PAX has been working in Iraq for over two decades. PAX’s Protection of Civilians program has been implementing activities in the country since 2016. We work with Iraqi communities and civil society organizations to gather and understand civilian perceptions about their own safety and security. We further work with regional and national governmental and security actors to strengthen their capacity to protect civilians.
Iraq is at a crossroads. After over four decades of active conflict, including the war against the Islamic State (S), it now faces a period of transition. This requires security actors like the police to move from a more military-focused role to a civilian and community-centric force. Furthermore, many internally displaced persons (IDPs) are returning to their areas of origin, and many former IS fighters and their families are being repatriated to Iraq. Nonetheless, tensions persist, particularly over governance and economic issues. There are further worrying trends of civic space shrinking. The security conditions in the wider region are increasingly fragile, which will certainly impact Iraq as it is still heavily susceptible to external influences. This situation requires long-term investment in the capacity of the Iraqi civil society on the one hand, and military, law enforcement and ministries to provide inclusive security on the other hand. Ultimately, civilians should actively take part in shaping their own safety and security by being able to voice concerns, report grievances, and by having structures in place to hold security forces to account.
The PoC team’s work in Iraq primarily consists of research into civilian experiences, perceptions and needs regarding their security, the performance of security actors, and on community engagement activities at the subnational level, and the training and advising of relevant actors to enhance their capacity to provide civilian-centric security and to mitigate harm to civilians at the subnational and national levels.
Research
PAX research activities in Iraq consist of both our flagship Human Security Survey (HSS) approach, as well as topical qualitative research projects. The HSS is a unique survey methodology developed by PAX, which includes a series of complementary activities, including population-based research, active community engagement, and advocacy. It gathers large-scale, representative data from civilians on their own safety and security situations, in order to use this for local community engagement and peacebuilding efforts, as well as for national and international advocacy.
Our qualitative research in Iraq predominantly focuses on creating understanding and awareness around the direct and reverberating impact of conflict on civilians (‘civilian harm’), as well as on tools, efforts, and mechanisms available to security actors to seek to minimize and address such harm (‘civilian harm mitigation’).
Community engagement
PAX and its partners use their convening power to bring together communities to discuss and find appropriate solutions to the safety and security issues they face. We also use our convening power to hold dialogues between civilians and their security providers on a wide array of topics from localised security issues to awareness raising on the PoC policy. Lastly, we facilitate community champions to design and execute local peace initiatives to contribute towards improved feelings of safety and security in their contexts.
Training and advice
With our partner organization, the Iraqi Al-Amal Association, our team advises and trains military, law enforcement and government agencies with the aim of strengthening Iraq’s capacity to provide inclusive, human-centric protection. This engagement contributed to the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office and the National Committee on IHL adopting the country’s first policy specifically on the Protection of Civilians in 2024. PAX, Al-Amal and the National Committee on IHL now work together to implement the PoC policy. This includes longer-term cooperation with the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior to integrate PoC, civilian harm mitigation, and other civilian protection concepts in existing Iraqi curricula, codes of conducts, standards of operation, and in new, tailored courses for military and law enforcement officers in Iraq.
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