OFFICIAL

QUARTERLY REVIEW TEMPLATE

This template is meant to be self-encompassing so that the reader does not need to refer to the Project Bid Form Aim to make reporting more proportionate related to the size (£), scope (difficulty), risks of the project and reputation of the implementation partner

Summary

Project title:

Support to Integrated Reconciliation in

Total Budget: Total Project Duration (start and end dates): $50 million 1 Jan 2017 - Dec 20 19 (with a possibility of extension to 2021)

Total Spend during reporting period: Reporting Period (or Quarter): 2

Implementing partner(s): Lead HMG department: UNDP

Date submitted:

15 October, 2017

For HMG Completion Lead HMG department:

HMG Project Officer (PO): Date submitted:

Approved by: (Policy Lead – usually London)

Review undertaken by (usually PO): Date

Quality Assured by Prog Team Date

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Instructions to help complete this template:

This form is designed to help ensure a consistent approach across reports, and to give a full picture without the need for the reader to refer to the Project Bid Form.

Before commencing the quarterly review you should have to hand:

• the Project Bid Form • the detailed guidance (How to Note)- Reviewing and Scoring Projects • the most recent quarterly/annual review (where appropriate) and other related monitoring reports

You should assess and rate the individual outputs using the following rating scale and description:

Description Scale Outputs substantially exceeded expectation A++ Outputs moderately exceeded expectation A+ Outputs met expectation A Outputs moderately did not meet expectation B Outputs substantially did not meet expectation C

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Introduction and Context

Interventions and needs (max 250 words)

The post-ISIS era is rife with risks, and threats, including ongoing security concerns linked to ISIS “sleeper cells”, return to bases and integration in society of hundreds of thousands of armed men including the Popular Mobilisation Units millions that were mobilised in the fight against ISIL, of traumatised and displaced populations yet to go home, political polarisation ahead of anticipated national elections in March 2018, and most recently, sharply deteriorating Erbil/ relations. In an effort to be responsive to these risks and threats, but also to utilise the historical opportunities offered by ISIS’s defeat, the UNDP has developed a nuanced, systematic approach to prepare the ground for transitional justice and fast-track conditions to enable civic-led reconciliation resonating with Iraqi citizens’ most pressing concerns. This integrated approach to reconciliation is neither simply a “community-level”, nor a “national-level” process, but an approach to develop, support and sustain civic participation in reconciliation and transitional justice processes at every level of society, from communities to the highest corridors of power. This approach can be characterised as: • locally-owned (not imposed), • victim-centred (not predominantly perpetrator-focused), • inclusive (not sectarian), and • civic-led (not only top-down) To achieve this, UNDP is working to support the development of a three-fold mechanism, each of which will build on, and expand, existing initiatives, and be conducted under the leadership of Iraqi stakeholders. These are: • A National Network of Civic Platforms dedicated to Reconciliation at all levels in society; • Public Awareness Campaigns focused on Reconciliation and Transitional Justice; • Developing modalities to record and address victims' testimonies, experiences and perspectives on Gross Human Rights Violations (GHV’s) with a special emphasis on women, youth and vulnerable minority groupings

What are the expected results? (max 200 words)

The first set of results relate to the overarching goal of enhanced social cohesion, including: • Effective networks of Local Peace Committees are established • Higher levels of trust in targeted communities and regions are developed; • Higher levels of trust between these communities/regions and the national leadership in Baghdad are developed; • Greater focus on civic concerns by National Reconciliation Mechanisms is developed; • Higher levels of civic consultation for top-level, political processes are developed.

The second results area relates to increased Public Awareness of the needs and possibilities for reconciliation and transitional justice, including:

• Increased levels of awareness are raised about options for reconciliation and transitional justice amongst specific interest groups, including women, the youth, religious communities, tribal formations, the media, NGO’s, academics and others; • Heightened awareness is raised at community and regional levels about key messages associated with this project, including but not limited to: “Never Again”; • Heightened awareness is achieved amongst policy makers and communities across the country about the victims’ needs and Peace Committees.

The third results area concerns preparatory work towards an archive of community narratives related to

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violations of human rights is conducted, including • Higher levels of civic and human dignity of human rights victims are achieved with a special emphasis on women, youth and other vulnerable groups; • A more complete picture of national patterns of GHV is compiled; • Recording and dissemination of victims’ views and perspectives for transitional justice in post-ISIS are conducted; • An increase in the official levels of recognition by the Iraqi State of GHV victims in a uniform and inclusive manner is achieved.

UNDP will not only contribute to reconciliation directly, but would cooperate with government and other UN and international agencies to do the same; at the same time, this programme will also allow UNDP to fulfil its strategic priorities identified through its UNDAF, CPD and the UNDP Strategic Plan.

What is the context in which support is provided? (max 200 words)

A major development during this period was the holding of an independence referendum in Kurdistan on 25 September 2017—this despite near universal calls for its postponement and a marked increase in regional and federal tension. At the time of writing, Peshmerga and Iraqi forces are squaring off in the vicinity of the disputed territories surrounding oil-rich , with occasional reports of sporadic clashes surfacing. It is unclear at present how this will develop, despite calls from political leaders on both sides for de-escalation and calm.

