Alliance 1325 (WPN), an Iraqi national initiative that advocates for women’s rights and the implementation of Iraq’s National Action Plan (NAP) for the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, held a two-day National Civil Society Conference on 3-4 February 2020, in the framework of the ‘Madad for Women’ project funded by the European Union through the EU’s Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, the EU ‘Madad Fund’. The conference was also supported by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

Representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) at the conference reviewed and discussed the draft of Iraq’s second NAP for UNSCR 1325 on women, peace and security. Subsequently, they gave recommendations for the improvement and localization of the draft for the second NAP in order to effectively and concretely meet the needs and aspirations of women in Iraq.

The conference was attended by H.E. Mr. Rebar Ahmed, the Minister of Interior in the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG); Dr. Ibtisam Aziz, General Director of Women Empowerment Department at the Council of Ministers, Baghdad; Mrs. Bakshan Zangana, General Secretary of the High Council of Women Affairs in KRG; Mr. Vincent-Guillaume Poupeau, Head of the Erbil Liaison Office at the EU Delegation to Iraq, and Mr. Mohamad Tahir Al-Timemi, General Director of the NGOs Department at the Council of Ministers, Baghdad, Representatives from Alliance 1325, the Iraqi Women Network, and Sawtuha Network were also present.

During the first session, participants reviewed the key recommendations of the National Report on Implementation of Iraq’s first NAP for UNSCR 1325, such as organizing inclusive consultations and engaging local stakeholders (CSOs, CBOs, self-governments, most vulnerable women, etc.). They also reviewed the high-level consultations about the localization of Iraq’s second NAP 1325 held in Erbil & Baghdad. In the second session, Ms. Liza Hido from Alliance 1325 presented the pillars and log frame of the draft of Iraq’s second NAP 1325. The subsequent parallel sessions reviewed the second NAP in view of the recommendations of the national consultations with an open discussion and reports.

During the second day, key recommendations from the working groups were presented and discussed, followed by conclusions and next steps. “The NAP 1325 is a tool to progress women´s rights in general, and women, peace and security agenda in particular. The women´s rights organizations were a driving force behind the development, implementation and monitoring of the first NAP,” stated Ms. Suzan Aref, Coordinator of Alliance 1325 (WPN) and Executive Director of Women Empowerment Organization. “These two days we gave our recommendations to the decision-makers, building on the achievement and the lessons learned from the first NAP, and on our diverse experiences on the ground.”

The final recommendations addressed the need to amend discriminative legislation and support women's economic empowerment. They will hand to the General Director of Women Empowerment Department at the Council of Ministers, Baghdad, and the Ministry of Interior and the General Secretary of the High Council of Women Affairs in KRG for their consideration in the finalization of Iraq’s second NAP for UNSCR 1325.