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• Access to Justice Program, Iraq

Through the Iraq Access to Justice Program, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, Tetra Tech is supporting improvements in access to justice for vulnerable populations.

Iraq’s vulnerable and disadvantaged populations are vast and include women in special circumstances, such as widows; orphans; internally displaced persons; persons with disabilities; religious and ethnic minorities; and people who lack access to state protection and services due to a lack of formal identity papers. Ensuring access to justice for these and other vulnerable groups is critical both for the individuals and to support the modernization of government and civil society as Iraq’s financial and security environments improve. The goal of the program is to provide access to rights and entitlements equitably for all Iraqis. This is being achieved through individual action or with the assistance of civil society or the government.

Tetra Tech is helping to improve the capacity of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) to increase the practical knowledge of vulnerable Iraqis of their rights, responsibilities, and remedies under the law. The program aims to increase the competence and availability of legal professionals assisting vulnerable populations, and to improve government processes to facilitate access to government services and legal remedies. The program has a particular emphasis on improving access to justice for women and youth.

We are managing an $8.25 million grants program that provides funds to Iraqi NGOs, law schools, and bar associations operating in 13 of the 18 Iraqi provinces. The program has disseminated more than 60,000 public awareness materials, supported 4,842 legal cases on behalf of vulnerable Iraqis, established 30 grassroots legal clinics, and provided more than 32,000 person-days of education to vulnerable Iraqis on their legal rights; more than 75 percent of participants have been women.

In addition, five universities have launched legal clinic practicum courses and have established law school legal clinics providing legal services to vulnerable Iraqis.