International Alliance for Justice (IAJ) and No Peace Without Justice in cooperation with Tolerancy International and with support from the Iraqi Council of Representatives, the Kurdistan Parliament – Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Foundation for the Future, and the governments of Italy and Greece, are organizing an International Conference on “From Totalitarianism to Democracy: Reconciliation and Accountability in Iraq – Creating a Space for Consultation”, to be held in Erbil from 7 to 9 May 2009.
The international conference, which is the culmination of a long program of reconciliation and accountability related advocacy and research undertaken by the organisers, both in Iraq and abroad, will be a major international event and represent a major step on the path towards democracy in Iraq. The Conference aims to provide a venue for high-level political discussions involving Iraqi policy makers, civil society, and other opinion leaders, in order to assess the existing efforts towards accountability and national reconciliation in Iraq, as well as to strengthen their knowledge of the many – including economic, political, and social – dimensions that such a process implies.
Most importantly, the conference will give Iraqi participants an opportunity to work together in pursuit of the national and regional strategies and institutions best suited to the Iraq’s challenges and objectives. The recommendations that emerge from the Conference will serve as a crucial foundation for further discussions and provide much needed impetus towards offering acknowledgement and justice to the many victims of Iraq’s past atrocities and consolidating its progress towards a more stable and democratic future.
The conference is part of the series of events with senior Iraqi policy-makers in order to promote an open space of dialogue which benefits from the experiences of other countries and post-conflict and post-authoritarian transitions.
The objective of the Conference is to facilitate an in-depth debate between major Iraqi political actors on options and conditions for reconciliation and accountability for a democratic and just Iraq and to enhance the role of democratic institutions in the transition towards a stable society, governed by the rule of law.
Participants will include the Presidency of both the Iraqi Council of Representatives and the Kurdistan Parliament – Iraq, senior Members of both parliaments including the Presidencies of the relevant Parliamentary Committees and of all Parliamentary Groups, the Supreme Judicial Council and the Iraq High Tribunal, representatives of both Federal and Regional Governments, the national Property Claims Commission, other political leaders and representatives of Iraq’s national and regional institutions, civil society organisations and representatives of all ethnic and religious communities, religious and traditional leaders, and representatives of the broadest geographic, political, and professional spectrum from across Iraq.
Fourty international experts from four continents including South Africa, the Balkans, Northern Ireland, Japan, the Middle East , the former Soviet Union, and elsewhere will also form an important part of the Conference, providing the opportunity to consider the full range of reconciliation and accountability experiences that can contribute to the design of mechanisms and processes appropriate to the context of a federal and democratic Iraq.
The Conference will also be attended by UNAMI, the European Union, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the Diplomatic Corps.
Press accreditation at the Martyr Saad Abdulla Conference Centre on 7 May 2009 starts at 07h00.
Simultaneous interpretation will be provided for all working sessions in Arabic, English and Kurdish.
For more information please contact:
International Alliance for Justice
Danny Beyaa
Tel +964 750…
Tel +961 70…
email: danbeyaa1@yahoo.com
No Peace Without Justice
Carla Caraccio
Tel. +964 … (Iraq)
Tel. +39 3… (Italy)
email: ccaraccio@npwj.org
Kurdistan Regional Government
Osman Ibrahim Suleman
Tel. +964 750…
Tel. +964 770…
email:osman_r1966@yahoo.com
