Terms of Reference

Introduction

The Peace and Reconciliation Working Group in Iraq (PRWG - Iraq) is established to maintain and enhance peacebuilding and social cohesion effort in the most fragile context in Iraq.

A clear and comprehensive path to future peaceful coexistence requires coordination and cooperation between all segments working on the peace and reconciliation processes in Iraq.

To ensure better cooperation and coordination, inclusive and structured mechanisms must be put in place that allow for the sharing of information and ideas between different actors. Therefore, PRWG - Iraq's annually elected secretariat organises monthly coordination meetings, including all relevant NGOs, CSOs, international agencies, governmental bodies, and key community actors to share information, exchange experiences and lessons learned, contribute to policy papers, develop general rules and regulations as needed for peacebuilding, and share obstacles to peaceful coexistence.

The growing need for a more structured and inclusive coordination mechanism to address peacebuilding challenges in Iraq's newly expanded geographic areas led to the launch of a new phase of the Peace and Reconciliation Working Group (PRWG -- Iraq). Hosted by the Sustainable Peace Foundation (SPF) with partial funding and co-chairing by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), PRWG - Iraq serves as a national platform through which international agencies, local and international NGOs, and government representatives working on peacebuilding in Iraq can align their efforts.

To strengthen its strategic direction and governance, PRWG -- Iraq is guided by a Steering Committee composed of SPF, UNDP, IRC, Un Ponte Per (UPP), and Jiyan Foundation. This committee plays a vital role in providing oversight, fostering inclusive leadership, and advancing the group's shared vision of sustainable peace across Iraq.

Terms of Reference Coordination

The aim of this coordination mechanism is to share capacity while integrating broader development and systems approaches to peacebuilding and to reduce duplication of peacebuilding programmes and address gaps. The PRWG - Iraq is a forum through which agencies with peacebuilding programmes can coordinate interventions, exchange of research, assessments, and knowledge of beneficiaries as well as contextual dynamics, seek consensus on issues, and create partnerships and linkages for better prioritisation of available resources and commitment to the Do-no-Harm principle with an overall goal of enhancing the peace and reconciliation processes in Iraq.

The Peace and Reconciliation Working Group shall:

• Update and maintain an online platform that centralises documenting and communicating all the information and resources related to the PRWG - Iraq.
• Update and maintain information management tools such as the 5Ws, the PRWG - Iraq reporting tool, and the PRWG -- Iraq monitoring tool.
• Provide regular and timely reporting and information sharing to members of the PRWG - Iraq.
• Maintain an overview of the reconciliation situation as well as flag issues that require support or follow-up.
• Maintain the profile of reconciliation within the broader peacebuilding sector and ensure mainstreaming of conflict sensitivity in other humanitarian sectors.
• Facilitate inter-organisational collaboration and resource mobilisation (monetary and non-monetary) and publicly report geographic and thematic funding gaps.
• Develop referral pathways and identify focal points to coordinate responses to conflicts.
• Develop joint initiatives to increase the evidence base for peacebuilding programming through targeted research, assessments, or data collection.
• Identify challenges, best practices, and lessons learned to be discussed during the annual strategic planning sessions to create inclusive and collaborative strategies for addressing key issues.
• Support the PRWG - Iraq Technical Coordinator in providing technical input into relevant government plans (strong focus at provincial, district, and sub-district level) to ensure the peacebuilding response is appropriately addressed.
• Ensure coordination at the provincial level and given support at district level, particularly with Food Security and Livelihoods, WASH, Health, Protection, and Education fora to facilitate a comprehensive approach to peacebuilding.
• Support the partners to participate in needs assessments and response planning, ensuring that they are conflict sensitive, and using standardised tools and methods in coordination and/or collaboration with other actors.
• Ensure that peacebuilding responses are in line with existing National and International policies, protocols, and technical standards, and support the development of relevant peacebuilding policies, protocols, and technical guidance in line with international best practices, to enable quality programming.
• Review and disseminate programme data generated by the reporting database, identify trends, and follow up action when needed.
• Exchange of assessments/research and fieldwork results as per the donor(s)' policies.
• Discuss and identify urgent issues during monthly meetings to be referred to external actors and entities.
• Invite key experts, national and local authority representatives to the PRWG - Iraq to discuss key issues and connect the PRWG -- Iraq to other relevant networks.
• Identify and agree on technical terminology to be used and adopted by PRWG -- Iraq members.

