SYMPOSIUM FOR IRAQI WOMEN:
Opportunity for Iraqi Women to Step Forward and Shape their Future
28-29 August 2003
Baghdad - Iraq

Baghdad, August 24 2003 – UNIFEM Arab States Regional Office and UNDP Baghdad will organize a symposium for Iraqi women on 28-29 August 2003. The Symposium will be attended by a number of Iraqi women from all Iraqi ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds and will attempt to benefit from the expertise and experiences that all Iraqi women have to offer to the reconstruction process. The symposium will also witness the presence of political parties, national, regional and international NGOs, and representatives from the Coalition Provisional Authority, United Nations agencies and the Governing Council.

The Symposium will be opened by Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Special Representative of the Secretary General, Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, UNIFEM’s Executive Director, Mr. Heinrick Kolstrup, UNDP Resident Representative in Iraq, and a representative of the Governing Council will also address the symposium.

The symposium will be the first step towards the incorporation of women and gender issues in the new Iraqi political scenario. At the symposium, consultants commissioned by UNIFEM will present papers on the status of women in areas of concern such as security, health, education, the media, legislation, economy, politics and the situation of youth and girls. The papers will pay attention to long-term concerns of Iraqi women as well as to those emerging in that wake of the recent conflict. The papers will identify needs, constraints and opportunities of Iraqi women in and will propose strategic objectives and mechanisms of implementation for the relevant actors on how to address already identified gender-gaps regarding both humanitarian and reconstruction efforts. The papers will serve as basis for discussion within the Working Groups in which the symposium will be structured. Based on the studies and the discussions, it is expected that a new National Strategy responding to the new situation is formulated and endorsed by the symposium.

Furthermore, the symposium will also aim at supporting the establishment of a National Network for Iraqi Women. This new Women’s network is expected to develop a common platform for advocacy on issues pertaining to Iraqi women and to be open to all women regardless of their ethnic, religious, and political background. The new Women’s Network is expected to assist women to:

• Organize nationally and express their concerns and ideas from a gender perspective to the various actors, including, intergovernmental agencies, the CPA and the emerging national authorities during the humanitarian and reconstruction process
  
• Participate in the regional and global forums;
  
• Monitor developments and provide recommendations to relevant actors on women’ human rights issues in Iraq.
  

The Symposium is one of the activities that UNIFEM Arab States Regional Office and UNDP Baghdad are planning to undertake in order to ensure that the gender dimension of the reconstruction process is taken into account. Building on UNIFEM’s previous intervention in Iraq in cooperation with UNDP and responding to current developments, UNIFEM and UNDP have formulated new activities in Iraq whose outcome is expected to be a) the effective influence and participation of women in post conflict Iraq and b) the incorporation of gender issues and women’s human rights in national policies and legislative frameworks.

The Iraqi people have suffered for decades under the previous regime. Their situation has been made worse by the years of conflict and sanctions. In the wake of the recent conflict in Iraq, on 22 May 2003 the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1483 providing an international legal and political framework for the reconstruction process of Iraq. Resolution 1483 encouraged efforts by the people of Iraq to form a representative and equalitarian Government and recalled Security Council Resolution 1325, which calls for a gender approach in post-conflict reconstruction. UNIFEM and UNDP believe that Iraqi Women have both the right and the duty to fully participate in the reconstruction process towards an Iraq that is peaceful, respectful of the rule of law and that affords equal rights to all citizens regardless of gender, political opinions, ethnicity and religion. It is essential that women, representing half of the population, are fully involved in the nation building process.

For Further information please contact:

Name: Ms. Maha Al-Nuaimi Name: Ms. Basma AlKhateeb
Tel: 001-914-822-7271
Email:alkateebb@un.org
Baghdad, Iraq
Tel: 0088216-2166-5198
Email:al-nuaimy@un.org
Baghdad, Iraq

Name: Ms. Shatha Mahmoud
Tel: 0096-6-5678586
Email: Shatha@unifem.org.jo
Amman, Jordan

Symposium For Iraqi Women
Location:
Date: 28-29 August 2003
Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM