The liberation of Mosul in July 2017 has left a city divided in two: while the eastern part of the city has slowly begun to resume its life, mainly thanks to young volunteers who are animating it, the western part still bears the deep marks of the bombing. As deep are the psychological wounds of those who have continued to inhabit this city even under Daesh occupation, particularly women.
In order to offer them specialised support and appropriate services, the 'Nissa' project was set up with the support of OCHA and UNFPA. Objective: to guarantee psycho-social support to women and girls who are victims of violence, thanks to the work of a specialised team of psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers, identifying the most critical cases house by house and offering them all the necessary support, and integrated reproductive health and psycho-social support services.
The activities included awareness-raising campaigns aimed at women, to report and acknowledge abuse and violence, and men. The activities took place in the 3 Safe Spaces that Un Ponte Per set up within the Health Centres opened in Mosul in October 2017.
The intervention continued into the fourth phase (January-March 2021), reinforcing its focus on combating GBV (Gender Based Violence), and expanding its intervention to the entire Nineveh area, providing an increasing level of specialised assistance to women victims of violence and raising awareness in the community on the prevention and recognition of violence, as well as on the presence of dedicated services and support opportunities.
Starting in February and running until August 2021, Un Ponte Per through its project 'Himaya - access to GBV services for newly displaced and returnees', funded by the Iraqi Humanitarian Fund (OCHA), initiates a new intervention to support the Iraqi displaced population - and in particular women - in West Mosul, Nineveh Governorate in Iraq.
The intervention is aimed at expanding access - especially of the most vulnerable communities and people - to life-saving services for the prevention and management of gender-based violence, as well as at supporting the National Health System through psychosocial support and maternal and child health services directed at people who have returned to their homes after the expulsion of Daesh: gender-based violence awareness, prevention and response sessions, medical examinations and therapeutic sessions with specialised personnel, psychosocial support and protection services will be provided for nearly 4.000 repatriated, resettled, internally displaced persons, the majority of whom are women, girls, children.
A new intervention to assist and support the Palestinian refugee population in camps in Lebanon to cope with the Covid-19 emergency has begun. With the project "Emergency Covid-19 in Palestinian camps in Lebanon", financed by Fons Català de Cooperaciò al Desenvolupament, between December 2020 for two months will guarantee support to the educational centres of the local organisation Beit Aftal Assumoud, a long-standing partner of Un Ponte Per in the camps of Nahr el Bared and Beddawi (North Tripoli), Wavel (Baalbeck), Shatila and Bourj al Barajneh (Beirut), Ain el Helwe (Saida), El Buss and Bourj el Shemali (Tyre).
Among the main activities planned: the distribution of 1260 hygiene kits, personal protective equipment (sanitising gel, washable masks) to childrenə attending school centres in Beit Aftal Assumoud, which will in turn be equipped with 130 plastic panels to be fixed on the desks to ensure physical separation, and thus allow studentsə to return to the classroom.
In order to facilitate the circular return of funds and to ensure support for the women in the camps as well, 1,700 reusable masks will be produced by the Shatila camp sewing group, while teaching staff will be provided with 145 transparent plastic masks to enable childrenə to follow lessons more easily.
The project has two interconnected components in the fields of Health and Healthcare. The first aims to support the provision of emergency, primary and secondary health care services. The second component aims at consolidating, guaranteeing and, where necessary, establishing the secure medical waste management system in several health facilities in Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, Aleppo and Hassake.
This has enabled the strengthening of infection prevention and control (IPC) activities carried out in all health facilities in the areas of Deir Ezzorm, Raqqa, the villages of Kobash, Jurneyyeh, al-Hasakeh, Shaddadi, Tell Tamer, the camps for refugees and displaced persons in Al-Hol, Washokani and Areesha. The activities are carried out in partnership with the Kurdish Red Crescent (KRC) and the health services are those reported in the UPP Health Sector Action Strategy.
Through the Enaya II project, a programme of paid on-the-job training placements of up to 5 months was initiated for 10 vulnerable Jordanian and Syrian women and 5 persons with disabilities in various international non-profit organisations (NGOs) and national non-profit organisations (DPOs). Through the paid traineeships in different humanitarian NGOs and DPOs in both Amman and Zarqa Governorates, the recipients acquired professional and personal skills that will facilitate their access to the labour market and strengthen their resilience.
Activities are implemented together with local organisations: ARDD-Legal Aid and Sawiyan. The project is supported by Otto per Mille funds from the Waldensian Evangelical Church - Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches.
In Iraq, the Covid-19 infection curve continues to rise. For the first time in its history, the country is facing a non-military threat that exceeds the causes of violent death. Now is the right time to promote one of Iraqi civil society's cherished themes: defending the lives and well-being of the population by investing in human and environmental security instead of military security. To promote hygiene in Iraq, as an essential way to protect against the virus, it is necessary to guarantee the right to clean and potable water, which is endangered by the country's mismanagement of water resources and the widespread pollution of water and land.
Therefore, in cooperation with the local NGO Human Dijla, Un Ponte Per will work in 9 Iraqi cities: Baghdad, Sulaymaniyah, Hit, Ramadi, Diwaniyah, Amara, Babel, Basra and Tikrit with two objectives: to defend the right of access to clean water and to raise awareness among the population and local authorities on the connection between environmental safety, health and human security. But also to protect environmental activists who are threatened in Iraq for their non-violent action in defence of the human security of the population.
This will include training courses for 540 activistsə on Covid-19 prevention measures, water and environmental protection, public awareness campaigns targeting 27,000 people, advocacy seminars for politicians and entrepreneurs, and courses for schools targeting 1,800 studentsə. The results will be shared at a National Social Forum on Human and Environmental Security and Resilience of Iraq at Covid among Iraqi and international activists and social workers.
A national campaign targeting local authorities for the protection of human rights defenders will be organised, with a special focus on environmental activists. A Shelter for threatened human rights defenders will be opened in an Iraqi safe location, with co-funding from the European Union's Protect Defenders programme.
A new intervention in Jordan to address the health and protection needs of Syrian refugee adults and children with disabilities and residents of Jordanian host communities in the governorates of Amman, Zarqa and Irbid through rehabilitation, mental health care and child protection interventions has started. The project, co-funded by UNOCHA - Jordan Humanitarian Fund (JHF) and Eight Per Thousand funds from the Waldensian Church, started in August 2019 and will run until 2021.
The objective of the intervention is to improve the quality of life of Syrian refugee and host community members with disabilities, injuries, impairments and mental health disorders by addressing their most urgent health and protection needs, with a focus on children with disabilities. The intervention aims to reach 1400 Syrian refugee women, girls, men and boys and members of the host community. A mobile unit composed of specialised staff (physiotherapist, occupational therapist, social worker and Referral Officer) will carry out an initial assessment in a series of home visits in the areas of Amman, Zarqa and Irbid. The team will provide appropriate comprehensive rehabilitation services for adults and children with disabilities.
In addition, as usual, mobility aids and prostheses for women, girls, men and children will be provided and distributed, and specialised sessions will ensure complete rehabilitation for 80 children and adolescents with disabilities with the innovative technique of play therapy, conducted through the installation of a virtual and sensory reality room at the local partner Be Positive's rehabilitation centre. A sign language instructor will also hold skills development sessions for 24 children with hearing disabilities.
2020 will mark 20 years since the enactment of UN Resolution 1325 - Women, Peace and Security for the involvement of women in peace processes. The aim of the project 'The Kaleidoscope of Peace' is to contribute, through intergenerational dialogue and with civil society organisations, to the development of policies that support the active role of women in peace processes, in Italy and the Middle East.
Through the organisation of webinars, focus groups and interviews with activistsə in the countries of intervention, and thanks to the mediation of expert trainers, exchanges will be animated on the history of civil society participation in different contexts over the past 20 years with respect to the actual implementation of Resolution 1325. Consultants on gender policies will stimulate debate on possible concrete recommendations to be addressed to the institutions and bodies in charge of the development and implementation of the Resolution's National Implementation Plans.
With an inter-generational approach, online focus groups will also be organised to understand the interest of young people - affected by Resolution 2250 - in peace policies. Trainers will focus on synergies and possible similarities in the development of the two resolutions. At the end of the online exchanges, which aim to involve 120 civil society organisations in Italy, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, and to reach 150,000 people, 6 video interviews will be published and a report - published in Italian, Arabic and English - will be drafted, which will be presented to the organisations in charge of the National Implementation Plans in the different countries, and which will contain civil society recommendations for an effective implementation of Resolution 1325.
Project partners are: Centro Studi Difesa Civile APS, Italian Youth Peace Security Network, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (Lebanon section)
These are times of high social conflict in Iraq, as evidenced by the mass protests across the country since October 2019. Against this backdrop, the role of Civil Society Organisations is crucial in bridging the gap between local communities and the Iraqi authorities at the grassroots level, promoting constructive dialogue, ensuring respect for human and environmental rights as well as equal participation of men and women.
To be more effective, local organisations need support. An external support, however, that must be respectful of all cultural and social processes. This is why 'Tatweer' was conceived and implemented together with the local population. The main objective of the intervention is to support Iraqi civil society organisations so that they can have a greater impact in promoting rights.
To this end, the goal is to open 5 Centres in Erbil, Mosul, Anbar, Baghdad and Basra entirely dedicated to local associations that can serve as open and safe spaces for exchanging best practices and organising activities; to organise meetings, workshops and seminars on the issues of respect for human, environmental and gender rights, also creating a web platform available to the Organisations and a series of micro-grants to make them economically self-sufficient.
The 'Engendering Peace' project aims to promote a gender perspective in the ongoing peace processes in Iraq and Lebanon in order to ensure their sustainability and to ensure the full participation of women in the peacemaking and peacebuilding phases, consistent with UN Resolution 1325. This general objective will be pursued through two specific objectives.
First and foremost, the strengthening of women's capacity to produce and disseminate their own narratives about war, focusing on their active role, the violations they have suffered, their trauma and the influence of these factors on their identity. Furthermore, an attempt will be made to build a regional community of Fighters for Peace, with exchange activities between women in Iraq and Lebanon, which can promote public debate in the Middle East on women's participation in peace processes.
The target groups of the intervention are women living in Iraq, including members of minorities, Syrian refugees, ex-combatants and survivors of violence; and women living in Lebanon, including ex-combatants who participated in the country's civil war (1975 - 1990).
The intervention therefore envisages the organisation of psycho-social support workshops in Iraq, addressed both to women survivors of violence and to psychologists and psychologists, for a professional update on post-traumatic stress disorder therapy for women; leadership workshops addressed to 120 Iraqi women and Syrian refugees in Iraq; round tables to deepen the issues touched upon by Resolution 1325; and a series of awareness-raising activities in the media, schools and universities. Finally, exchanges between women in Iraq and Lebanon will be organised to open a discussion on women's experience in war contexts.
Project partners are: Fighters for Peace, Dak Organisation for Ezidi Women Development, Youth Bridge Development Organisation, DOZ, Iraqi Social Forum, Centre for Civil Defence Studies.
