UNDP and Transitional Peacebuilding in Iraq
Present in Iraq since 1976, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is committed to supporting the Government and people of Iraq during their transition towards reconciliation, reform and stability. UNDP’s support ranges from promoting emergency livelihoods and community dialogue in districts impacted by the humanitarian crisis, to helping stabilize newly liberated areas through its Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilization (FFIS), to providing technical assistance in support of governance reforms and decentralization.
Our Goals
The current programme priorities for UNDP Iraq are in Poverty Reduction, Democratic Governance, Crisis Prevention & Recovery and Women’s Empowerment. These include: Fostering Inclusive Participation. Government of Iraq and civil society have strengthened participatory mechanisms for electoral processes, national dialogue and reconciliation.
Iraq faces a large-scale humanitarian crisis. Alarming development gaps and security risks affect more than 10 million people, of which more than 3.3 million have fled their homes in the central and northern regions, in addition to 250,000 Syrians seeking refuge in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Furthermore, in anticipation of more cities being liberated, including Mosul, it is expected that massive new displacement of people will occur in the imminent future.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) leads the early recovery and resilience agenda in Iraq by supporting employment and income generation through local NGO partners. In addition, UNDP supports central and local authorities in leading the crisis response and in the rehabilitation of basic social infrastructure, particularly in those areas where the return of displaced people is possible. Finally, UNDP seeks to pre-empt gross human rights violations, reduce risks of gender based violence, and foster social cohesion amongst diverse communities in developing tools to mediate and resolve conflicts.