REO Al-Hillah
Karbala PRT
The city of Karbala, located in the province of the same name, is generally considered the second holiest Shi’a shrine city in Iraq, after Najaf. The city is the terminus for two large religious pilgrimages (each attended by 1-2 million people in recent years) to the twin shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas.
PRT Karbala was established in August of 2006 and operates remotely from the Regional Embassy Office (REO) located in Babil Province, 20 kilometers from the province’s capital. The PRT emerged from the previous embedded team which operated out of Forward Operating Base (FOB) Lima, the Coalition base outside the city of Karbala, before it closed in October 2005. Since its inception, the PRT has sought to provide consistent and reliable support to the Provincial Government and the people of Karbala. The province was returned to Provincial Iraqi Control (PIC) in October 2007.
Karbala PRT Projects
Security
ANBAR-KARBALA SECURITY DIALOGUE AND JOINT SECURITY PLAN
The dialogue resulted in the creation of a joint security committee comprised of representatives from both provinces. On July 17th representatives from Anbar, the Anbar PRT and MNF-W traveled to the Regional Embassy Office in al-Hillah to meet with their counterparts from Karbala. The meeting allowed for both sides to air their concerns and the infractions of the past but mostly centered on how to approach security and cooperation in the future. Both parties agreed that AQI and foreign influences are a greater threat and that sectarian divides would not be an obstacle to their cooperation efforts. The two sides signed an agreement to establish a joint security committee that will coordinate joint border patrols, arrest orders and other relevant security issues. It is hoped that the security committee will also serve as a mechanism to coordinate joint reconstruction efforts and economic development in the very remote areas along the shared border. This was followed up with a second round of talks, this time in Ramadi, on October 18th.
Economic Development Projects
CONSOLIDATED SKILLED LABOR DATABASE AND JOB BANK
The Director General of Displacement and Migration (DG MoDM) is consolidating information on the available skilled labor and employment opportunities in order to bring these two groups together more efficiently. Through several capacity building engagements, the PRT successfully encouraged the DG MoDM to shift from simple short-term humanitarian relief for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) to long-term, sustainable development. In that process, rifts between newly arriving families and existing residents arose, revealing the need for community-wide employment assistance. Therefore, the DG MoDM with the support of the PRT built consensus among non-governmental organizations, other ministries and Provincial Council committees to expand training, job placement, and income generation programs to a broader spectrum of beneficiaries (i.e. displaced and native unemployed).
Civil Society Projects
PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY COMPACT TO COORDINATE ASSISTANCE FOR INTERNATLLY DISPLACED PERSONS (IDPs) ARRIVING IN KARBALA
The compact was developed during the Iraqi-led IDP symposium in which the Governor, several Provincial Council (PC) members, the Director-General (DG) of Displacement and Migration (MoDM), the General Secretary of the NGO Assistance Office, and representatives from more than twenty-five local and national non-governmental organizations (NGO/CSO) participated. Karbala is the largest recipient in the South Central region of IDPs from Baghdad, Diyala and Anbar. The purpose of the symposium was to build consensus, establish a mechanism to coordinate assistance programs, reduce redundancy, and harmonize governmental and public sector efforts. An outcome of the symposium was the establishment of a multi-party steering committee that serves as a sounding board and coordination center.