Counselling, documentation and research centres for victims of political violence and relatives of missing persons in Iraq


Project locations:
Tuz Khurmatu, Kifri/Smood, Badinan-area, Kirkuk, Northern Iraq

Implementing agency:
HAUKARI – Association of International Co-operation, Germany
Head of Board: Dr. Bernhard Winter (physician);
Programme Co-ordinator: Karin Mlodoch (psychologist);
Falkstr. 34, 60487 Frankfurt/M., Germany
E-mail: mlodoch@haukari.de; info@haukari.de

Long term project goal:
To promote post-conflict reconciliation in the Iraqi society by providing support to victims of political violence

Project objectives:



1. Implementing agency

1.1. HAUKARI e.V.
Since 1995 HAUKARI – Association for International Co-operation has been registered as a charity organisation in Frankfurt in the areas of development co-operation and intercultural dialogue. Several founding members of HAUKARI have been working with international aid organisations in northern Iraq since 1991. Founded during a period of decreasing international focus on the situation in northern Iraq, HAUKARI aims to direct international attention to the necessity of a political solution in Iraq for the Kurds while at the same time supporting social projects and civil society structures in Northern Iraq.
Since its inception, HAUKARI has conducted research, prepared publications and participated in conferences and workshops on the situation in Iraq - specifically on the consequences of so-called humanitarian intervention in Iraq in 1991 and on the situation of the survivors of political violence under the Ba’ath-regime. HAUKARI has been working with the Kurdistan Health Foundation providing basic health services to rural areas and especially those devastated by the Anfal-operations. Additionally, HAUKARI co-operates with the KHANZAD social and cultural centre for women in Sulaimania, offering legal, social and medical counselling to women as well as a literacy programme and vocational training. HAUKARI is committed to improving the situation of female prisoners and to reforming laws in the Iraqi family and civil code which discriminate against women.
Now that the Ba’ath-regime has been removed, the necessary preconditions for reunification of the different regions in Iraq are present. HAUKARI supports projects promoting reconciliation in Iraq and dialogue between civil society and feminist structures in northern, central and southern Iraq such as a newly opened counselling centre for women in Khanaquin, a city exhibiting severe conflict among Turkmen, Arab and Kurdish communities.

HAUKARI’s activities are funded by private donations. HAUKARI has also received grants from private foundations in Germany: UN/DHA Geneva, the Berlin Office for Development Co-Operation, Oxfam Germany and AWO International among others.
For more information, please refer to our website: www.haukari.de.

1.2. HAUKARI’s view on the current political situation in Iraq
HAUKARI e.V. has been working for a political change in Iraq for years and was worried and concerned about that change being brought by military intervention at the end. At the same time, however, HAUKARI firmly criticises those among the war opponents who downplay the dictatorial and terrorist nature of the Ba’ath-regime and diminish the dimension of its crimes against humanity. On the basis of our activities in Iraq dealing with the consequences of the cruelty and ruthlessness of the Ba’ath-system, HAUKARI, together with our Kurdish partner organisations, have welcomed the removal of the regime and recognises it as a precondition for the democratic and peaceful development of Iraq.
HAUKARI e.V. calls upon the German federal government and German institutions to get involved in the political process in Iraq beyond international disputes and to strengthen the new transitional Iraqi government and civil society structures and the process of reconciliation and democratisation in Iraq.

1.3. Development policy approach
HAUKARI supports non-partisan civil society structures oriented towards a multiethnic democratic Iraq with gender equality as a decisive criteria.
Most projects are designed with and implemented by local partners where HAUKARI provides only consultation and funding. In certain projects, like the one presented here, HAUKARI takes ownership for the initial phase of a project until local structures are strengthened and then hands over responsibility after a time.
In its activities, HAUKARI takes cares to avoid duplication and/or parallel structures in the public sector. Local salaries are matched with salaries in the public sector in order to prevent an exodus of professionals from governmental and public sectors. HAUKARI has not set up its own infrastructure within Iraq, but rather uses project and partner facilities.
All activities are shared and discussed with the local authorities (the Kurdish regional governments, the Iraqi government) as well as with traditional structures such as tribal elders, village councils etc.
HAUKARI is registered as a charity organisation with the Kurdish regional government and is currently seeking authorisation with the Iraqi government. At present, HAUKARI is also co-ordinating with UN-structures and the Coalition Provisional Authority in the project areas.