Attention to Policy, Standards and Cross-cutting issues: Advocacy

The PRWG - Iraq promotes Humanitarian Principles that ensure neutral, impartial, accountable, and transparent implementation of peacebuilding efforts. The PRWG - Iraq supports the following:

• Promote harmonisation of minimum standards, guidelines, and indicators to be used by all peacebuilding actors.
• Promote national and community-level dissemination of ethical principles linked to local cultural values that promote peace.
• Support with the dissemination of peacebuilding mainstreaming tools including checklists, messages and guidelines for local authorities, humanitarian agencies, and all peacebuilding actors.
• Promote minimum standards and priority peacebuilding issues to be incorporated into government and key stakeholder priorities.

Planning and Strategy Development

• Develop PRWG -- Iraq inclusive and collaborative strategy for 6 years.
• Review PRWG -- Iraq strategy through annual strategic planning sessions with the PRWG -- Iraq members and develop the annual workplan and its targets with quarterly progress meetings on activities and implementation.
• To be prepared to respond to future conflicts through context analysis, info dissemination and analysis of geopolitical situations with consideration towards preparedness planning.
• Develop an advocacy strategy and outreach plan to address issues, needs, and policy changes/recommendations related to peace and reconciliation efforts of PRWG - Iraq.

Training and Capacity Sharing

• Identify needs and gaps within the PRWG - Iraq, to strengthen the capacity of the working group members, the local/national government entities, and civil society organisations as well as volunteer groups.
• Develop and maintain a database of existing training modules/curricula, online training opportunities, and an expert roster.
• Utilise relevant capacity sharing modules on conflict sensitivity/do-no-harm approaches and conflict management based on best practices and results.

Roles & Responsibilities

Secretariat, Technical Coordinator, Steering Committee, Members, and Government Representative Responsibilities:

Members

Nomination of a focal person from each organisation to attend regularly (for continuity and effectiveness) and nominate an alternative focal point person in case of their absence.

Member Responsibilities:

• Attend and actively participate in meetings and PRWG - Iraq initiatives.
• Contribute to the development of 5Ws form, advocacy documents, PRWG - Iraq reporting etc.
• Report PRWG - Iraq meetings and activities back to the respective organisation.
• Keep PRWG - Iraq Secretariat informed of contact information or any changes.
• Share emergency issues promptly and alert PRWG - Iraq members immediately.
• Raise issues including gaps in programming or duplication with the PRWG - Iraq.
• Contribute to agenda and discussion in meetings.
• Share information on activities that can impact the rest of the group (training opportunities, assessments, etc.).
• Encourage all other organisations involved in peacebuilding activities to submit profiles and request for membership confidentiality, membership criteria and code of conduct.
• Promote awareness of the PRWG - Iraq among stakeholders.
• Commit to supporting the capacity building of other members.
• Members to submit their updates for the PRWG - Iraq quarterly newsletter.
• To invite volunteers, students, or individuals who are interested in peacebuilding (institutions and universities) to contribute to the PRWG - Iraq and provide their support in return for certificates of appreciation.

Donor Engagement

PRWG - Iraq Secretariat and Technical Coordination invite and engages the donor community to outline and share their respective strategic priorities with the PRWG - Iraq members and provide the member organisations to provide insights with respect to community prioritised needs and challenges i.e. providing accurate feedback to the donor community to ensure that strategies and interventions are developed, designed, and implement in line with community needs and challenges.