The past several months have been among the most consequential Iraq has faced in years. Since the Iran war began on February 28, Iraq has been pulled deeper into a conflict it did not choose. Military confrontations have spilled onto Iraqi territory, while disruptions to oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz have exposed just […]
Category: Research & Advocacy
New Report Identifies Glaring Gap in Iraq’s Wastewater Management
Iraq faces a profound and growing shortage of clean water. Climate change, upstream damming, and rising demand are drastically reducing the volume of freshwater in the Tigris and Euphrates river systems—the nation’s hydrological lifelines. This physical scarcity is exacerbated by a largely unseen crisis: the large-scale contamination of these dwindling resources with untreated wastewater. Iraq’s […]
#39: Can Drip Irrigation Save Farming in Iraq?
After a long hiatus, we are thrilled to relaunch the IRAQ MATTERS podcast, dedicated to exploring the issues that matter most to the people of Iraq. For our return, we shift the focus from the political headlines to a quieter, yet more existential, crisis: the growing scarcity of water that threatens the very cradle of civilization. In […]
New Video: “Foreign Aid—Fact & Fiction”
We are excited to share our new video, “Foreign Aid: Fact & Fiction,” featuring a discussion with Erik Gustafson, a U.S. Army veteran and Executive Director of EPIC. We address recent calls to shut down USAID and examine allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse, explaining how U.S. foreign assistance is regulated by laws like the False Claims […]
Celebrating Hope and Progress: A Paralympic Win and EPIC’s Work in Iraq
Earlier this month, Iraq celebrated an incredible milestone as 19-year-old Najla Imad Lafta made history by winning Iraq’s first Paralympic gold medal in table tennis. On September 7, she triumphed over Ukraine’s Maryna Lytovchenko 3-1 in the women’s table tennis final (class 6), marking a pivotal moment for the country and for those who believe […]
Empowering Iraqi Women: Progress & Challenges on International Women’s Day
On this International Women’s Day, EPIC proudly joins our friends around the world in celebrating the outstanding achievements of women, and in bringing greater attention to the ongoing struggle for women’s rights and empowerment in Iraq. One year ago today, the government of Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani, alongside UN agencies, launched its National Strategy for […]
Polls Give Iraq’s Reformers the Advantage, the Vote May Be Theirs to Lose
Originally published by Fikra Forum – August 20, 2021 This October will mark the two-year anniversary of Iraq’s Tishreen protest movement that shook the country’s political establishment, bringing down the government of Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi and compelling Baghdad to schedule early parliamentary elections. October is also when those elections are currently set to take […]
Iraqi Activists And The Difficult Decision To Boycott Elections
In October 2019, a broad based protest movement in Iraq seized international headlines with mass rallies, marches, occupation-style encampments, and civil disobedience in Baghdad and other cities across the south. Activists dubbed their movement “Tishreen” from the Arabic word for October. Despite the largely peaceful, inclusive, and organized nature of the movement, the protests were […]
Iraqi protesters’ perilous journey to the ballot box
Originally published by the Middle East Institute – March 22, 2021 With the approach of Iraq’s next parliamentary elections in October 2021, pro-reform candidates are facing troubling obstacles as they prepare to compete against the country’s establishment parties, which include armed militias that have dominated Iraq’s parliament since 2018. To ensure a fair electoral playing field, reformers […]
Closing the US Embassy in Baghdad Is the Wrong Answer
Originally published by the LSE Middle East Center Blog – October 5, 2020 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s threat to close the American embassy in Baghdad exposes a dangerous dichotomy in the Trump administration’s Iraq policy. Less than six weeks ago, the administration gave visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and his colleagues a warm reception, offering […]