Erbil-Tokyo, 28 June 2017 – More than three million Iraqis are currently displaced as a result of the protracted conflict in Iraq. The experience of displacement has been particularly difficult for young people, whose education and employment opportunities have been upended. Immediate support is urgently needed to...

Arbat, 21 June 2017- “I have no words to express the suffering we went through. I managed to flee Yathrib along with my wife and our two daughters, yet the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) killed my three sons. Since then we are hosted in a camp in Arbat, and we thought we were forgotten. We are so...

Sofia- From 13-17 June 2017, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organized a study tour and workshop in Sofia, Bulgaria, for a group of 11 Parliamentarians and representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to explore models of diversity protection and anti-discrimination legislations in...

Baghdad – The Government of Australia has contributed an additional US$1.5 million to UNDP’s Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS), which finances fast-track initiatives in areas liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). This brings Australia’s total contribution to FFS to almost US$3 million to...

Basra, 08 June 2017- “Every day on my way home from school, my friends and I spend our afternoon playing at the playground,” said Mahdi, 11, from Al Nashwa sub-district of Basra, South of Iraq. In 2015, and under the UNDP-Shell Partnership, four playgrounds were constructed between Basra’s sub-districts of Al...

Baghdad- Marking a key milestone in Fallujah’s recovery, the Government of Iraq and UNDP’s Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS) re-opened Al Azrakiyah Water Treatment Plant, which provides safe water to more than 60% of the city.   The rehabilitation of the plant was one of the key projects requested by the...

Baghdad – The fourth meeting of the Security Sector Reform (SSR) Criminal Justice Working Group (CJWG) was held on 11 May 2017 in Baghdad, co-chaired by Iraqi authorities and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The meeting focused on establishing an Integrated Criminal Justice Information Technology...

Baghdad- The Government of Iraq and UNDP’s Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS) re-opened the As-Salamiyah Water Treatment Plant at a ceremony yesterday in Nimrud. The Treatment Plant, which will provide safe drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people in the Ninewah Plains, is one of the first major...

Baghdad - The Government of Japan has contributed an additional US$16.7 million to UNDP’s Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS) and Iraq Crisis Response and Resilience Programme (ICRRP) to promote stabilization, recovery, and resilience-building in areas liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),...

Basra, 03 May 2017- Along with his father, 37 year-old Nazeer has been running the family’s small carpentry workshop for years in Basra, South of Iraq. His business is based on building doors for houses in his village in Al Nashwah sub-district of Basra.  Artistically carving the wooden doors with designs and Arabic...

Erbil – Iraq’s Ministry of Planning launched the first round of discussions on the National Development Plan of Iraq (NDP) 2018-2022. The three-day conference was jointly organized in Erbil by the Ministry of Planning and the Local Area Development Programme (LADP), a project implemented by the United Nations...

Basra, 23 April 2017- Baneen is amongst the nearly 300 students at Al Jawadain Primary School enjoying and benefiting from new facilities, rehabilitated in early 2016 under the UNDP-Shell Partnership. “I am in the sixth grade, and have been attending Al Jawadain School since the first grade,” said Baneen, 12. “My...

New York – The President of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today welcomed the appointment of Achim Steiner as the Organization’s new Administrator. Mr Steiner’s nomination for UNDP Administrator was forwarded by Secretary-General António Guterres to the General...

Baghdad- Building on dozens of projects already underway, the Government of Iraq today authorized UNDP’s Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS) to initiate 202 more projects to accelerate the immediate stabilization of Mosul and greater Ninewa governorate.   The projects will repair damaged water, sewage and...

New York – The following is a statement on behalf of President of the UNDP Executive Board, Ambassador Ib Petersen, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the UN, on the departure of Helen Clark as Administrator of UNDP: “Helen Clark today completes her time as head of the United Nations Development...

Baghdad– The Government of Turkey has contributed US$750,000 to UNDP’s Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS), which finances fast-track initiatives in areas liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).   Based on priorities identified by the Government of Iraq and local authorities, FFS helps...

Erbil– Over 60 Iraqi officials from the federal and local governments convened in Erbil to participate in the workshop Implementing the New Urban Agenda through Enhanced Planning Capacity and Responsiveness to Citizens’ Needs. The workshop was held on 07-10 April 2017, and was jointly organized by UN-Habitat and...

Baghdad– Large-scale reforms in the procurement of goods and services in the health sector, and strong multi-pronged steps designed to stop massive evasion of customs revenues will be key to stamp out corruption in Iraq. This was one the top recommendations of the National Consultations on Combating...

Baghdad– The Government of Canada has contributed an additional US$2.2 million to UNDP’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilization (FFIS), which finances fast-track initiatives in areas liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). This brings Canada’s total contribution to US$ 6.3 million to date....

UNDP’s Iraq Country Office is pleased to inform all potential Construction Firms/Companies that starting 01 May 2017, all procurement processes will be conducted using an online E-Tendering system (Electronic Tendering Platform). The initiative of E-Tendering will allow UNDP to further improve transparency and...

Stockholm- Despite significant progress in human development over the past 25 years, the Arab States region has, amongst developing regions of the world, the highest youth unemployment rate and the lowest share of primary school age children attending school. A stronger focus on youth and others excluded –...

Erbil- The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organized two workshops, over the period of 12-17 March 2017 in Erbil, to help to strengthen the legislative role of Iraq’s Provincial Councils. With generous funding from the Government of Denmark, Iraqi officials were provided training on legislation, with...

Erbil- As part of its efforts towards the protection of diversity in Iraq, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is helping to build the capacity of Iraqi civil society organizations (CSOs) in the areas of advocacy, communications and negotiations. To this end, representatives of 44 CSOs from Baghdad,...

  Najaf- Youth are drivers of change in Iraq. A Peace Weekend has been organized in Najaf on 10-11 March 2017, with the support of UNDP’s Iraq Crisis Response and Resilience Programme (ICRRP) and generous funding from the Government of Germany. After successful completion of a training on conflict analysis,...

Erbil-The Erbil Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCI) hosted a Business Forum titled “The role of the private sector in the growth and development of the local economy”. The Forum was supported by UNDP’s Iraq Crisis Response and Resilience Programme (ICRRP), with generous funding from the Government of...

Ninewah, 08 March 2017– For a young Yazidi woman who survived upheaval and displacement in northern Iraq, hope and stability finally arrived in an unexpected form: plump brown quails, and their tiny speckled eggs.  Gulistan, 23, lives in the predominantly Christian and Yazidi district of Alqosh in the northern reaches...

Baghdad, 08 March 2017- Women and girls in Iraq have become more vulnerable as a result of the ongoing conflict and instability, as well as the increasing numbers of refugees and internally displaced people. In response, UNDP has been working with the Government and civil society to raise awareness, address violations, and build preventive mechanisms, specifically related to sexual and gender based violence (SGBV).

New York- This year, International Women’s Day is devoted to Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030. Globalization and technology change are driving that change. It’s important that women are able to succeed in this new world of work.  As it is, a global wage gap persists, with women earning on...

  By Moises Venancio, Adviser, UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States. In Mosul a battle is raging to take back the city from ISIL. As the fighting ends, essential work is ramping up to make sure that people who have been displaced by occupation and war can return to their homes as fast as possible - and stay...