What We Do

Since 2006 CPT has worked within a portion of ancestral Kurdish homelands located in what is now Northern Iraq. Iraqi Kurdistan is home to a mostly Kurdish population as well as a variety of other ethnic minorities all who have been impacted by war, marginalization and colonization. CPT’s Iraqi Kurdistan project partners with communities, grassroots organizations and individuals who are resisting violence and oppression through peaceful means.

COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY TURKISH AND IRANIAN BOMBARDMENTS:
CPT partners with rural villages and migrant shepherd communities as they resist displacement and destruction caused by Turkish and Iranian cross-border military operations. CPT documents and reports the effects of these ongoing attacks on the civilian population, calls for local and international attention, and advocates for peaceful solutions.

CIVIL SOCIETY ADVOCACY:
CPT amplifies voices of communities and individuals in their struggle for a violence- and oppression-free society and political sphere. CPT partners with grassroots and international organizations, human rights defenders, journalists and civil society activists. CPT works to raise awareness within local and international communities about ongoing human rights issues, and shares stories of the non-violence movement in Iraqi Kurdistan.

PROTECTIVE ACCOMPANIMENT:
CPT Iraqi Kurdistan provides unarmed accompaniment to human rights defenders, journalists, civil society members, and other vulnerable persons who are under immediate threat of violence. CPT aims to shed light and amplify the voices of those in immediate danger while looking for a peaceful resolution.

NONVIOLENCE TRAININGS:
CPT provides space for learning new methods and techniques to solve conflicts, transform power, and reduce violence through peaceful means.  CPT facilitates the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) and various other mediation and nonviolence workshops where participants can explore conflict resolution as well as train to become facilitators in their own communities.

*CPT had a four-year presence prior to 2006 in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq. Past work focused on the security of the Iraqi people and their struggle for peace in the midst of war and ongoing occupation.