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Iraq

LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Independent Media in the Arab Region

Material outputs are most useful when they hold long-term temporal value and become staple references, such as the Human Rights Code of Ethics for North Africa and the Middle East (JHR code of ethics for human rights journalists on a regional level). In this case, the Implementing Partner relies on synergies with its other projects and thus far has increased signatories committed to the code by 100% beyond target.

Project Name
Strengthening Independent Media in the Arab Region
Project Partner
Journalist for Human Rights
Project Description

The project aims to strengthen independent media in the Arab region so as to build greater accountability and better governance, by improving the working environment for journalists; advancing media freedom and accessible information and data; enhancing the capacity of freelance and full-time journalists to cover sensitive human rights stories; and improving journalists’ legal knowledge through strong working partnerships with civic actors. Project activities also incorporate responses to the Covid-19 crisis for journalists on the front line.

Report
UDF-19-853-RAS_Final.pdf
Evaluation Date
February 2025
Theme
Media
Country
Iraq
Lebanon
Morocco
Tunisia
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Independent Media in the Arab Region

Flexibility in project design is key to successfully implemented projects in rapidly changing contexts, especially in cases of deteriorating security, war, and (previous) pandemic-related lockdowns. In this project, the Implementing Partner has been able to effectively and efficiently shift activity implementation by relying on synergies from previous UNDEF-supported activities, networks of journalists and civic actors, as well as in-kind contribution to ensure successful project continuity. 

Project Name
Strengthening Independent Media in the Arab Region
Project Partner
Journalist for Human Rights
Project Description

The project aims to strengthen independent media in the Arab region so as to build greater accountability and better governance, by improving the working environment for journalists; advancing media freedom and accessible information and data; enhancing the capacity of freelance and full-time journalists to cover sensitive human rights stories; and improving journalists’ legal knowledge through strong working partnerships with civic actors. Project activities also incorporate responses to the Covid-19 crisis for journalists on the front line.

Report
UDF-19-853-RAS_Final.pdf
Evaluation Date
February 2025
Theme
Media
Country
Iraq
Lebanon
Morocco
Tunisia
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Independent Media in the Arab Region

Inclusive partnership strategies and local participation during project design and at the project start-up stage are critical for more precise and consistent alignment with contemporary priorities. Consistent involvement in project implementation by local offices and coordinators is necessary to mitigate contextual challenges and effectuate activity redesign, including bottom-up involvement in the development of training materials and knowledge-sharing. In this case, the presence of country offices has been critical in mitigating project delays, changes in collaborative work with local authorities, and relying on broader networks of civic and media actors to ensure timeliness and impact. 

Project Name
Strengthening Independent Media in the Arab Region
Project Partner
Journalist for Human Rights
Project Description

The project aims to strengthen independent media in the Arab region so as to build greater accountability and better governance, by improving the working environment for journalists; advancing media freedom and accessible information and data; enhancing the capacity of freelance and full-time journalists to cover sensitive human rights stories; and improving journalists’ legal knowledge through strong working partnerships with civic actors. Project activities also incorporate responses to the Covid-19 crisis for journalists on the front line.

Report
UDF-19-853-RAS_Final.pdf
Evaluation Date
February 2025
Theme
Media
Country
Iraq
Lebanon
Morocco
Tunisia
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Independent Media in the Arab Region

An alternative strategy to foster more impactful and sustainable practices among media and civic actors in multi-country projects is to focus on specific themes of common interest, such as climate justice and gender or minority rights (which figured prominently in this project) across countries. Not only would this allow for the design of catered trainings, skill-and-capacity-building activities that focus on specific human rights areas but would sustain the network of journalists and civic actors focused on common interests regionally and internationally. In this case, project participants from different countries have been able to share experience, lessons, barriers, and solutions resulting in productive media outputs.

Project Name
Strengthening Independent Media in the Arab Region
Project Partner
Journalist for Human Rights
Project Description

The project aims to strengthen independent media in the Arab region so as to build greater accountability and better governance, by improving the working environment for journalists; advancing media freedom and accessible information and data; enhancing the capacity of freelance and full-time journalists to cover sensitive human rights stories; and improving journalists’ legal knowledge through strong working partnerships with civic actors. Project activities also incorporate responses to the Covid-19 crisis for journalists on the front line.

Report
UDF-19-853-RAS_Final.pdf
Evaluation Date
February 2025
Theme
Media
Country
Iraq
Lebanon
Morocco
Tunisia
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Independent Media in the Arab Region

Inclusive project designs that rely on human rights actors from diverse professions and backgrounds have a high potential for engaging stakeholders and local authorities. In this case, inclusive project designs in Tunisia and Lebanon allowed to effectively work with local authorities towards understanding and addressing issues related to access to information and data-driven journalism.

Project Name
Strengthening Independent Media in the Arab Region
Project Partner
Journalist for Human Rights
Project Description

The project aims to strengthen independent media in the Arab region so as to build greater accountability and better governance, by improving the working environment for journalists; advancing media freedom and accessible information and data; enhancing the capacity of freelance and full-time journalists to cover sensitive human rights stories; and improving journalists’ legal knowledge through strong working partnerships with civic actors. Project activities also incorporate responses to the Covid-19 crisis for journalists on the front line.

Report
UDF-19-853-RAS_Final.pdf
Evaluation Date
February 2025
Theme
Media
Country
Iraq
Lebanon
Morocco
Tunisia
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Independent Media in the Arab Region

For journalism projects, access to information trainings and data-driven journalism capacity-building/sensitization workshops are essential. In all four project countries, project participants emphasized the increased difficulties in accessing information to engage in data-driven reporting to counter rampant disinformation and the positive impact of specifically catered initiatives to help access information and data.