This development has adversely affected access to at least two areas within the project plan, namely city and Sa’adiyah in Diyala, where the border with Sulaimaniya was reportedly closed to prevent IDPs from returning.

On August 1, 2017, the Implementation and Follow Up Committee for National Reconciliation (IFCNR), located in the Prime Minister’s Office, signed a partnership agreement with the UNDP to promote reconciliation after the military defeat of ISIS. This represents a significant milestone in crafting an Iraqi-led agenda for a reconciliation process that will involve civil society in a much more focused and strategic way than before. The agreement was signed with strong and expressed support from the office of the Prime Minister of Iraq and follows months of concerted engagement between UNDP and the Iraqi authorities at national, provincial and local levels. This finally paves the way for the formal appointment of the Steering Committee, which will be chaired by the SG of COMSEC.

In this context, the UNDP has hosted several meetings to help coordinate reconciliation activities of NGO’s and CBO’s working in the disputed areas. These include the Finnish agency Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) who have assisted the GoI with developing its national reconciliation strategy, as well as SANAD, UPP, Pax, USIP, Al Amal, Partners Global and a range of other organisations with capacity to do work both at the top and community levels in Iraq.

Challenges and way forward:

In addition to the threat of full-scale civil war between Kurdistan and Iraq described above, provincial and the parliamentary elections are likely to take place within the next 6 months, the armed groups and political parties may adopt different policies that may run counter to the reconciliation process or old alliances and agreements could break down. Given that previous elections led to political jockeying and delays in cabinet appointment, it is likely that the upcoming ones in 2018/19 would be doing so as well with considerable implication for a national reconciliation process in support of transitional justice.

Besides political risks, social stresses have multiplied during the Daesh era: severe traumatisation of entire communities, displacement, destruction of critical infrastructures, livelihoods and governmental capacities, religious indoctrination, and fragile macro-economic conditions all combine to place enormous strain on the already-fractious social cohesion in Iraq—challenged as it has been historically by deep sectarian, religious, ethnic and tribal tensions.

These risks need to be factored in the design of the strategy and the activities. It is clear that, too often, previous attempts at reconciliation were fundamentally elite- and/or foreign-driven, and thus devoid of meaningful civic

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participation and prone to politicization. Also, critically important has been the much-neglected relationship between reconciliation on the one hand, and the demand for accountability and transitional justice on the other, which has never received the careful and systematic attention it deserves and requires.

In our view, despite these risks and challenges, there remains an opportunity for the UN to support and strengthen national reconciliation which is informed by concerns of citizens across the country; and at the same time, be responsibly balanced with the inalienable right of victims to accountability and redress.

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Section A: Output Scoring

The Implementer should insert the Output wording and Indicators as worded in the log frame. The implementer will then self-assess against each Output and Indicator. The Output Score will be cross-checked and challenged by the HMG Project Manager by checking status against the targets and their timeframes.

Please detail the geographical location of specific results.

Detailed guidance and layout is provided in the first text box. This guidance and layout applies to all Outputs. Wording in italics may be removed as the template is completed.

Output 1: Effective networks of Community Reconciliation Platforms are established.

Output 1 score: A - Progress against expected results:

This period saw the successful completion of the following activities: • Conflict analyses of the communities in Hamdaniyah, Sinjar, Mosul, and were completed and submitted to relevant partners at the end of August. These conflict analyses provided a clear series of strategic recommendations and steps towards the promotion of local reconciliation through the establishment of LPCs in the areas targeted. They drew their information from a series of information- gathering missions and desktop reviews. Among the key recommendations was the formalization of coordinating work between all local actors working towards civic-led reconciliation.

• For all governorates selected, UNDP is currently hiring Local Area Coordinators that are embedded in the governorate of intervention and will work on a daily basis with our implementing partners and the LPC members to identify and implement key activities towards strengthening community reconciliation.

• UNDP is currently working with UNHCR and IOM to identify the gaps in documentation collection towards facilitating returns and documenting HLP-related matters across ISIS-affected governorates. (New LPCs, described below, have agreed that these two aspects are key priorities to their medium-terms activities.)

• Criteria for selection of members were established and have been refined and adapted in every governorate where the LPCs have been established and are functional. The criteria were redefined in several stages: first by the IFCNR and the local authorities; second, by implementing partners during the validation process; third, finally by the LPC members themselves in order to further link them to the LPC’s mandate and with a view of possible expansion. The LPCs will all work on developing a series of recommendations in the next quarter and how to best implement them, with these recommendations to be validated and backed by the IFCNR, the governor’s office and the local authorities.

• A website is being developed for the Committees to exchange results, outputs, challenges, lessons learned, coordinate common areas of work in a coherent manner towards a governorate approach, exchange best practices with the other committees inside and outside Salahadin.

• In Salahadin three new LPC’s have been established in the following districts: Yathrib, Dujail and . During a meeting with the IFCNR, represented by Dr. Fa’al Al Maliki, Chairman of Salahadin Committee- IFCNR, and Governorate represented by Deputy Governor Ismail Al-Halloub, all partners agreed on the mandate and validation criteria for the selected members of these LPCs. An official letter of support by the IFCNR and the governorate of Salahadin was signed to officially recognise the credibility of these LPCs in Salahadin.

