes by official international human rights bodies? And who will charge the successive Anglo-American administrations for war crimes and crimes against humanity?</p> <p><a name="1">[1] </a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://portal.unesco.org/es/ev.php-URL_ID=11216&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html" class="external" target="_blank">http://portal.unesco.org/es/ev.php-URL_ID=11216&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html</a></p> <p><a name="2">[2] </a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/HAS505B.html" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/HAS505B.html</a></p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.plutobooks.com/display.asp?K=9780745328126&CID=BRUSSELLS" name="3">[3] </a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.plutobooks.com/display.asp?K=9780745328126&CID=BRUSSELLS" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.plutobooks.com/display.asp?K=9780745328126&CID=BRUSSELLS</a></p> <p><a name="4">[4]</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4b7aa9df5.html" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4b7aa9df5.html</a></p> <p><a name="5">[5]</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.la.unu.edu/about_staff_reddy.asp" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.la.unu.edu/about_staff_reddy.asp</a></p> <p><a name="6">[6]</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.unu.edu/news/ili/Iraq.doc" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.unu.edu/news/ili/Iraq.doc</a></p> <p><a name="7">[7] </a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Academicspetition.htm" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Academicspetition.htm</a></p> <p><a name="8">[8] </a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.brusselstribunal.org/academicsArticles.htm#weed-out" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.brusselstribunal.org/academicsArticles.htm#weed-out</a></p> <p><a name="9">[9]</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4b7aa9df5.html" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4b7aa9df5.html</a></p> <p><a name="10">[10] </a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.ohio.edu/outlook/2009-10/March/Iraq-professor-409.cfm" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.ohio.edu/outlook/2009-10/March/Iraq-professor-409.cfm</a></p> <p><a name="11">[11]</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4b7aa9df5.html" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4b7aa9df5.html</a></p> <p><a name="12">[12]</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.brusselstribunal.org/AcademicsResources.htm" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.brusselstribunal.org/AcademicsResources.htm</a></p> <p><a name="13">[13]</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Academics.htm" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Academics.htm</a></p> <p><a name="14">[14] </a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0404/p07s01-woiq.html" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0404/p07s01-woiq.html</a></p> <p><a name="15">[15]</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/iraq/infocusnews.asp?NewsID=509&sID=9" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/iraq/infocusnews.asp?NewsID=509&sID=9</a></p> <p><a name="16">[16] </a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.worldpress.org/Mideast/2183.cfm" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.worldpress.org/Mideast/2183.cfm</a> and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/mar/17/iraq.rorymccarthy" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/mar/17/iraq.rorymccarthy</a></p> <p><a name="17">[17]</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php?refid=DH-S-01-05-2008&article=30525" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php?refid=DH-S-01-05-2008&article=30525</a></p> <p><a name="18">[18] </a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.islamonline.net/english/news/2003-04/12/article02.shtml" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4b7aa9df5.html</a></p> <p><a name="19">[19] </a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.islamonline.net/english/news/2003-04/12/article02.shtml" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.islamonline.net/english/news/2003-04/12/article02.shtml</a></p> <p><a name="20">[20]</a> Dirk Adriaensens in "Cultural Cleansing in Iraq," p. 119. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.plutobooks.com/display.asp?K=9780745328126&" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.plutobooks.com/display.asp?K=9780745328126&</a></p> <p><a name="21">[21] </a>Nabil al-Tikriti in "Cultural Cleansing in Iraq," p. 98. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.plutobooks.com/display.asp?K=9780745328126&" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.plutobooks.com/display.asp?K=9780745328126&</a></p> <p><a name="22">[22] </a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/lawofwar/hague04.htm" class="external" target="_blank">http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/lawofwar/hague04.htm</a></p> <p><a name="23">[23]</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13637&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html ">http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13637&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html </a></p> <p><a title="t r u t h o u t | Destroying Educational Institutions or Using Them for Military Purposes Is a War Crime" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.truthout.org/destroying-educational-institutions-or-using-them-military-purposes-is-a-war-crime58159" class="external" target="_blank">t r u t h o u t | Destroying Educational Institutions or Using Them for Military Purposes Is a War Crime</a></p> <p>Source: Dirk Adriaensens <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.brusselstribunal.org/" class="external" target="_blank">People vs Total War Incorporated</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Academics230310.htm" class="external" target="_blank">Destroying Educational Institutions or Using them for Military Purposes is a War Crime</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-8964"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/03/05/red-cross-women-and-displacement-strength-in-adversity/#respond" title="Comment on Red Cross: Women and displacement: strength in adversity">No Comments</a></span> Posted on March 5th, 2010 by Haleema Al-Azzawi</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/03/05/red-cross-women-and-displacement-strength-in-adversity/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Red Cross: Women and displacement: strength in adversity">Red Cross: Women and displacement: strength in adversity</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, <a 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href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/idps-internal-refugees/" rel="tag">IDPs (Internal Refugees)</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/internal-displacement/" rel="tag">internal