INITIATIVES & PROGRAMS
We have supported and spearheaded the following initiatives:
RULE OF LAW PROGRAM IN IRAQ
IIRL Inc. continues to provide support to the International Institute for the Rule of Law (IIRL), a registered Iraq-based non-governmental organization. Over the years, IIRL has engaged, with international donors such as USAID and the World Bank, in rule of law related activities such as promoting:
Access to Justice, Judicial Independence, Constitutional Drafting, Property Rights for Displaced Persons and Transitional Justice.
Recently, IIRL has focused its attention on the plight of needy widows, orphans and displaced persons whose human rights have been severely violated. This has included providing basic needs to minority groups such as Christians and Yazidis affected by mass displacement due to terror groups taking over cities and villages in Iraq.
IIRL also provides support and comfort to orphans through Eid, Christmas celebrations, back to school supplies and an International Orphan Day celebration.
VICTIMS'S ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Given the scale of the current refugee crisis and in an attempt to address such a crisis, IIRL’s board enacted an initiative to provide legal and financial assistance to vulnerable persons fleeing persecution mainly from Syria and the region. The main objective of this initiative is to extend aid through the creation of a Fund, by ensuring a needs-based and appropriate identification of beneficiaries based on pre-set criteria.
The initiative was named the Victim Assistance Program (VAP) and it aims at assisting victims of persecution and human rights violations due to war and civil strife. The VAP extends legal, financial and social assistance to the most vulnerable segments of society. The following cases fall under its core mission:
Legal Protection and Intervention Cases
IIRL provides assistance to applicants in need of protection intervention. The targeted persons include women with special needs (victims of gender-based violence/female-headed household), children at risk, refugees with special needs and the elderly.
The legal responses include providing legal counseling, assistance with legal fees, and referral to an attorney or legal clinic upon the concerned person’s approval. It is also IIRL’s objective to work in collaboration with different organizations offering legal aid and social services for the above mentioned targeted population.
Further, social assistance this year included financial and social. Financial assistance was granted to applicants after an evaluation of her/his socio-economic situation based on pre-set vulnerability metrics. Multiple refugee families, primarily female-headed households, were evaluated and financial assistance was provided to them.