• During the meeting, the IFCNR and Salahadin Governorate agreed that the LPCs will take the lead in community reconciliation efforts at the district level and this decision will be supported by the central government via informing all related parties about this decision.

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• The LPCs are now identifying key priorities at the district level to establish a roadmap for community reconciliation in each area, mainly geared towards fostering sustainable returns and long-term stability.

• LPC members will be convening at least on monthly basis in the district. During these meetings, the committee will discuss the status of conflict in the district, identify issues that need immediate responses as well as longer-term remedies. The committee will produce regular early warning and monitoring reports built on specific conflict indicators. These reports will help determine the project agenda going forward.

• In Baquba, Diyala, following a recent mission to the city’s Provincial Council to meet the Governor, the Chairman of Provincial Council and the Mayor of Baquba, and subsequent meetings with the IFCNR and the Women’s Directorate in the PM’s office, UNDP and the IFCNR established a woman’s only LPC. This LPC gives important priority to the implementation of the SCR 1325. Given the tribal influences in the governorate and Baqubah’s district, as well as the numerous tribal committees and reconciliation mechanisms, a woman’s--only LPC was judged to be the best entry point for empowering women as peacemakers and directly addressing the most pressing issues faced by communities which hinder social cohesion, such as that of IDP returns, the fate of the so-called ISIS families and compensation mechanisms. A series of key activities have been established together with a formal mandate and membership criteria.

• The IFCNR Gender Focal Point, Hanadi Attiyeh, and the Baquba LPC members have decided that one of their functions will be to act as an advisory body with clear mechanisms and channels of communication with other tribal committees, the Provincial Council, the IFCNR and the Prime Minister’s office to ensure greater protection and participation for women in the security and labor sectors.

• While the LPC currently contains 25 members, some of its members are from outside Baqubah and from Sa’adiya. As such, in order to avoid any further delay, it has been agreed that the next stage will require breaking this LPC into two, and further refining the key priorities of LPCs. UNDP is currently working on organizing two focus group discussions with tribal and religious leaders. Up to 20 people will participate. Selection of participants will be made in coordination with the LPC, IFCNR and local authorities. Discussions will be facilitated by professional facilitators. Discussion will focus on: 1) analyze the current situation and challenges of reconciliation; 2) legal and other issues relevant for sustainable returns; 3) recommendations how to use informal mechanisms (mediation, tribal/traditional legal system, sharia regulation etc.) to secure sustainable return (focusing on blood feud regulations, tribal mediation, compensations, etc.).

• Another 2 focus groups discussions with IDPs from the camps are currently being discussed with the gender focal point form the IFCNR. Up to 20 people will participate on one FG session. UNDP will coordinate with UNHCR, IOM, UNICEF, local government, IFCNR and other agencies working in the relevant camps. Discussions will be facilitated by professional facilitators. Discussion will focus on: 1) analyze the current situation and challenges of reconciliation; 2) how IDPs perceive domicile populations; 3) recommendations how to integrate IDPs in districts/Baqua/Sa’adiyah. The outcome of the FG will be part of refining the activities road map for the two LPCs.

• In Anbar, 2 LPCs have been established for the cities of and each with the support and coordination of the city’s mayor and of the IFCNR. Both LPCs are composed of 10 members, including the Governor’s advisor, mayor, deputy chairman of the local council, tribal leaders, clerics and a representative from the ministry of Youth. The IFCNR has endorsed the members of the LPC and issued a letter to that effect. UNDP is currently working with the IFCNR and the two LPCs to identify short-term priorities related to returns, reconstruction and compensations. Criteria and mandate validation have already taken place and require an official validation by the IFCNR, which is schedule for the end of October.

• Gender participation has also been a major focus in Anbar. The UNDP has proposed to the IFCNR gender focal point and the Woman’s Empowerment Office at the PM’s office to establish a parallel woman’s advisory group to these LPCs to 1) better integrate the gender sensitive issues, and to 2) strengthen and further define women’s role in local reconciliation processes without challenging preconceived established local gender norms.

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• In Ninewah, building on the previous work done under Window 4, UNDP is finalising an MoU to formalize its work with PAX and is in the process of signing another MoU with USIP. The aim is to build on the work that has been done by both organizations in areas where UNDP has not yet intervened. To that end, UNDP and its partners will be better equipped to begin preparatory work towards the expansion of LPCs in areas that require a more complex reconciliation intervention, particularly in Mosul, or Sinjar. Finally, since both PAX and USIP are leading actors in Iraq’s reconciliation work and coordinate with the IFCNR, UNDP’s MoUs with them are also signed with a view to formalize a joint coordination mechanism towards establishing a community reconciliation coordination group that would focus on channeling NGOs and INGOs efforts in the field.