2. Project background

2.1. The crimes of the Ba’ath-regime
One of the challenges facing the new Iraqi government and the Iraqi society is the horrible heritage of the Ba’ath-terror and how to deal with it. Ever since the removal of the regime, more than 150 mass graves have been discovered in all parts of Iraq. Some of them are cemeteries with numbered graves where the identity of executed political prisoners can be determined. Most of them, however, are unmarked mass graves where presumably up to three hundred thousand missing persons will be found: 8,000 men of the Kurdish Barzani tribe deported in 1983, up to 182,000 men and women who disappeared during the so-called Anfal-operation in the north in 1988, tens of thousands of Scia people deported from Basrah after the failed insurrection in 1991, Turkmens, Assyrians, deported families from Marsh areas in Southern Iraq, Kuwaiti and Iranian prisoners of war: a kaleidoscope of the history of violence in Iraq.
For tens of thousands of families of missing persons, the post-war situation is over-shadowed by grief after decades of uncertainty regarding the fate of their loved ones.
Exhumation of the mass graves, identification of the dead, securing evidence, offering certainty to families – this is only the beginning of the long road which lies ahead of Iraqi society. Those responsible must to be brought to justice without persecuting each member of the Ba’ath party in a lengthy trial; tons of documents found in prisons and police stations must be evaluated; tribunals must be prepared; reconciliation has to be promoted without violating the legitimate demand for justice from the relatives of victims and models for compensation and solutions for property conflicts must be found. Various initiatives at juridical, political, psychological and social level are requested to ensure a sustainable reconciliation process which includes all religious, ethnic and political dimensions of Iraqi society.

Throughout Iraq the Ba’ath regime used deportation and forced resettlement of population groups as a means of repression and control. Up to eight hundred thousand Kurds have been exiled rom Kirkuk, Khanaquin and surrounding areas alone, mostly to Kurd-governed areas. Still others have been sent to the South. Arab families, on the other hand, have been resettled by means of force or economic incentives. Other deportation operations have affected Scia people in the South.
At present, no political, administrative and juridical framework for dealing with this issue has been put into place. To complicate matters further, formerly deported families are returning to their original homes. Conflicts regarding property, administrative issues and compensation tend to increase if not addressed by the new government.

2.2. The Anfal-operations of 1988
Among the numerous crimes of the Ba’ath-regime, the so called Anfal-operations are emerging in terms of dimension and systematic planning. Premeditated, openly announced, documented in detail and justified as the “final solution” for the Kurdish resistance, they were large military operations against the whole population in the mostly Kurdish inhabited Iran-Iraq border region as well as in some parts of the Badinan area and the surrounding areas of Kirkuk. During 5 different Anfal-operations from February to August 1988, thousands of villages were destroyed the population gathered and brought first to prisons then later resettled in “collective towns”. Up to 182,000 young men and women disappeared, most of them without trace even to this day.
A part of Anfal surviving families could return to their original villages after 1991. Until now, others remained in precarious situations in the collective towns, among them the big group of “Anfal widows”: women who sometimes lost all of their male relatives. These women have lived in a precarious environment for the last 15 years. Many of them have been subjected to violence in prisons and camps. Their psychological situation has been characterised by uncertainty and continuous oscillation between desperation and hope, which has made them unable to develop new life perspectives. Their situation has been further aggravated by an unclear social and legal status due to a patriarchal, traditional and rural environment, which does not provide for any life concept for a woman without a man.
For these women now, the removal of the Ba’ath-regime is followed the by the sad certainty, that their loved ones are not going to come back. The time of grief is now beginning. According to human rights organisations, many of the Anfal survivors are now travelling to mass grave sites, digging with their own hands.
Most of the Anfal survivors live in poor economic conditions, are illiterate and have only limited access to education and little means to articulate their demands for justice and compensation.
For Anfal survivors, Anfal has not yet come to an end. First and foremost the survivors need certainty. Then they will need support during the painful process of identification, exhumation and burial of their loved ones, in legal and social issues, in developing new perspectives and in advocating for their demands, needs and expectations in the reconciliation process.

2.3. Needs
The Ministry for Human Rights of the new Iraqi government, the respective ministries of the Kurdistan regional governments, the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), the United Nations and international human rights organisations have begun to implement procedures for the protection and opening of mass grave sites, for forensic investigations, for collecting evidence and preparing the framework and the necessary institutions for archiving documents and bringing those responsible to justice. Considering the huge number of victims, this process may take decades. In the face of these monumental challenges, little consideration has been given to direct services for survivors and their participation in the reconciliation process.
Since the removal of the regime, numerous self-help initiatives have been formed by victims throughout Iraq such as the Committee for Free Prisoners in all cities of Iraq, Anfal committees in the north and local groups for the protection of mass graves etc. Most of these groups lack support in terms of material and funds as well as expertise and experience.
The project presented here focuses on providing direct aid to victims and strengthening their capacities and structures for getting involved in the overall process of reconciliation in Iraq.

