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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
IRAQ: Focus on emergence of civil society groups
BAGHDAD, 17 November 2003 (IRIN) - Despite the current level of insecurity, combined with sporadic electricity and virtually no telephone services, more than 120 civil society groups have been established in recent months, according to information gathered from their international counterparts.
From sports organisations to women’s rights groups, rights for former political prisoners and for various children’s groups, people who never so far have had the chance to speaking their minds or being involved in democratic institutions are now getting organised, according to Ma'mun al-Na'imi, the office manager of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.
Under former President Saddam Hussein, citizens were prohibited from forming any sort of group unaffiliated with the ruling Ba'th Party, no matter how benign. Moreover, they never spoke out about anything that could possibly be construed as hostile to the regime.
"We were far away from what these nongovernmental organisations in other countries are," al-Na'imi told IRIN in Baghdad. "If there were Iraqis who were thinking about how to start such a group they would not have had the guts to do it."
Creating a civil society means helping groups learn how to get into politics, how to do polling and how to organise their work, according to al-Na'imi and a representative of the International Republican Institute, another rights group. The newly formed Human Rights Centre, sponsored by the US-led administration in Iraq, is also helping civil society groups.
"We have several groups who know what they want to do, but they don’t know how to do it. They need help, because they’re not experienced," al-Na'imi explained. "But some presidents of some groups have come back from living abroad, so they know how to create these organisations."
Already, several newly formed political parties had opened offices, a democracy group worker, who declined to be named, told IRIN. US Administrator Paul Bremer recently announced that coalition forces were considering ways of empowering Iraqi leaders more quickly. Such a handover would require an election, which entailed political parties being ready to participate. Iraq currently has a temporary government of leaders appointed by US-led administrators.
Before hostilities this spring, only a few political groups existed, and they had religious overtones, the democracy group worker said. Dissident groups existed, but were not allowed to operate and were often killed for expressing their views. Now, several exiled Iraqis had come home to form new political parties, he explained - and the change was breathtaking.
"Even if they know what’s out there, so much still needs to be done," the democracy group worker added. "We’re going to have elections some day soon."
All the new political parties in Iraq appeared to be based on tribal, ethnic or religious issues, far removed from the political systems in the US or a typical Western democracy. But other groups that were being formed now, such as a rights advocacy group in Al-Hillah in south-central Iraq, had the potential to get involved in politics, the worker said.
"We try to help the best NGOs," al-Na'imi declared. "We want the ones who will do the best things for the country."
The groups participate in workshops and other Western-style democracy training, which is also completely new to them, according to the democracy worker. Getting focus groups together and doing polling is also a difficult concept; residents always defer to community and religious leaders, making it tough to figure out what issues the average person on the street was thinking about, he added.
"Everything in politics is about what you want and what they want, so it’s great to teach people how to have a voice in government," the democracy worker remarked. "I teach ‘Democracy 101’ and then just help stir the discussion."
Attacks currently directed at US-led coalition troops and police might some day target political parties, he warned, but the situation did not seem too difficult to continue training people on democratic principles. "Generally, the places where I have worked are not this violent. It’s a tough place to do business, but it’s not that bad. I’m not trembling with fear every time I walk outside," he said.
It appears that the uncertain security situation keeps staff levels small, however. The democracy worker is the only individual representing his NGO. At the National Democratic Institute, three staff hold down a small office in a nondescript hotel. As many as 10 other workers doing programming are currently outside Iraq.
Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Governance, (IRIN) Human Rights
[ENDS]
This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003
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