• Furthermore, the project will be hosting, through the good offices of the DSRSG and General Secretary of COMSEC, the Ninewah Plains Conference in Bartella, Ninewah. It is scheduled for 28 October and the intended outcome is to register minority concerns related to reconciliation directly with the Baghdad government at the highest level, but also to develop a platform and momentum towards reconciliation efforts within and between minority communities. To inform this process, a 6 series of roundtables were facilitated with Shabak, Turkman, Yezidi, Christian, Kurdish and Arab communities in the area. A condensed report of the views and perspectives, as well as the demands gathered in these events, is available on request. • In terms of the development of the Social Cohesion Tool for Iraq, a Responsible Party Agreement (RPA) for SCORE Iraq contract was signed on 29th August with an agreed start date of 1st of September and contract duration set for 6 months. Due to the strict time frames regarding UNDP’s donor cycle, there was no room for negotiating the start date for the RPA. As such, with UNDP’s approval, the SeeD team decided to dedicate more human resources to ensure the implementation of the SCORE Iraq process within the given timeframe. The progress within the last 5 weeks since the signature of the RPA include the following:

o Building an effective SCORE Iraq Team o Desk Research and Literature Review o Fieldwork preparation

• Soon after the RPA was signed, the SeeD team launched the recruitment process for a full time MENA Regional SCORE Specialist position on 4th September 2017, which was successfully completed on 26th September, and the new MENA Regional SCORE Specialist, Hafsa Halawa was contracted on 2nd October. Additionally, a Senior Policy Advisor to provide strategic guidance and policy advice, and a Researcher, to conduct literature reviews and desk research, were contracted on a part-time basis to support SeeD’s SCORE Iraq Team.

• The MENA Regional SCORE Specialist has completed an initial orientation into the SCORE process with the SCORE Training Officer and is working on the review and revision of the project concept note, deliverables, desk research and literature review produced for Iraq, which provides the background and foundations required for the calibration of the SCORE Index. Together with the SCORE Iraq Team, she has begun preparation and drafting of research and work on a PVE and use of SCORE to support PVE efforts. The SCORE Specialist was also familiarised with the SCORE calibration steps, which includes identifying key stakeholders, challenges and concepts relevant for the Iraqi context, as well as reconnecting with the local survey company StarOrbit in Iraq to initiate a discussion about the scope and the details of the fieldwork proposal. The MENA Regional SCORE Specialist will be station in Cyprus for the coming two weeks, as initial groundwork is prepared and planned for the implementation of the Iraq SCORE process.

• The IFCNR and UNDP have agreed that despite some minor delays, a conference for the LPC’s (both existing and new) is scheduled for November 2017 to strengthen the work and credibility of existing LPCs while developing a national strategy for these LPCs at the IFCNR level.

• The principles of Do no Harm are applied in all engagements and recruitment of LPC members while implementing partners are selected on the basis of their credibility, track record and involvement within the specific communities.

Baseline:

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• No Social cohesion measurement tool has been developed • Twenty Local Peace Committees are established under the FFIS project- in Ninewah, Salahaldin, Anbar, Kirkuk, , , , Baghdad, Erbil, Dohuk, Sulaimaniyah—to which this project will add its own new committees.

Target: • At least 20 new LPCs are established and capacitated and will be connected in a network with existing LPCs. • 3-4 inter-linked networks of newly and already existing reconciliation committees, bodies and initiatives operate at district, provincial and national levels. • A Social cohesion measurement tool is developed and launched to track change longitudinally in order to assess impact of the initiatives and facilitate adaptation. • One community reconciliation conference is held to bringing communities from across the country to develop civic perspectives on reconciliation.

Results: Five conflict analysis were produced, with recommendations to the IFCNR, local authorities and UNDP. Four missions to Anbar, Diyala and Mosul conducted. Seven LPCs were established: • 1 in Diyala (to be divided in two), 100% women; • 2 in Anbar: 10 members in Ramadi, and 10 members in Fallujah. 100% men. • 3 LPCs in Salahadin: 10 members in Dujail, 2 members in Tirkrit, 9 members in Yathrib. With the exception of Yathrib where all members are males, there is a 30% representation of women in these LPCs. • In Ninewah, missions to Sinjar are planned for November and December to establish 3 LPCs (eventually to be mainstreamed into one) • 12 focus groups planned for the next two months in Diyala, Anbar, Salahadin and Mosul to establish the roadmap of activities and priorities of the LPCs. A coordination meeting with USIP and PAX will also take place in early December to allow for joint planning. • Work in Najaf and Basra have been deemed not to be an immediate priority and will await implementation once concrete results are evident in the other areas.

Narrative:

The progresses made for this quarter have been met some expectations but not all. The reasons for these (relatively minor) delays lie in:

• Rising challenges between Erbil and Baghdad have resulted in a number of field missions (notably to Mosul) being cancelled.

• The trade-offs the referendum have had a negative impact on some NGOs who are based in Erbil and were supposed to work in Ninewah and DIyala. While this is likely to remain a problem, UNDP is currently working with the IFCNR to find compromise towards the inclusion of NGOs from Erbil by including others to form a consortium ad increase capacity.

• The MoUs with USIP and PAX will allow UNDP to move forward in formalizing coordination work in reconciliation and increase the impact that LPCs can have at local levels. In addition, it will benefit from the work and gains made by both organizations in areas where UNDP has not intervened yet. In addition, the formalization of UNDP’s SIRI team with the IFCNR has increased the credibility of the LPCs from the onset, allowing for a better mapping of key priorities and activities ahead.