HAUKARI is well aware that the reconciliation process, with a velocity and dynamics all its own, cannot be accelerated from the outside, but rather must be developed from within a society. We know from our own history that it may take decades for a post-conflict society traumatised by experiences of atrocious violence to address specific instances of political violence and sensitive issues such as dialogue between perpetrators and victims.
The designed project is, therefore, strictly limited to addressing the explicitly articulated, direct needs of victims and to accompanying them through the process of gaining self-consciousness, competence and development of advocacy strategies.
The project has been designed to be complementary to other initiatives throughout Iraq from governmental, local and international structures.
The participation of the target group in designing and developing the project is a fundamental element. All activities will be shared and discussed with local initiatives, local authorities, governmental bodies and traditional structures as well as co-ordinated with similar or complementary initiatives and projects of international organisations.

2.4. Selection of locations and target groups
In the first stage, the counselling centres will be set up in northern Iraq and the Anfal areas. This is partly due to security considerations but also to the long-standing expertise of HAUKARI in Northern Iraq and its work with Anfal survivors. However, the counselling centres will be open to all victims of political violence from all ethnic, religious and political groups and will also include victims of current violence such as gender-based violence, ethnic conflicts or human rights violations by occupation forces.
There will be a specific offer of aid to the large group of female-headed households among the victims.
Networking between victims throughout Iraq and a focus on dialogue and unity between all ethnic and religious communities is a fundamental guideline for all activities.
Future plans for the project include expansion to central and southern Iraq.


3. Project description

3.1. Objectives and beneficiaries
Over the course of the first project year, three counselling centres for victims of political violence will be established. The first centre will open its doors in February 2004 in the town of Tuz Khurmatu. Further centres shall follow in central and southern Iraq.
Based on practical experience in the counselling centres, audio-visual documentation of testimonies will be gathered and archived (oral history). Local researchers will be encouraged and funded in research on the social, psychological and political impact of political violence and preconditions for reconciliation.

Long-term project goal: To support a socially-rooted reconciliation process as a precondition for democratic development in Iraq through direct aid, capacity building and facilitating networking and advocacy of victims and their initiatives and associations.

Direct project objectives:


Beneficiaries (target groups) of the counselling centres:


In addition to this defined target group of victims of political violence under the Ba’ath-regime, the counselling centre will be open to victims of current human rights violations and violence including:


As the counselling centre will be one of few social projects offering social services in places like Tuz Khurmatu, it is expected that people in all kinds of crisis situations will refer to the centre. Close co-operation with other social services and projects, such as health organisations, health stations, women’s shelters etc. and with governmental institutions is foreseen in order to ensure that people are referred to the proper experts in emergency situations.

Based on statistics from other projects supported by HAUKARI such as a women’s counselling centre in Khanaquin, an estimated 450 persons per month will benefit from the centre in terms of counselling, vocational training and seminars.

Target groups of the documentation and research activities:


3.2. Project activities

Component 1
Direct aid and counselling for victims of political violence and relatives of missing persons:


The centre will maintain regular hours of operation and separate rooms reserved for women only to enable women from traditional backgrounds to benefit from counselling, seminars and the opportunity for exchange with other women. A nursery for children will enable women with children to benefit from counselling and events.
A teashop will be opened (with a separate room for women) and a library will offer victims and their relatives the opportunity to meet and converse in an informal setting.

Capacity building for victims’ associations


Component 2
Documentation of testimonies (oral history) and promoting research


3.3. Ownership
As outlined above, local initiatives, while part of the project planning process, lack the experience and means to establish counselling centres. HAUKARI e.V. will assume ownership of the project for a period of two years with a non-native supervisor co-ordinating the different counselling centres and components of the project; all other staff members will be recruited locally. Staff will be recruited from all different ethnic and religious groups in the specific areas. Women will make up at least 50% of the staff.
Local initiatives and organisations will be strengthened, trained and empowered to build up the local infrastructure in order to take over the centres within two years.

An international consultative board of researchers from different fields (psychologists, historians, sociologists etc.) and representatives of human rights organisations will oversee and advise the project and commit themselves to addressing the issue of political violence in Iraq in international research and discussion.

3.4. Project commencement
January 2004 with establishment of the first counselling centre in Tuz Khurmatu

3.5. Donors and co-operation partners
The first stage of the project is being funded by Oxfam Germany. The project will be co-ordinated with the Human Rights Ministries of the Kurdish regional governments and the Iraqi government, with the CPA, the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other local and international projects committed to the Iraqi reconciliation process.




HAUKARI Germany
Project description: Counselling centres for victims of political violence in Iraq;
15th of January 2004




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