Previous week, the Iraqi army started a major offensive against armed groups in Fallujah, where there has been violent conflict since December 2013. Over the past few months, around 300 civilians have lost their lives in the fighting between the army and the various armed militia and terrorist organisations. Peace organisation PAX is extremely concerned. PAX has called upon the Dutch government to work within a European framework on a structural solution in the form of a national dialogue and reconciliation process, in follow-up to a resolution from the European Parliament in February 2014. In this context, the European Union would have to press the Iraqi government to refrain from the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas. According…

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG), Mr. Nickolay Mladenov, today strongly condemned the attacks on the convoys of the Speaker of the Council of Representatives (CoR), Mr. Osama Al-Nujaifi, and the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Salih Al-Mutlaq. “These cowardly attempts to disrupt the election process by targeting senior politicians and election candidates are totally unacceptable and should not weaken the resolve of the Iraqi people to participate in the election,” SRSG Mladenov said. “There are forces who seek to deter people from voting. All Iraqis should be free to exercise their democratic right without fearing for their security. The Government of Iraq and the security forces must ensure that both voters and candidates are guaranteed safety throughout…

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) Mr. Nickolay Mladenov, yesterday reaffirmed UN support to Iraq in its fight against corruption. This came at the opening session of the Baghdad Second International Forum on Stolen Assets Recovery, which was organized by the Integrity Commission. “The UN is taking accountability, transparency and anti-corruption very seriously at both the international level and within the region,” Mr. Mladenov said. “Corruption is a virus that plagues transitional societies. It hinders peace-building and state-building efforts, undermining trust in public institutions; it robs people of dignity and development, it deprives them of basic services. Corruption empowers organised crime, funds violence and terrorism” he said. The Government of Iraq in partnership with the National Commission…

Baghdad, 6 April 2014 – The Iraqi Ministry of Health, with the support of UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), will conduct a round of National Immunization Days between the 6th and 10th of April in response to an outbreak of polio in the country and the Middle East. The vaccination campaign aims to reach all of the 5.6 million children between 0 and 5 years of age across Iraq with two drops of the oral polio vaccine (OPV), including in refugee camps, host communities and settlements. WHO is supporting the operation cost together with UNICEF and will be conducting an independent monitoring of this and subsequent campaigns. On the 30th of March, the Ministry of Health announced that…

Ten years after the launch of Anglo-American military operations in Iraq, Handicap International has expressed its alarm at the dire situation facing the country’s civilian population. For the last 10 years, civilians have borne the brunt of armed violence in Iraq and the withdrawal of coalition troops has not improved the security situation. The threat from millions of landmines and explosive remnants of war has increased the hardships facing the Iraqi people, who already live in extremely harsh conditions. In order to save lives, Handicap International plans to develop its risk education activities in the south of the country by adding a component on small arms. Nearly 250,000 civilians were killed or injured in Iraq between March 2003 and January…

Nature Iraq wants to let everyone know that the Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for the ‘Rawanduz River Expedition’ has completed. We raised $10,335.00 and want to thank everyone who helped us. Further updates on the expedition, which will take place in May, can be found on the www.iraqwaterkeeper.org website or at the Expedition Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ChomanRawanduz -- SUPPORT THE RAWANDUZ RIVER EXPEDITION HERE. PROTECT RIVERS IN IRAQ!