Civil Development Organization

Civil Devlopment Organization:

• The Civil Development Organization (CDO) is a non-governmental, non-profit independent organization which was founded in 1999, in cooperation with the Swedish organization Diakonia.

• CDO worked under the umbrella of Diakonia for 2 years. In April 2001 it got recognition from the Ministry of Humanitarian Aid in cooperation with the Kurdistan Regional government.

Aims of CDO are:

• Improving the Human Rights situation of refugees and IDPs in the Kurdistan region of Iraq

• Raising the capacity of Civil Society Organizations.

• Raising the capacity of women in the field of leadership and combatting violence against women.

• Promoting democracy principles and building peace in conflict areas.

• Providing legal assistance for marginalized groups in society.

The CDO Departments:

• Human Rights Department

• Women Affairs Department

• Democracy Training Center

• Protection and Assistance Center (PAC)

Network

The Civil Development Organization has built close relationships with other Kurdish and Iraqi non-governmental organizations. It has been member of several local networks, heading some of them. CDO’s activities and projects so far have been promoted by about 40 international organizations; we benefit from long term corporation with ten of them.