CONTEXT
Post-Daesh Iraq is a country slowly trying to return to normalcy. There are still large numbers of people trying to return to their homes. The entire society is riven with conflict, trauma and sectarian divisions. Paying the highest price for all this are women and children. Weak state institutions are challenged daily by the many militias, affiliated with regional powers, that control infrastructure, checkpoints, as well as actual portions of territory. The Iraqi mosaic, from an element of millennial wealth, has sadly turned into a struggle for supremacy. Iraqi youth have been taking to the streets for years, demanding an end to sectarianism, corruption, and the dominance of arms. And organized civil society is constantly engaged in the long and complex work of rebuilding social ties and peacebuilding.

PROJECT
In Iraq, the curve of Covid-19 contagions continues to rise. For the first time in its history, the country faces a non-military threat that exceeds the causes of violent death.

Now is the right time to promote one of the cherished themes of Iraqi civil society: defending the lives and well-being of the population by investing in human and environmental security instead of military security.

To promote sanitation in Iraq, as an essential way to protect against the virus, it is necessary to guarantee the right to clean, potable water, which is endangered by the country's mismanagement of water resources and widespread water and land pollution.

To this end, in partnership with local NGOs Human Dijla and Sport Against Violence Iraq, Un Ponte Per will work in 9 Iraqi cities-Baghdad, Sulaymaniyah, Hit, Ramadi, Diwaniyah, Amara, Babel, Basra and Tikrit-with two objectives: to defend the right of access to clean water and to raise awareness among the population and local authorities about the connection between environmental safety, health and human security. But also to protect environmental activists and activists who are threatened in Iraq for their nonviolent action to defend the human security of the population.

Thus, trainings will be provided for 540 activists/and on Covid-19 prevention measures, water and environmental protection, population awareness campaigns targeting 27,000 people, advocacy seminars for politicians and entrepreneurs, and school courses targeting 1,800 students. Results will be shared at a National Social Forum on Iraq's Human and Environmental Security and Resilience at Covid among Iraqi and international activists and social workers.

A national campaign will then be organized targeting local authorities for the protection of human rights defender(s), with a particular focus on women activists and environmental activists. A Shelter for threatened human rights defender(s) will be opened in a safe Iraqi location, with co-funding from the European Union's Protect Defenders program.

UPP IN IRAQ
Un Ponte Per (A Bridge To...) begins its story in Iraq back in 1991, alongside and in support of the civilian population who were victims of the Gulf War. Following the post-war emergency, it organizes the campaign to treat Iraqi boys and girls suffering from serious diseases in Italy, initiates school twinning between Italian and Iraqi schools, and launches campaigns to denounce and violate the embargo on the Iraqi population. After the 2003 war, following the burning and looting of the National Library and Historical Archives in Baghdad, Un Ponte Per set off with the program "The House of Books" to renovate its premises, restore manuscripts and train library staff. A commitment that continues to this day with the defense of minority cultural heritage and the preservation of Iraqi archaeological, cultural and environmental sites (such as the "Save the Tigris" water defense campaign). UPP has also been supporting Iraqi activists since 2004, out of whose synergy the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative was born in 2009. At the outbreak of the war in Syria, UPP became involved in Iraq in the work of welcoming and providing psychosocial support to the many people seeking refuge in the country. It is at the forefront of the humanitarian emergency caused by Daesh's (Islamic State) conquest of large portions of Iraq and the ensuing civil war. After the expulsion of Daesh from Iraq, Un Ponte Per inaugurated in the Nineveh Plain its "Peace Workshops," centers where Iraqi youths can engage in sports activities, attend trainings, and socialize with people from different ethnic/religious groups. UPP consistently carries out work to protect and access reproductive health for women and girls. Its peacebuilding work and support for war victims continues till today.