displacement</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/international-womens-day/" rel="tag">international womens' day</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/rape/" rel="tag">Rape</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/rape-prevalence-of/" rel="tag">Rape - prevalence of</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/red-crescentred-cross/" rel="tag">Red Crescent/Red Cross</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/red-cross-news/" rel="tag">red cross news</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/refugees/" rel="tag">Refugees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/refugees-attacks-on/" rel="tag">Refugees - attacks on</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/resources/" rel="tag">Resources</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/stereotypes/" rel="tag">stereotypes</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sudan/" rel="tag">Sudan</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/trauma/" rel="tag">trauma</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/women-and-children/" rel="tag">Women and Children</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/women-and-war/" rel="tag">women and war</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/women-in-war/" rel="tag">Women in war</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/yemen/" rel="tag">Yemen</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%ac%d9%85%d8%b9%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b5%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a8-%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%87%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%ad%d9%85%d8%b1/" rel="tag">جمعية الصليب والهلال الاحمر</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <p>The displacement of populations is one of the gravest consequences of today’s armed conflicts. It affects women in a host of ways. But far from being helpless victims, women are resourceful, resilient and courageous in the face of hardship. Nadine Puechguirbal, the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/home!Open" target="_blank" class="external">ICRC</a> adviser on women and war explains.</p> <p><b>Why is the ICRC raising awareness of women displaced by armed conflicts worldwide on International Women’s Day? </b></p> <div style="border-right: lightgrey 1px solid; padding-right: 5px; border-top: lightgrey 1px solid; padding-left: 5px; float: right; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 5px 15px; border-left: lightgrey 1px solid; width: 300px; padding-top: 5px; border-bottom: lightgrey 1px solid"> <p><small><b>See also this coverage from the International Committee of the Red Cross:</b></small> </p> <p><strong>News release:</strong> </p> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/women-news-040310" class="external" target="_blank">Giving a say to displaced women</a> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Photo gallery: </strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/photos-women-displacement-190210" class="external" target="_blank">Facing up to hardship</a> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Features from:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/women-displacement-feature-020310" class="external" target="_blank">Colombia</a> </li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/congo-kinshasa-feature-040310" class="external" target="_blank">the Democratic Republic of the Congo</a> </li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/senegal-feature-020310" class="external" target="_blank">Senegal</a> </li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/iraq-feature-020310" class="external" target="_blank">Iraq</a> </li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/yemen-feature-081009" class="external" target="_blank">Yemen</a> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Films</strong>: </p> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/sudan-video-141209" class="external" target="_blank">Lost in Darfur, Mariam’s story</a> </li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/owym-video-drc-sexual-violence" class="external" target="_blank">The healing power of words</a> </li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/f00936" class="external" target="_blank">Women fleeing war</a> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Publication:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/p1014" class="external" target="_blank">Internal displacement in armed conflict</a> </li> </ul> <p><b>Other documents in this section: </b></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/focus?OpenDocument" class="external" target="_blank">Focus</a> > <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/women?OpenDocument" class="external" target="_blank">Women and war</a> </li> </ul> <p><b>In other sections:</b></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/html/refugees_displaced_persons!Open" class="external" target="_blank">Focus\War and displacement</a> </li> </ul> </p></div> <p>We want not only to draw attention to the plight of these women but also to acknowledge their tremendous courage and resilience in ensuring the survival of their families in hostile and unfamiliar circumstances. </p> <p>I think it is equally important to raise awareness of the specific threats women face as a result of displacement. All too often, women and children are lumped together as the most vulnerable group. However, the two are very different groups, each with specific vulnerabilities and needs. </p> <p>Women are not totally helpless. Our idea is to move away from assumptions and stereotypes and instead call attention to women’s specific needs, vulnerabilities in wartime, and indeed the remarkable strength they show in protecting and supporting their families and finding ingenuous ways of coping with their ordeal. </p> <p><b>Why in armed conflicts are displaced women often at greater risk than displaced men?</b></p> <p>The overwhelming majority of armed conflicts are started, organized and led by men, yet women represent a large proportion of war victims. During an armed conflict, civilians not participating in the hostilities are often forced to flee their homes to avoid being caught up in violence. Women and their families are compelled to leave behind their homes and communities. In the ensuing panic and chaos, many women find themselves alone with their children to look after single-handedly. Imagine the pain of being brutally uprooted from perhaps the safest place you have known your whole life.