The International Human Rights Law Institute (IHRLI) at DePaul University will be able to enhance its work in Iraq with a $4.7 million dollar grant from the United States Department of State. The award, which is the largest single government grant ever given to the College of Law, will support legal education and human and women’s rights work in Iraq.

“We are pleased to receive this substantial grant to help us continue and expand on programs we’ve already established in Iraq,” said Chares E. Tucker Jr., executive director of IHRLI. “These programs are designed to advance post-conflict rebuilding efforts and fulfill our commitment to help foster a more stable environment in Iraq.”

The grant will be used to help IHRLI progress its work in the following areas:

Legal education—Expand educational reform activities to additional Iraqi law schools; create university-based public programs to raise new ideas and enable open discussions of public policy; establish an Iraqi Center for Human Rights, Reconciliation and Public Policy, and expand work to record Iraqi human rights stories through the Iraq History Project.

Women’s rights—Improve women’s participation in the Iraqi political process to help reduce violence; create externship and mentorship programs for women law students; encourage participation in Iraq by women leaders through the creation of Women’s Awareness Seminars.

Strengthening civil society—Expand training for Non-government organizations (NGOs); create NGO publications on dialogue and violence prevention, and expand trainings and conferences.

Post-national election communication—Initiatives to foster dialogue, consensus-building, tolerance, and reconciliation post-election will include, creating programs on Islamic law and reconciliation, and developing activities designed to facilitate peace building and dispute resolution.

“Our long-term goal is to help support Iraq’s democratic transition by institutionalizing political processes that peacefully resolve disputes, strengthen rule of law skills and resources, and develop the capacity of civil society organizations, especially those focusing on women’s issues and human rights,” said Tucker.

IHRLI, which was established by the College of Law in 1990, has worked in Iraq since 2004.  Its focus has been human rights training, post-conflict justice programs and human rights violation documentation.