Institute for International Law and Human Rights
WASHINGTON, DC • BRUSSELS • BAGHDAD
The Institute for International Law and Human Rights (IILHR) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization registered in Washington, DC; Brussels, Belgium; and Baghdad, Iraq. IILHR helps transitioning states develop the capacity to strengthen democratic values and build respect for human rights.
With a staff of diplomats, parliamentarians, human rights activists, and attorneys, IILHR has a strong track record of implementing programs with local partners that foster dialogue and create better policies to protect citizens’ rights.
As an organization focused on strengthening human rights in countries emerging from conflict, IILHR upholds the freedom and equal dignity of all human beings and is committed to the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and non-discrimination.
Youth Environment Legislative Leaders (YELL) Program’s Inaugural Legislative Drafting Training
Hosted by The American University in Baghdad – 15 &16 October 2025
The Institute for International Law and Human Rights (IILHR), in collaboration with the Faculty of Law at the American University of Iraq–Baghdad (AUIB), successfully concluded a two-day Legislative Drafting Training on 15–16 October 2025. This event served as the inaugural in-person activity kicking off IILHR’s Youth Environment Legislative Leaders (YELL) program.
The YELL Program brought together young lawyers, law students, and environmental specialists from across Iraq to enhance their legislative drafting skills and knowledge of environmental legislation. Using IILHR’s Legislative Drafting Guide as a foundation, the participants received comprehensive training on legislative drafting principles—from designing the legislative plan, to the structure of laws, and the drafting techniques, to ensure clear and enforceable legal provisions. YELL participants were then given the opportunity to put theory into practice and begin drafting legislative proposals on key environmental issues.
The session also featured a panel discussion with Judge Hatem Jabbar Awda from the Supreme Judicial Council, Dr. Ghazi Al-Jannabi from the Office of the President, and Dr. Mohammed Al-Ghazi from the Council of Representatives. The esteemed panel shared practical insights into the legislative process, emphasized the importance of good legislative drafting, provided real examples from the Iraqi experience and examined the key challenges and opportunities in advancing environmental lawmaking in Iraq.
This engagement marks the beginning of a sustained engagement between IILHR and YELL. Over the next six months, participants will continue to develop their legislative drafts with mentorship from IILHR. Their work will culminate with YELL participants presenting their draft legislative proposals to Iraqi decision-makers and civil society organizations.
The YELL program is a cornerstone of IILHR’s broader mission to empower young Iraqis to take an active role in shaping the country’s legislative future. By combining practical legal training, mentorship, and dialogue sessions, the program contributes to building a generation of skilled, environmentally conscious legislative leaders dedicated to advancing sustainable development in Iraq.
Public Participation in the Legislative Process
On 10 September 2025, IILHR, in partnership with the Max Planck Foundation, convened a national symposium bringing together parliamentarians and civil society to strengthen public participation in Iraq’s legislative process.
The symposium examined Iraq’s current framework alongside international best practices, focusing on how public hearings and participatory mechanisms can be improved. Through open dialogue, participants identified key barriers and developed practical recommendations to support more inclusive and transparent law-making.
The event was preceded by a preparatory workshop with civil society organizations, ensuring coordinated and effective engagement with parliament as Iraq prepares for the seating of a new legislature.
New Document: Comparative Memorandum Natural Resource Governance Frameworks
This memorandum offers a comparative overview of legislative frameworks governing land and natural-resource management across Iraq and nine jurisdictions, including Iran, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Kosovo, Japan, the European Union, Germany, and Sweden. Drawing on these examples, it identifies best practices in environmental assessment, water and waste management, renewable energy promotion, and investment protection. Based on the legislative gaps and institutional challenges identifies in Iraq, the memorandum distills these experiences into concrete recommendations that provide options to strengthen Iraqi legislation, improve enforceability, and enhance institutional accountability. Importantly, it emphasizes sustainable development, ensuring that economic growth can advance in parallel with preservation and associated obligations regarding land management and natural resources good governance. By focusing on legislative approaches – rather than policies or secondary instruments – the memorandum equips parliamentarians with targeted options for more permanent legal reforms that address Iraq’s specific needs while aligning with international best practice.
Renewal of Memorandum of Understanding with the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq
On October 15, 2024, IILHR renewed its Memorandum of Understanding with the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) of Iraq. The Team is proud to continue IILHR’s longstanding support of the Iraqi Judiciary dating back to 2007. IILHR is the only NGO to sign an MOU with the SJC.