</p> <p>Suddenly, women have to shoulder all the daily responsibilities for ensuring their own survival and that of their families, which many do by drawing on their resourcefulness and courage. Displaced women often have to travel long distances to find water, food, firewood, medicines and other essentials. In so doing, they put themselves at great risk of sexual violence, abuse and injury from landmines or unexploded ordnance, among other dangers. The burden of family responsibility, coupled with the anguish and trauma of sudden loss, also takes a huge toll on the women’s health. </p> <p>In cultures where women may only travel when accompanied by a male relative, the separation from her husband can restrict a woman’s ability to flee from hostilities. She may also lack the necessary identification documents to cross checkpoints or international boarders, or the funds to pay for transport. Reports abound of women being harassed at border crossings and checkpoints. <br/>A camp or IDP community may offer displaced women relative safety but does not end their plight. On the contrary, the camp environment can present new risks and burdens. Whereas women might have relied on family and kinship networks for food and resource sharing, separation from their families and communities deprives them of this support. </p> <p>Lack of resources may lead to situations where, by virtue of their sex, women are relegated to last place in terms of access to food or water, meaning, they eat less and last. There is also a real danger of their resorting to exchanging sexual favours for food or other essentials.</p> <p>Lack of safety and privacy in camps may expose women to health problems, for instance by increasing the risk of sexual violence. The trauma of their experience, conflict-related injury, sexual violence and unplanned pregnancy will inevitably increase women’s need for health care. Yet displacement can hinder their access to quality health care at a time when they need it most. </p> <p><b>Rather than being passive victims, women in conflict situations often find ingenuous ways of coping. Could you give us examples?</b></p> <p>The media commonly portray women as passive victims of fighting; a poignant story to move and influence public opinion and gain audience interest. Whilst women all too often suffer horrific violence and cruelty in times of war, I feel it is important to go beyond this portrayal to fully understand their ordeal, without downplaying it. </p> <p>ICRC delegates often witness the remarkable courage of displaced women: exploiting available resources; finding food and shelter for their dependents; and organizing themselves into associations in order to have a stronger, unified voice. </p> <p>Harrowing stories occasionally surface from the Democratic Republic of the Congo about sexual violence meted out to women. That some survive to support themselves – and often their children, born of their ordeal and ostracized by their families – testifies to the women’s strength. In North Kivu psychosocial workers, supported by the ICRC, counsel women victims of rape and help them rebuild their lives. The organization enables the women to carry out income-generating projects to strengthen their self-reliance.</p> <p>In Iraq, displaced women are exceptionally resourceful and determined to ensure the survival of their families. Deprived of traditional sources of income, women are forced to adopt new roles – defying social expectations and through whatever means possible, including manual labour – to earn money and put food on the table.</p> <p>Women play a vital role in maintaining the health and welfare of their family and community. Their role in preventing and managing sickness and disease is essential when access to health care is limited. During emergencies women may assist in delivering babies in their communities when trained medical personnel are out of reach. Traditional birth attendants may offer the only reproductive health care for many displaced women and their infants. </p> <p><b>Those who seek to help IDPs must pay greater attention to the views of displaced women. How does the ICRC go about this?</b></p> <p>Firstly, the ICRC is aware that in IDP camps, a woman’s voice often goes unheard, meaning her specific needs are overlooked. Women tend to avoid talking openly about their most personal needs, so it is vital to create a safe space for dialogue regarding their concerns. To ensure that women are neither ignored nor exploited, the ICRC increasingly involves them in planning, implementing and evaluating programmes.</p> <p>We also recognize that the concept of women as passive beneficiaries is incapacitating and can result in excluding women from humanitarian efforts. Yet failure to consult women about their needs or involve them in planning projects affects the quality, efficiency and efficacy of assistance. The ICRC knows that women are generally responsible for their families’ food needs. Therefore their input is critical in determining the type and quantity of food the organization distributes, and the location of food distribution points, for safety reasons and easy access. </p> <p>Experience has shown that when women are asked for input directly, their views and priorities differ from those of the men who purport to speak for them. This is true of Casamance, in Senegal, where women participate in community meetings. At such meetings, the ICRC ensures that women’s voices are heard, and has found that their insight strengthens our ability to respond to the needs of the population in general. </p> <p>In using International Women’s Day to draw attention to displaced women, the ICRC is giving a voice to women who have responded actively to their plight, thereby revealing their strength and resilience to overcome appalling suffering and ultimately emerge stronger. </p> <p><b>How does the ICRC take into account the fact that the needs of women often differ from those of men or children? </b></p> <p>We recognize the particular ways in which conflict and displacement affect women: the specific dangers and threats; and the social transformation that may occur when women assume new responsibilities. Obviously, women, men, boys and girls are exposed to different risks. While men make up the vast majority of those killed, detained or made to disappear during war, women are increasingly targeted as civilians and exposed to sexual violence. </p> <p>We have developed a more sensitive and thorough understanding of the roles, responsibilities and experiences of women and men. In turn, this is allowing us to tailor our response more accurately to the specific needs of women and men in times of conflict.</p> <p><strong>Source: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/home!Open" target="_blank" class="external">ICRC</a></strong> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/women-displacement-interview-020310" class="external" target="_blank">Women and displacement: strength in adversity</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="navigation"> <div class="alignleft"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120515170252/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/armed-conflict/page/2/">« Previous Entries</a></div> <div class="alignright"></div> </div> </div> <div id="sidebar" class="span-10 last"> <div class="span-10" id="tabs"> <ul> <li class="ui-tabs-nav-item"><a href="#featured-articles">Featured Articles</a></li> <li class="ui-tabs-nav-item"><a 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