• The conference for the LPCs has been delayed but for good cause has it is preferable to have more governorates included and to ensure that current LPCs are better established. The gender-sensitive approach remains extremely important and will be the object of an entire session or half day for the conference.

Recommendations:

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A fast-tracked recruitment process, now available to the team, a formal partnership agreement with the IFCNR, the cessation of fighting in Mosul and resultant relaxing of pressure on security personnel of the UNDP, and the successful recruitment of several well-established and seasoned implementing partners bode well for the rest of the project period.

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Output 2: Awareness campaigns to inform target communities of the peace committees and the “Citizens’ Archive” are designed and carried out

Output 2 score: B (moderately did not meet expectation by starting late)

Progress against expected results:

With the contract with LAPIS finalised, the project hired a locally-based media expert to conduct a series of focus groups on finetuning the strategy and content of the public awareness campaign as developed in the LAPIS proposal. This process, which entailed four focus groups and several bilateral meetings with key stakeholders, included youth, journalists, gender advocates and academics. From this process several suggestions arose: • To make the message more concrete, focused and relevant to Iraqis, not least by taking into account the challenges now facing communities including rebuilding after ISIS, political polarising anticipated during the upcoming elections and so forth; • To make limited use of TV given its expensive nature and the fact that some of the biggest channels are widely distrusted, and instead rely more on community events and social media for impact; • To pick the media champions very carefully, so as to ensure representivity, inclusivity and coverage, but at the same time avoid being co-opted into political agendas • To emphasise the age-old reality of Iraq as cultural and religious melting pot; • To emphasise the importance of breaking with the past (not repeating mistakes) and turning to the future together; • To pick the target audience carefully: the message should be embraced by young people as representative of their ideals, but should not exclude key decision makers and elites who hold the power currently; • To make sure impact is carefully tracked.

Indicators: 1. Number of Iraqi champions of reconciliation recruited (disaggregated by gender) 2. Number of Iraq champions capacitated (disaggregated by gender) 3. % increase in individuals who believe reconciliation can be achieved 4. Number of successful campaigns carried out in the project locations. 5. Number of baseline studies conducted

Baseline:

To be defined

Target: 1. Reconciliation message disseminated to at least 60% of Iraqi population 2. Gain support form key Iraqi stakeholders for process to determine the principles of National Reconciliation 3. New baseline assessment conducted and established benchmark for M&E to measure levels of Integrated Community-Led Reconciliation 4. At least 50 Iraqi champions of reconciliation are recruited and capacitated

Result: A six-month Public Awareness Campaign will run from November 2017 to March 2018. An M&E system will track attitudinal impact of the messaging on the general population as well as selected target groups.

Narrative:

LAPIS also visited Baghdad to amend their project proposal according to the above. The new presentation is expected to be cleared by UNDP management and the IFCNR before the end of October. Gender equality and women empowerment will be the leading criteria for the participation of candidates within the coming events and products.

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Recommendations: It (still) is recommended that the project team works very closely with LAPIS as they develop the campaign and build into the process a thorough M&E system from the start. Furthermore, the contract will be drawn up in modular format to allow for payment of trances against delivery of satisfactory results.

Output 3: Preparatory work towards an archive of community narratives related to violations of human rights is conducted

Output 3 score: A/B (progress made but did not meet all expectations)

Progress against expected results: During this period, work was undertaken to revision the citizen’s archive in light of the project agreement signed on 1 August 2017 between the UNDP and the IFCNR. The revised approach, tentatively labelled MEMORY IN CONFLICT entails the systematic use of tools of documentation, oral history, interview and narrative techniques, and verbal-visual arts to document, archive and disseminate records of both individual and social memories of certain historical periods of conflict and war in support of a peaceful future for Iraq. This is in line with SIRI’s commitment to civic reconciliation that is locally-owned, victim-centred, inclusive and civic-led. SIRI’s activities relating to documentation focus on narrative-orientated psycho-social truth-telling documentation efforts aimed at facilitating and enabling agency and voice for victims and survivors, both individually and collectively. This is a deviation from the narrower Citizens Archive human rights documentation approach originally proposed within the SIRI project as there have been concerns raised by government partners about the extent to which such an evidence-orientated fact-finding model is appropriate at this juncture.

The revised multi-pronged research and political engagement stage proposed for the rest of 2017 has by necessity been focused primarily on desktop research, internal information gathering and planning:

• Documentation audit Aim: To survey where both official and unofficial records relevant to forwarding dealing with the past efforts in conflict and post-conflict contexts are already in existence, are currently being collected and / or created, and to identify needs in terms of improving, maintaining, and consolidating existing human rights documentation work in Iraq. Certain agencies within the UN are concentrating their efforts on the general documentation and monitoring of commissions of acts by ISIL1, while others are engaged in the documentation of specific crimes.2 Further, given the established and well-documented role that civil society groups have played in documenting human rights violations in conflicts over the past few decades, and the extent to which these records have contributed to justice and accountability proceedings globally, a similar survey of unofficial documentation initiatives undertaken by international and national NGOs in Iraq will be undertaken.

