United Women Against Corruption
Al-Nahrain Foundation for Transparency and Integrity organized a seminar titled “United Women Against Corruption” in cooperation with the Integrity Commission – NGO Department and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, held at the Martyr Ammar Al-Shabandar Hall at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting in Baghdad.
The President of Al-Nahrain Foundation for Transparency and Integrity, Mr. Mohammed Al-Rubaie, referred to the proposals outlined in the Integrity Commission’s 2016 annual report, which were submitted to the government for implementation and generalization across state institutions to curb the widespread phenomenon of corruption, describing them as ideal solutions to reduce corruption.
The Foundation emphasized the necessity of intensifying national efforts by all active state actors—including public, private, and academic sectors—to enable women to take a leading role in promoting national integrity values.
It also highlighted the importance of involving national female leaders from government, private, and academic sectors in developing policies and strategies to overcome the challenges they face in their work, thereby enhancing integrity at the national level.
Furthermore, the Foundation announced its efforts to establish a national women’s network dedicated to raising awareness among women regarding integrity and transparency, promoting advocacy campaigns to strengthen women’s role in spreading integrity values, and monitoring the government’s implementation of the recommendations outlined in the Integrity Commission’s annual report.
Since the Integrity Commission considers information published in the media as official complaints, and Iraqi law recognizes social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter as media outlets, we call on the Commission to treat the reports published by civil activist Riham Al-Abed on her social media accounts regarding the theft of cancer medications from Anbar Governorate Hospital prior to its fall to ISIS as an official complaint and to investigate the matter.
It is especially important given that some posts on her page suggest that her exposure of this case led to her death. This tragic incident occurred during the month in which the campaign “United Women Against Corruption” was launched. Regardless of whether these claims are true or rumors, they undermine the determination of Iraqi women to fight corruption. Therefore, we demand a thorough investigation and follow-up on this case.
Meanwhile, the representative of the Integrity Commission – NGO Department, highlighted the Commission’s role in addressing corruption cases and explained how coordination between citizens and the Commission can help combat and reduce corruption.
