Iraq and Somalia: Securing protection and promoting fundamental freedoms of vulnerable minorities
This evaluation covers work MRG did in Iraq and Somalia to support minority activists in these two complex and challenging contexts. It stated:
‘During the three year period Iraq and Somalia each presented stark and complex configurations of unresolved political/institutional conflicts, lethal in-fighting and political positioning along identity (religious, ethnic or clan) lines.
MRG was successful in managing to deliver alongside partners in both contexts. In Iraq their operations covered, for example – Baghdad itself, Basra, Zubagr, Nineveh Province’s Al hamdaniy and Telkif Districts, Dohuk and Erbil.
For Somalia, work was not confined to Nairobi (initial political site and base for the Transitional National Government or TNG and later the Transitional Federal Government or TFG) but also extended with the help of partners to Mogadishu, Puntland, South Central Somalia and Somaliland. Target groups were minority populations from all walks of life, with a conscious inclusion and generally high ratio of women. In many cases the settings and populations served had been out of reach in terms of participation and visibility to national or international actors.’
Recommendations to MRG included better planning for security contingencies, improved dissemination and a higher presence on the ground.
Download the full evaluation report here.