Project Name
Strengthening Independent Media in the Arab Region
Project Partner
Journalist for Human Rights
Project Description

The project aims to strengthen independent media in the Arab region so as to build greater accountability and better governance, by improving the working environment for journalists; advancing media freedom and accessible information and data; enhancing the capacity of freelance and full-time journalists to cover sensitive human rights stories; and improving journalists’ legal knowledge through strong working partnerships with civic actors. Project activities also incorporate responses to the Covid-19 crisis for journalists on the front line.

Report
UDF-19-853-RAS_Final.pdf
Evaluation Date
February 2025
Theme
Media
Country
Iraq
Lebanon
Morocco
Tunisia
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Independent Media in the Arab Region

Another multi-faceted benefit of regional partnerships are the synergies that are created on the national level stemming from local partners that bring different experiences and lessons learned to the fore. In this case, the Moroccan partner focuses on producing stories in multiple vernacular languages for community-level resonance and highlights the role of communitarian media as garnering legitimacy among listeners and readers at the local level. In Tunisia, the local office brings a large network of journalists, media professionals, and engaged civic organizations to the project that helps informing on navigating complex legal frameworks governing information access.

Project Name
Strengthening Independent Media in the Arab Region
Project Partner
Journalist for Human Rights
Project Description

The project aims to strengthen independent media in the Arab region so as to build greater accountability and better governance, by improving the working environment for journalists; advancing media freedom and accessible information and data; enhancing the capacity of freelance and full-time journalists to cover sensitive human rights stories; and improving journalists’ legal knowledge through strong working partnerships with civic actors. Project activities also incorporate responses to the Covid-19 crisis for journalists on the front line.

Report
UDF-19-853-RAS_Final.pdf
Evaluation Date
February 2025
Theme
Media
Country
Iraq
Lebanon
Morocco
Tunisia
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Civil Society Monitoring of Governorate Councils in Iraq

Although factors like the security situation in Iraq made it difficult to probe the impact of the intervention, significant advances were made in short-term government responsiveness and transparency to the public. The grantee published Annual Monitoring Reports to highlight the gap between public expectations and the actual performance of the Governorate Councils. These were circulated widely and managed to attract considerable interest from the mass media and senior government officials. In response, several of the participating Governorates Councils devoted greater efforts to transparency and providing information to the public. Further, the central government expressed their interest in expanding civil society monitoring to all provinces in the country.
Project Name
Civil Society Monitoring of Governorate Councils in Iraq
Project Partner
UM-Alyateem Foundation
Project Description
The project sought to enhance government transparency at provincial level in Iraq by training civil society organizations in monitoring and accountability. This approach was particularly relevant in the Iraqi political context, where provincial legislatures’ (Governorates Councils) capacities are weak. Although impact was difficult to measure for the evaluation team, and much work remains to be done in order to meet overall objectives, the short-term achievements of the project were considerable. The project illustrated how civil society monitoring of provincial authorities in Iraq effectively can enhance government accountability – if both civil society and authorities are willing to make the effort.
Report
UDF-IRQ-10-372-ER-1.pdf
Evaluation Date
August 2014
Theme
Interaction with government
Country
Iraq
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Civil Society Monitoring of Governorate Councils in Iraq

As civilian oversight was a politically sensitive issue in Iraq, the support from an international third party like UNDEF added explicit value to the project. The legitimacy provided by the UN label alongside the grantee’s credibility and networking skills gave reassurance to both government and civil society partners in undertaking or supporting the initiative.
Project Name
Civil Society Monitoring of Governorate Councils in Iraq
Project Partner
UM-Alyateem Foundation
Project Description
The project sought to enhance government transparency at provincial level in Iraq by training civil society organizations in monitoring and accountability. This approach was particularly relevant in the Iraqi political context, where provincial legislatures’ (Governorates Councils) capacities are weak. Although impact was difficult to measure for the evaluation team, and much work remains to be done in order to meet overall objectives, the short-term achievements of the project were considerable. The project illustrated how civil society monitoring of provincial authorities in Iraq effectively can enhance government accountability – if both civil society and authorities are willing to make the effort.
Report
UDF-IRQ-10-372-ER-1.pdf
Evaluation Date
August 2014
Theme
Interaction with government
Country
Iraq
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Civil Society Monitoring of Governorate Councils in Iraq

The monitoring training had some weaknesses. The training attempted to cover a great deal of detail, much of it technical, in two, short intensive workshops. More time should have been given to allow the trainees to fully absorb new knowledge. Another weakness was the decision to provide monitoring training to only one individual per partner organization. Such an approach limited the opportunity to build CSO institutional capacity, and is likely to limit the depth of commitment of the participating organizations to the monitoring process in Iraq.
Project Name
Civil Society Monitoring of Governorate Councils in Iraq
Project Partner
UM-Alyateem Foundation
Project Description
The project sought to enhance government transparency at provincial level in Iraq by training civil society organizations in monitoring and accountability. This approach was particularly relevant in the Iraqi political context, where provincial legislatures’ (Governorates Councils) capacities are weak. Although impact was difficult to measure for the evaluation team, and much work remains to be done in order to meet overall objectives, the short-term achievements of the project were considerable. The project illustrated how civil society monitoring of provincial authorities in Iraq effectively can enhance government accountability – if both civil society and authorities are willing to make the effort.
Report
UDF-IRQ-10-372-ER-1.pdf
Evaluation Date
August 2014
Theme
Interaction with government
Country
Iraq