VZCZCXRO5652
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #3082/01 2551725
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 121725Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3361
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 0004
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 0065
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC//NSC// PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003082 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PASS TO G, DRL/SEA, AND NSC/DEMOC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT'S HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDTABLE AT 2007 UNGA 
 
REF: STATE 125456 
 
¶1.  As requested in reftel, Post is submitting input for the 
President's September 25 Human Rights Roundtable at 2007 
UNGA. 
 
--------------- 
POST ACTIVITIES 
--------------- 
 
¶2.  Post supports human rights development in Iraq by 
maintaining dialogues with key Iraqi officials on human 
rights principles and legislation, building the Ministry of 
Human Rights' public administration and management capacity, 
and assisting non-governmental organizations (NGOs).  Where 
possible, Post coordinates these efforts with international 
partners.  Post also provides humanitarian assistance relief 
to refugees and internally displaced persons. 
 
-------------------------------- 
USG-FUNDED HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRAMS 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  USG-funded programs conducted with NGO and host 
government partners in Iraq have provided assistance in the 
following areas: 
 
-- Carrying out human rights monitoring and advocacy training 
for NGOs whose mandates include the protection of the rights 
of women, children, and religious and ethnic minorities, and 
establishing a Human Rights Defenders Network (HRDN) through 
the Free Iraq Foundation. 
 
-- Collecting and cataloguing oral testimonies to gain a full 
record of atrocities inflicted against Marsh Arab community 
during the period 1991 to 2003 through the AMAR Charitable 
Foundation. 
 
-- Providing treatment and assistance to torture victims from 
Saddam's regime to enable them to play an active and 
meaningful role in a post-totalitarian society through the 
Berlin Center for the Treatment of Torture Victims. 
 
-- Preventing torture by training legal and health 
professionals to participate in anti-impunity legal actions 
to monitor the occurrence of torture through the Heartland 
Alliance. 
 
-- Developing the Government of Iraq's efforts to establish a 
National Center for Missing and Disappeared Persons through 
the International Commission on Missing Persons. 
 
-- Teaching human rights principles to a wide segment of 
Iraqi society in cooperation with the Ministry of Human 
Rights and the Ministry of Education through the Free Iraq 
Foundation. 
 
-- Working with the Ministry of Human Rights to train Iraqi 
investigators to gather and analyze oral histories of human 
rights abuse victims through DePaul University. 
 
-- Offering direct support for the Iraqi Constitutional 
Process, supporting Iraqi NGOs in public education and 
participation in constitutional development through the 
United States Institute of Peace. 
 
-- Providing specialized research and training that expands 
and deepens the general population's understanding of the 
historical context, scope, legal underpinnings, and practical 
functions of a proposed Human Rights Commission through 
American University. 
 
-- Fostering the emergence of independent media within Iraq 
by supporting the Iraqi Media Network, which oversees public 
broadcasting. 
 
-- Highlighting Iraq's achievements in rule of law 
initiatives and progress in developing a transparent, modern 
justice system through engaging major Western print, 
broadcast, and radio stations. 
 
-- Training women in the media to stimulate political 
dialogue to help galvanize support for women's human rights 
through the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). 
 
 
BAGHDAD 00003082  002 OF 002 
 
 
-- Developing the Ministry of Human Rights' public 
administration and management capacity through USAID's 
Tatweer program. 
 
-- Providing humanitarian assistance to refugees and 
internally displaced persons with programs in sectors such as 
public health, water and sanitation and shelter through 
partnership with NGOs and international organizations.  This 
assistance indirectly supports the rights of individuals. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
IRAQ'S STRATEGIC DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS PRIORITIES 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶4.  The Iraqi National Security Strategy for 2007-2010 
identifies promoting human rights as a political component 
for overcoming threats and realizing the GOI's interests. 
Toward that end, the GOI strategy includes adopting 
international human rights criteria within the national 
judiciary, including human rights education in the cultural 
and educational sectors, and reinforcing the role of civil 
society institutions by supporting their development and 
independence. 
 
¶5.  The Ministry of Human Rights has articulated strategic 
human rights priorities to establish an adequate 
infrastructure to protect human rights and fundamental 
freedoms.  Its priorities include: 
 
-- Enabling Iraqi citizens to enjoy civil, political, 
economic, social and cultural rights without any 
discrimination on the basis of race, sex, or religion. 
 
-- Bringing Iraqi laws into compliance with Iraq's human 
rights obligations and amending articles in legislation that 
contradict human rights. 
 
-- Spreading and disseminating the culture of human rights as 
an alternative to the culture of violence, dictatorship and 
persecution that existed under the previous regime. 
 
-- Establishing an integrated database on the status of human 
rights in Iraq by adopting the human development indicators 
that are used by the United Nations. 
 
-- Establishing mechanisms for coordinating with the Ministry 
of the Environment and Ministry of Displacement and Migration 
to enhance the GOI's work in humanitarian assistance. 
 
-- Establishing effective mechanisms for coordination with 
civil society organizations and human rights activists to 
achieve shared objectives. 
 
-- Promoting relationships with international human rights 
organizations, especially the United Nations and its 
different bodies, as well as regional organizations, such as 
the League of Arab States, the Islamic Labor Organization, 
and others. 
 
-- Enhancing the Ministry of Human Rights' role in writing 
special reports on human rights, such as those related to the 
status of human rights in Iraq or those submitted to 
international organizations and committees overseeing the 
implementation of the conventions that Iraq has joined or 
ratified. 
 
-- Working for the accession of Iraq as a signatory State to 
all international human rights conventions and treaties, with 
particular priority given to Iraq's accession to the 
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or 
Degrading Treatment or Punishment. 
 
-- Seeking to establish the rules and requirements of 
peaceful coexistence and dialogue and to reject violence. 
 
-- Archiving and documenting, by modern and scientific means 
violations suffered by Iraqi citizens under the former regime 
and afterwards, and publishing these documents as a record of 
an important period of Iraq's history and a lesson for future 
generations. 
BUTENIS