Briefing Session on Universal Periodic Review (UPR) For the Iraqi Governmental Delegation

Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS) in cooperation with UNAMI and UNOPS held a Briefing Session on Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Amman for Iraq Governmental Delegation from 8 to 9 February 2010. 13 participants from deferent ministries   attend the course.

The workshop include The Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Briefing on Iraq’s National Report to the UPR, Preparing for Iraq’s Universal Periodic, Exercise on UPR Review Simulation, The Jordanian UPR Experience, Examples of UPR follow-up (from Jordan and other countries).

Moreover, Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS) in cooperation with UNAMI and UNOPS held a workshop on Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Erbil – Iraq from 2/08/09 – 5/08/09. 25 participants from   25   Iraq NGOs attend the course.

The ACHRS organized previous workshops on the UPR for the HR NGOs with deferments Arab counties in July 2009, and with other Jordanian NGOs in 2007. In addition, ACHRS organized a workshop with the cooperation with three other partners on the preparation of UPR in August 2008. ACHRS was one of the organizations which submitted a Human Rights report as a civil society stakeholder in Jordan’s first UPR (title: Human Rights in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan – Report of the Jordanian Civil Society Organizations) and participated in the 4th session of the Human Rights Council this year. ACHRS published in 2009 a book on the UPR reflecting the Jordanian experiment.

As an institution with prior Universal Periodic Review (UPR) experience, ACHRS has helped six Iraqi NGO networks (Justice Network for Prisoners, Iraqi Child Rights Network, Network on Human Rights Trafficking, Alliance for Human Rights Organizations in Iraq, Alliance for Political Freedoms in Iraq, Alliance for Migrants in Iraq) to compose and submit their UPR report to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). As a follow up to the report, ACHRS is organizing a work-related trip to Geneva, Switzerland for the six Iraqi network directors who helped compose the report. The Iraqi NGOs delegation along with a representative from ACHRS will attend the UPR session on Iraq at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva during the period 15-20 of February 2010