UNITAD-NGO Dialogue Forum

Iraq’s vibrant civil society, supported by international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), plays an important role in ensuring that the experiences and needs of the survivors of crimes committed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and of victims’ families, are placed at the center of UNITAD’s work. Outreach and engagement with NGOs has been critical to the progress UNITAD has achieved to date in the implementation of its mandate pursuant to UN Security Council resolution 2379 (2017).

It is essential that NGO voices and experiences are heard as UNITAD conducts its investigations to ensure accountability. To this end, the Special Adviser and Head of UNITAD convened in June 2020 the inaugural UNITAD-NGO Dialogue Forum in order to streamline UNITAD’s engagement with NGOs and gain feedback and insights from the NGO community that enables the Investigative Team to deliver more effectively on its mandate.

The UNITAD-NGO Dialogue Forum is centered around two types of events:

I.  A series of thematic roundtable discussions with both national and international NGOs addressing specific thematic areas in which UNITAD engages as part of its investigative activities.

II. A biannual plenary roundtable with all NGOs in order to provide a broader update on the recent progress in the work of UNITAD, and to address concerns and listen to suggestions on how to better engage with NGOs as part of this work.

The observations and recommendations of the thematic and plenary roundtables are submitted to UNITAD leadership and disseminated to all relevant units within the investigative team. UNITAD will seek to incorporate outcomes of the plenary roundtable into the biannual report by the Special Adviser and Head of UNITAD to the UN Security Council.

NGO partners can contact the UNITAD-NGO Focal Points via the following email address for any enquiries: UNITAD-NGO@un.org.