Activities undertaken: o Two data collection mechanisms have been drafted as part of the archival audit process, to be used as the basis for face-to-face survey interviews with internal and external stakeholders in October and November 2017; o Through desktop research and publication analysis, over 35 UN initiatives, international civil society organisations, and national civil society organisations targets with stated experience in the documentation of gross human rights violations were identified as survey. In addition, multiple training initiatives relating to the documentation of human rights violations within Iraq and

1 Bodies such as UNAMI and OCHRC with general responsibilities towards the early warning and protection of human rights in situations of conflict, violence and insecurity, have concomitant responsibilities, expertise and experience in documenting human rights violations broadly, as is evidenced in the various human rights reports produced since 2014. 2 For example: UNICEF - recruitment and use of children in conflict; UNFPA / UNWomen - rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence; UNHCR / IOM - forcible displacement of civilian populations; UNESCO - destruction of cultural heritage, including archaeological sites, and trafficking of cultural property

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surrounding countries were identified as having taken place in Iraq and the MENA region between international and national civil society partners, often with government representation, in recent years – further information is being sought on these so as to assess and leverage: ▪ Existing capacity within Iraq to be further developed; ▪ Potential sources of training expertise and experience in the region. ▪ Existing bilingual training materials (Arabic – English) Meetings with key stakeholders have been set up for the week starting 15 October 2017.

• Analysis of legal framework Aim: To conduct analysis of existing obligations in terms of international treaties, agreements, and domestic laws that necessitate the creation of records of violation to identify and better understand existing mechanisms for, and sources of, official (state) documentation relating to gross human violations, and to strengthen capacity of government to collect, record and act upon stories of violation within legal framework. Activities: o Through desktop research and publication analysis, dozens of federal laws have been identified for analysis (and, where necessary, translation). o The process of securing credible translation of these laws has begun, and a legal researcher is being recruited in order to produce a matrix of laws with explicit and implicit record creation and management obligations relating to gross human rights violations, as they intersect with the rights to justice, to reparations, to know, and to guarantees of non-recurrence.

• Historical memory & documentation workshops with women and youth – planning work is being undertaken to develop a pilot range of memory in conflict / documentation workshops to be conducted in newly established centre in Tikrit from November 2018. This included a meeting with three representatives (2 men and 1 women) of the implementing NGO overseeing the women’s centre on 10 August 2017 to discuss the memory in conflict programming for the centre. A planning mission for these workshops is taking place on 30 October 2017 by the UNDP gender specialist and the SIRI programme specialist: memory in conflict. In addition, meetings were held internally with representatives from the Camp Coordination and Management Cluster (CCMC) to explore possibilities of piloting documentation initiatives within existing camps and within proposed Urban Displacement Resource Centres.

• Training collaboration with Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs As a result of a meeting between MOLSA, the IFNRC and SIRI on 25 July 2017, and a follow up meeting between the Director-General of the Women’s Protection Directorate within MOLSA on 1 August 2017, work has been undertaken to develop and pilot training programme for 20 - 25 social workers across 4 - 5 governorates focusing on psychologically sound methodologies / strategies for working with victims (listening, prompting), and documenting their testimonies in support of rehabilitation. According to the DG, A training needs assessment workshop originally scheduled to take place in Baghdad in September 2017, finally took place on 10 October 2017. This training needs assessment was conducted as according to the DG, social workers have previously participated in training workshops that did not meet the needs of the organisation. This TNA was attended by the Director-General and 13 female social workers, as well as two male observers from MOLSA. Key resource and training needs and wished identified through this meeting included: o The theory of reconciliation and how this relates practically to the work of social workers working within MOLSA, particularly as it relates to reparations and the guarantee of non-recurrence, and the ways in which documentation underpins reconciliation efforts; o The domestic legal mechanisms, and related international agreements and obligations, that enable (and obligate) social workers to undertake the documentation of human rights violations – not being clear on the authority to do this work was a clear concern identified by a number of participants; o Mechanisms to collaborate with other public bodies, including the Ministry of Human Rights, the Committee for Martyrs and Political Prisoners, around human rights violation documentation work as it relates to reconciliation, including referral pathways for access to material and psycho-social reparations; o Learning more about, and having the opportunity to practise, appropriate interview and documentation techniques;

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o Development of culturally appropriate skills and strategies to address mistrust, fear, and perceived risk of stigmatisation related to speaking about, and documenting, human rights violations, including public awareness campaigns to de-mystify the role of social workers in the community; o Specific training on documentation principles and practices, including the principles of do no harm, informed consent, confidentiality, information storage and security, data verification processes, and referral pathways;

Perhaps the most consistent feedback was the extent to which the social workers expressed appreciation of, and the continuing need for, other space to discuss their work internally as they have many ideas about how they can improve their work, as well as to learn from social workers working in similar conflict / post-conflict environments.

This meeting also highlighted the urgent need for greater translation support within the SIRI project team, and the development of a stable, contextually appropriate lexicon of reconciliation terminology in order to mitigate against important issues being lost in translation.

• A follow up meeting is scheduled at MOLSA is scheduled for 17 October 2017 in order to agree the timelines for delivery of the pilot workshop series to begin in November 2017, with replicable model to be rolled out in other governorates in 2018.

