New Canadian projects to support stability in Iraq worth fifty million dollars

Prepared by: Musa Ashrashour

The official website of the Canadian government published an information note detailing the package of new projects developed by Canada to support the stability of countries in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia, including Iraq.

The memorandum issued by the Canadian Government's Department of Global Affairs on May 11, 2022, announcing funding of C$46.5 million for a total of 15 projects. According to the document published in French, these projects fall within the framework of the Stabilization Support and Peace Operations Program and the Counter-Terrorism Capacity Support Program, and conform to the civilian directives of the international coalition against ISIS. 

A 2012 statement from Canada's Foreign Ministry said the funding was "evidence of Canada's commitment to the Global Coalition to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS and promote stability in Iraq, Syria and the region."

The programme aims to support the priorities of the Global Alliance for the Rehabilitation of Public Infrastructure and the provision of basic services, which have been damaged by violence and terrorism, as well as contribute to the removal of explosives and mines planted in regions where there have been hostilities, in addition to strengthening local peacebuilding efforts to support the reintegration of displaced persons and internally displaced persons.

Renewed commitment

Through its diplomatic presence, military engagement, and peace and stabilization operations programs for years, Canada has been contributing to all endeavors to support the Coalition's strategy to intensify military campaigns against Daesh and other terrorist groups, prevent the flow of foreign jihadists across borders, dry up sources that finance Daesh, and provide the necessary assistance to support the socio-economic stability of areas liberated from Daesh.

Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said: "If ISIS has been defeated militarily thanks to the efforts of the international coalition, it remains a threat. We are therefore committed to working with our allies and partners to help address the underlying circumstances that led to the emergence of ISIS." The minister pledged to continue to lend a helping hand to build a "more stable and secure region and to exert all efforts to achieve lasting peace and prosperity for the Iraqi and Syrian peoples."

Earlier, at the fifth Brussels conference on Syria, Canadian International Development Minister Carina Gould announced $49.5 million in new funding for humanitarian aid in the Middle East.

In early 2016, Canada, through Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, announced a strategy called the "Middle East Strategy", centered on ways to strengthen Canada's presence in the region in general, and in Iraq in particular. In this strategy, Canada focuses on two vital aspects: security and sustainable development, and the consequent search for stability for populations affected by the effects of war and violence. The Canadian government has allocated more than two billion dollars as direct support to the Iraqi government's efforts to restore stability and heal Sectarian rifts and splits, helping to build good and effective governance, and reviving economic growth through funded projects.

Between 2016 and 2019, Canada's contribution was estimated at $240 million, including $179 million in humanitarian assistance, $38 million in economic development assistance, and $24 million in stabilization and security in Iraq.

Removing the Effects of ISIS and Rebuilding

Since 2016, Canada has contributed more than C$4 billion as part of its Middle East strategy in response to the crises in Iraq and Syria and addressing their multiple repercussions on the region.

The first project for Iraq, called a stabilization support financing mechanism, with an estimated budget of 10 million Canadian dollars. This mechanism, which was implemented through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aims to create favorable conditions for the return of displaced Iraqis and supports the reconstruction and revival of the Iraqi economy, the details said. The activities of this project include the revival of basic services in areas liberated from the grip of the Islamic State (IS), the creation of livelihoods especially for women and youth groups most affected by the violence, and the implementation of social cohesion activities in the liberated areas. According to the same source, this project will also allow to increase the capacity of The Iraqi government is implementing stabilization activities in the country.

The second project concerns the removal of explosive hazards in liberated areas in Iraq, with funding of 10 million dollars. The project supports the deployment of demining devices in the context of explosive hazard clearance activities, particularly in urban areas and in the vicinity of critical installations. According to the Canadian government document, this project is also expected to sensitize vulnerable populations in Iraq about the risks associated with explosive ordnance, as well as support the development of Iraqi capabilities, in the long term, to counter the proliferation of explosives, a phenomenon described as complex. The document indicates that this project will be carried out in partnership with and supervised by the U.S. Secretariat of State Tetra Tech,  an American consulting and engineering company.

A third project included in the Canadian programme for Iraq concerns strengthening the capacity of Iraqi national demining bodies. He was allocated five (5) million Canadian dollars, according to the same source.

This project aims to develop the long-term capacities of Iraqi demining agencies. This initiative was implemented under the auspices of  the United Nations  Mine Action Treaty, in which international demining organizations are involved with Iraqi bodies to carry out demining operations in Iraq, while helping to find solutions to the widespread proliferation of mines in the country.

Share of women and civil society

The fourth project under the Stabilization Support Program in Iraq is the promotion of women's rights movements for lasting peace in Iraq. The funding for this project is CAD 1,693,402.

This project, which was assigned to the "Urban Agriculture Development for the Development of a Sustainable and Responsible Economy (MADRE)" program, aims to improve the level of security and stability among the population that has suffered from Daesh, especially women and girls. The document affirms that this goal will be achieved by increasing the effectiveness of Iraqi civil society organizations, both national and local, especially women's organizations, in order to implement specific programs in this framework, provide services and advocate for legal and political changes that will accelerate the meeting of women's priorities and peace and security, as well as to "provide protection and social reintegration for Iraqi survivors of violence perpetrated by ISIS in the regions in which they reside or work."

The Canadian Assistance Program has decided on a fifth project for Iraq, to support the efforts of Iraqis living in Iraq to develop national strategies to prevent "violent extremism". He was budgeted for C$2.5 million. 

The authors of this initiative expect that it will strengthen the capacity of the Iraqi government and civil society activists to "analyze the drivers of violent extremism in the population that have demonstrated high susceptibility to it, and to find appropriate solutions to address this phenomenon," as stated in the document.

Airport Insurance

In addition, the project will support seminars on specific topics such as prosecutions, rehabilitation and reintegration, as well as the implementation of some of the key recommendations that will emerge from those seminars. The project was drafted within the framework of the Iraqi government's 2019 National Strategy for Countering Violent Extremism, which is an extension of Iraq's broader National Security Strategy, which was launched in 2015.

The latest project for Iraq is the Airport Communications Project, specifically concerned with the detection and interception of illicit trade and high-risk passengers at international airports in the Middle East. The budget for this project is estimated at C$2.5 million.

This project is expected to increase the ability of law enforcement officers in Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon to conduct risk assessment, targeting and classifying suspicious and high-risk passengers transiting through international airports in these countries.

Programs to Support Stability in Syria

The Canadian government has allocated programs to finance stabilization projects in countries other than Iraq, especially Syria. Including a mine action project in northwestern Syria worth about one million Canadian dollars. Another project on what is called "Innovative Responsibility for Syria," worth about C$250,000, aims to help civil society organizations determine the responsibility of human rights violators.

Another "immediate" stabilization programme in the eastern region of Deir Ezzor, with a total budget of C$1,654,658,  concerns the restoration of water facilities and assistance to local authorities manage resource disputes. The Canadian government has also allocated an additional $2 million to support independent media in Syria, bringing the total budget to $7 million.

In addition to Iraq and Syria, many countries overcome severe economic crises, such as Chad in Africa and Pakistan in Asia, have received special programs to finance ambitious development projects aimed at stimulating economic growth in these countries.

M.A.