Legislative Considerations for Alternatives to the Imprisonment and Monetary Penalties Systems in Iraq - New Document
This memorandum examines the current state of the justice system in Iraq that is giving rise to the need for reconsideration of the existing system of penal sanctions. It provides background information for legislators on various non-custodial sanctions used in countries around the world and includes an overview of international standards relevant to the topic. Key comparative examples are provided from United Arab Emirates, Canada, Kenya, United Kingdom and Zimbabwe, among others. The paper concludes with an additional proposal to modernize the existing monetary penalty system in Iraq.
Legislative Options for Water Law in Iraq - New Document
This memorandum, requested by parliamentarians, provides a broad overview of the national and international contexts of water resource law as it relates to human rights. The paper provides options for legislators to ensure that human rights are taken into account when legislating on the topic of water resources, ensuring that drought-stricken Iraq continues to legislate with the most vulnerable in mind. Comparative examples are provided from Kenya, Lesotho, European Union, South Africa, Uganda, Ecuador and Egypt, among others.
New Document: Reclaiming Identity: Strategies for Civil Documentation in Iraq
On March 27th, IILHR presented its final report “Reclaiming Identity: Strategies for Civil Documentation in Iraq” in collaboration with the National Security Advisor’s Office at the Al-Tamyeez Center in Baghdad. The event goals were aimed at pushing forward implementable solutions directly to the Government of Iraq (GOI) and bringing international missions together with Iraqi stakeholders to begin taking steps to implement the recommendations set forth in the Report.
Based on extensive fieldwork, interviews, consultations and research, this report analyzes the crisis of missing documentation with the goal of finding workable, durable, and implementable solutions. This report highlights the importance of civil documents and the difficulties faced by Iraqis who lack civil documentation. It identifies the groups most affected by missing documentation. It investigates the barriers – procedural, situational, and cultural – that exist in the current system of issuing documents. It also addresses regional variation in the numbers of Iraqis missing documentation and the challenges they face obtaining civil documentation. This kind of detailed data and analysis is especially important now, in the wake of the de-activation of Iraq’s protection cluster system, as part of the UN’s transition away from a primarily humanitarian- focused response and a significant decrease in international funding for humanitarian aid. An accurate understanding of whose needs are most pressing, where, and why, is crucial to planning and implementing policies and effectively targeting assistance.
Higher Judicial Council Implements Criminal Justice Reform
In August 2023, Iraq’s High Judicial Council formally instructed all Iraqi courts to adopt new templates and checklists – jointly produced by senior judges and IILHR staff – in case file documentation, to increase reliance on evidence other than confessions and highlight other issues, such as defense counsel activities.
From January 20 to 22, 2024, IILHR, in partnership with the High Judicial Council, organized three landmark events at the Judicial Development Institute and the Judicial Training Institute to begin implementing the Council’s August directive.
Participants included 36 sitting trial judges from across Iraq and 75 future judges and prosecutors at the Judicial Training Institute. The seminars begin the effort to embed these tools and templates into current and future Iraqi practice.
New Document: Legislative Drafting Guide for Iraqi Members of Parliament
On 11 and 12 February at the Council of Representatives in Baghdad, IILHR launched its Legislative Drafting Guide for Iraqi Members of Parliament. This guide was the result of over a year of work and includes contributions from several key actors in Iraq, including the State Council, Office of the President, members of the judiciary, senior and former Members of Parliament and academia. It has been developed as a user-friendly resource for Members of Parliament to act as a resource on the basic elements of legislative drafting.
The launch event included presentations on various aspects of legislative drafting by several experts, including the Parliamentary Legal Committee, Office of the President, members of the judiciary and the Parliamentary Legislative Department. The event was gratefully facilitated by the Parliamentary Development Institute.
Projects
Supporting Land Management and Natural Resources Good Governance
The U.N. recognizes the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as a human right, and the Iraqi Constitution guarantees individuals the right to live in safe environmental conditions. However, Iraq ranks fifth in vulnerability to climate change, facing issues like sandstorms, rising temperatures, and reduced rainfall, which contribute to food and water insecurity, internal displacement, and conflict.
Energizing Reform and Empowering Vulnerable Groups in Iraq
Our goal is to deepen citizenship and political participation through stronger laws that implement Iraq’s constitution and promote inclusiveness and accountability; build dialogue and consensus around legislative and grassroots priorities; and strengthen research, technical, and advocacy skills to empower local and vulnerable groups through inclusive citizens teams that provide community-based input to reforms in Erbil and Baghdad.
Supporting Better Evidence-Based Approaches for the Iraqi Judiciary
Our goal is to provide training and mentoring to the government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to effectively investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate terrorism-related crimes. We also want to facilitate a more effective, responsive, and accountable criminal justice system that provides a safe and secure domestic environment, regulated by laws that are evenly applied, independently adjudicated, and consistent with international standards.
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