Review of implications of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2379 In September 2017, an internal review was undertaken to identify opportunities for the UNDP Support for Integrated Reconciliation in Iraq (SIRI) Project to contribute to the work of the Investigative Team proposed in UNSC Resolution 2379. NOTE: Indicators and targets have been adjusted to reflect new approach to human rights documentation and memory work as of mid-2017 Indicators: • Number of consultations, dialogue sessions and training workshops carried out • Number of people participating in local documentation initiatives capacitated in documentation (disaggregated by gender) • Number of records collected by capacitated documentation initiatives • Number of existing data sets of records of gross human rights violations collected • Creation of community driven web portal • Number of stories collected in web portal

Baseline: • No Audit of human rights documentation exists currently; • No analysis of legal framework exists currently; • Women’s Centre not yet operational in Tikrit • Training Needs Assessment reveals that MOLSA training is inadequate as far as documentation needs are concerned.

Narrative: See above

Recommendations: It is recommended that the SIRI/IFCNR embark on a joint planning exercise to develop a national action plan for the implementation of victim’s centred human rights documentation process in 2018. It is critically important for this to be a national, inclusive process official endorsed by the Iraqi state, with clear shared objectives between the GoI and the UN and that it works across all communities in Iraq. At the same time, it is recommended to engage on a study of victims’ perceptions, insights, needs and experiences, in order to ensure that whatever process is adopted, it addresses the reality of victims and victim communities effectively and compassionately.

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Do No Harm and Sensitivity (max 500 words) Unintended consequences mitigation measures undertaken

Given that the composition of the LPCs can engender new socio-political local dynamics, UNDP has established a guideline that is then reviewed and adopted by each LPC and approved by the IFCNR in order to ensure that the Do No Harm principles are integrated in all project initiatives. More evidence of how the analyses informs our work will be offered when the conflict analyses is completed and distributed.

Conflict Sensitivity

As part of the Do no Harm approach, UNDP engages in a lengthy conflict analysis prior to intervention in order to identify the conflict drivers, peace drivers but also the connectors. This analysis provides adequate background to ensure that the activities are not exacerbating or creating trends, nor that they are changing facts in the ground. In addition, the conflict analysis provides the project management and implementing partners with the capacity to identify the connectors as positive factors for peace and social cohesion, whether they are institutions, individuals, attitudes, and actions, values and interests, experiences and, symbols and occasions. In addition, the project will assess through the M&E process as well as the assessment report from the implementing partners and that of UNDP staff the impact of the activities and how shifts in local context are creating or mitigating risks. Constant updating and monitoring of the situation, combined with feedbacks from the implementing partners and beneficiaries will allow UNDP to have in-depth and real-time understanding of the conflict dynamics, show flexibility and accordingly responsiveness.

Gender Sensitivity

As a cross-cutting issue of paramount importance, Gender-specific and gender-sensitive programming, is a hallmark of each of the three pillars. Specific priorities include empowering women as leaders in peacemaking and peacebuilding institutions and processes, as well as focusing on recording, understanding and responding to the needs of women as victims of GHVs.

Human Rights Compliant

The UNDP ensures that Human Rights principles are integrated in the design and activities implemented on the ground working closely with the HR office in UNAMI through regular bilateral meetings but also formally as co- members of the SRSG’s National Reconciliation Task Force which meets once a month for the explicit purpose to coordinate activities between the mission and the country team. Increased cooperation and coordination, within the UN Taskforce for National Reconciliation, has resulted in human rights documentation to be included amongst the suggested provisions for the Historical Settlement process facilitated by UNAMI.

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INTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES

Add intermediate outcomes (where appropriate) to help to bridge the gap between outputs and outcomes, indicated by a project output being adopted and/or implemented by a beneficiary. ‘Adoption’ will likely vary by output, strand, context, beneficiary, etc. And as such, the manner in which adoption takes place, or is expected to take place, should be noted in the reporting narrative section.

For example, an output may be a policy document with a set of recommendations – the intermediate outcome is that those recommendations get adopted (incorporated, acknowledged, used to inform) in government policy or law, and the corresponding outcome is that those recommendations are implemented by the government as its own law (i.e. it allocates resources for this, rolls it out as intended, etc.), and the implementation of this results in a change (i.e. the outcome).

INTERMEDIATE OUTCOME 1: [insert Intermediate Outcome as worded in log frame]

Progress against expected results:

Indicator: Target:

Result:

Narrative:

Recommendations: None so far as this is the first stage.

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OUTCOME LEVEL

Based on available evidence, including comparison of planned and achieved milestones/results and assessment of the theory of change assumptions, provide a brief assessment of whether we expect to achieve the project Outcome. Where this looks unlikely summarise any management actions for recommendation. Provide examples of impact. This may be a narrative report and/or detail against the outcome indicators. Focus on attribution.

