During Environment Month, while the same seasonal slogans repeat year after year, our organization was writing a different chapter one that places civil society at the heart of the climate equation, not on its margins.
The story began months ago. In December 2025, the final wording of the “Basra Principles” document was completed, a framework of nine principles that redefines the role of civil society in confronting climate change. The document’s core idea is that protecting human rights within the climate context is a shared, collective responsibility, built on complementary roles between civil society, partners, and stakeholders — not a burden placed on any single party.
From Document to Field
To translate these principles into reality, a series of dialogue sessions was organized across five governorates: Baghdad, Nineveh, Erbil, Basra, and Muthanna, alongside activities carried out by the volunteer team in Kirkuk. The goal of these sessions was to introduce local actors to the Basra Principles and their importance in shaping a rights-based response to the climate crisis.
The fieldwork was accompanied by an intensive media campaign on Facebook and Instagram, comprising 19 posts, each highlighting a different climate change phenomenon and its impact on cities, along with 3 documentary videos explaining the content of the Basra Principles and the importance of adopting them. The campaign achieved a reach of 25,195 interactions across both platforms.
Between a document drafted in December, sessions spanning five governorates, and a digital campaign reaching thousands of followers, our organization is charting the features of a new approach: treating climate change as a human rights issue deserving the same seriousness and commitment.
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