Add intermediate outcomes where appropriate to help to bridge outputs and outcomes (i.e. Output = ToR drafted; Intermediate outcome = ToR adopted/approved; Outcome may be implementation/delivery of certain parts of ToR; Result could be the effect caused by outcome)

OUTCOME 1: [insert Outcome as worded in log frame]

Outcome 1 score:

Progress against expected results:

Indicator:

Baseline:

Target:

Result:

Narrative:

Recommendations:

OUTCOME 2: [insert Outcome as worded in log frame]

Outcome 2 score:

Progress against expected results:

Baseline:

Target:

Result:

Narrative:

Recommendations:

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IMPACT: Examples of how your outcomes may have contributed (or attributed) to positive (and/or negative) impacts

Section B: Results and Value for Money

1. Progress and results

1.1 Has the log frame been updated since last review? The logframe is updated on an ongoing basis.

1.2 Direct feedback from beneficiaries and key stakeholders. Has the level of host/local Government support or engagement changed? If so, how? (max 200 words)

The most fundamental change during this quarter has been the heightening of Baghdad/Erbil tension following the Kurdish referendum for independence. The threat of military conflict has still not been fully averted. At the same time both goverments (KRI; GoI) have repeatedly expressed their commitment to non-violent resolution of the current conflict, both in the disputed areas as well as over statehood.

Close cooperation has followed the signing of the partnership between the IFCRN and the UNDP and all work is regularly discussed, not only on points of common ground but also robustly no points where there may be legitimate differences of opinion or approach. This constructive engagement has undoubtedly enriched the project so far.

1.3 Detail discussions with other donors and implementers working in the same field to ensure coordination (max 200 words)

Moreover, working groups which have been held in Erbil and Baghdad and which will follow in other locations including Mosul, are precisely aimed at facilitating these discussions and have been able to do effectively. UN agencies and the mission continue to convene a monthly National Reconciliation Task Force meeting to coordinate internally, and in addition, the UNDP and OPA meet regularly to compare approaches, notes, workplans and findings. The German Foreign Office has contributed funding for a position in the team to coordinate all efforts nation-wide towards community and civic-led reconciliation. To some degree this work will overlap and strengthen the working group initiative.

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1.4 Key challenges and Lessons Learned – Max 200 words

1. Following the Kurdish referendum, volatility in the NInewah plains and Diyala significantly rose. It impeded the movements of staff, most notably to Saádiyah and Mosul. This reality continues to constrict the free movement of field teams to some degree, although UNDP has been working closely with security agencies to find the most efficient ways to travel to communities. A mitigating measure has been to shift certain activities to areas where it is safer to gather.

2. Recruitment processes have been sped up, and the team has begun to take promising shape during the last 3 months. The project was able to appoint one international and two national staff, finalise the recruitment of two further internationals (Public Awareness specialist and Programme Manager) and two national staff members.

3. Another key lesson has been the increased willingness to contemplate durable options for reconciliation in some quarters of the GoI. This bodes well for the project going forward, as long as these stakeholders are seen to continue to act in good faith and build trust, especially in places where such trust has been historically low.

4. Another important lesson relates to the challenges of ensuring political buy-in for a comprehensive accountability programme focused on victims. Not only is there no historical precedent for this, but government is hesitant to embark on a programme of this sensitivity and scale unless it is manifestly safe and realisable—and this needs further scoping and planning, not least in direct sessions with victims over the next quarter.

2. Costs and timescale (provide a detailed separate spend report which should match the original activity based budget)

2.1 Is the project on-track against financial forecasts: Yes, if the total project period is taken as reference. It is beginning to catch up on the schedule and further fast-tracked delivery should see a continued increase in spending over the next months.

As stated above, a key challenge has been to recruit the relevant international staff to the project; individuals with the necessary background and a willingness to be stationed in Baghdad and/or Erbil. This has also led to a slow start to the spending curve of the project, but given the fast-tracked recruitment now under way, we are confidence that the project remains on track against the financial forecasts.

Our predication remains that the project will indeed spend the available funds on activities as set out in the project bid and achieve the expected results.

2.2 Is the project on-track against original timescale: No, but remedial action is now paying visible dividends, mitigating the risk factor of non-delivery.As indicated above, the project is finally beginning to catch up with the original timescale. Securing the buy-in from actors remains tricky—and so the project remains extremely careful not to rush ahead with implementation without the requisite buy-in across the ethnic, sectarian and political spectrum. The project has succeeded in significantly deepening the buy-in in various governorates where it is operationa, due to consistent missions to these areas by staff competent to build the necessary trust in the project.

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3. Risk – If required update the Risk Register in the original Project Bid

3.1 Output Risk Rating: Moderate

3.2 Risk of funds not being used as intended

The project budget was allocated and revised through a rigorous process to ensure robust control and consistency with UNDP internal control framework and corporate rule and regulation. The project is also subjected to our regular revision and audit to ensure funds are spent as planned. So, there a relatively small risk of the funds not being used as initially planned. With the remaining time the project will be able to deliver as expected.

4. Conclusions and actions (250 words)

At the end of the third quarter, the project can report significant progress in at least two of the three pillars, namely with LPCs and Conflict and Memory/Citizens Archive. In both these areas, we anticipated significant scale up during the next quarter. Work on the public awareness campaign is finally also off the ground, and should be ready to roll out sometime during the fourth quarter.

5. Review Process (max 100 words)

The review was done by the Chief Technical Advisor, with inputs from the project staff. Information used in this report were sought from the minutes of the regular meetings we had with counterparts from the Iraqi Government and other partners.

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