Canada’s stabilization projects in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia

On May 11, 2022, Global Affairs Canada announced $46.5 million in funding for 15 projects in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. These projects, funded through the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program and the Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building Program, are aligned with the civilian lines of effort of the Global Coalition against Daesh.

Since 2016, Canada has committed more than $4 billion through its Middle East Strategy to respond to the crises in Iraq and Syria and address the impacts they have had on the region.

Project: Funding Facility for Stabilization (Iraq)

Funding: $10 million

Description: Implemented by the United Nations Development Program, the Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS) in Iraq aims to create conditions for the return of displaced Iraqis and supports reconstruction and recovery in Iraq. This project’s activities include the restoration of basic services in areas liberated from Daesh, the creation of livelihood opportunities, particularly for women and youth, and the implementation of social cohesion activities in liberated areas. This project will also increase the Government of Iraq’s capacity to implement stabilization activities in the country.

Project: Explosive Hazard Clearance in Liberated Areas of Iraq

Funding: $10 million

Description: The project supports the deployment of mine-action personnel to complex explosive-hazards clearance activities, particularly in urban areas and around critical infrastructure. This project will also provide education on explosive-ordnance risk to at-risk communities in Iraq and support the development of long-term Iraqi capacity to address complex explosive-hazard contamination. This project is in partnership with the United States Department of State and implemented by Tetra Tech.

Project: Iraqi National Mine Action Operator Capacity Building

Funding: $5 million

Description: This project aims to develop the long-term capacity of Iraqi mine-action operators. Implemented by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), this initiative pairs international mine-action organizations with Iraqi organizations to implement mine-action response in Iraq while simultaneously helping to address the heavy levels of contamination that exist in Iraq.

Project: Building Women’s Movements for Sustainable Peace in Iraq

Funding: $1,693,402

Description: Implemented by MADRE, this project aims to enhance security and stability for communities affected by Daesh in Iraq, particularly women and girls. This will be done by increasing the effectiveness of local Iraqi civil society organizations, particularly women’s organizations, to implement programs, deliver services, and advocate for legal and policy changes that advance women, peace and security priorities and enhance protections and reintegration of Iraqis who have survived Daesh violence.

Project: Mine Action in Northwest Syria

Funding: $999,939

Description: This project seeks to reduce the impact of explosive ordnance contamination on communities, including internally displaced persons in northwest Syria, by supporting the Syria Civil Defence through Chemonics International to identify and clear unexploded ordnance and educate communities on these hazards.

Project: Innovative Accountability for Syria

Funding: $249,937

Description: This project, implemented by the Syrian Legal Development Program, aims to help Syrian civil society organizations better understand and navigate the judicial system and public institutions to hold perpetrators of human rights violations accountable, including business entities. 

Project: Deir ez Zor Immediate Stabilization Support

Funding: Additional – $1,654,658 (previously announced – $417,374, for a total of $2,072,032)

Description: Continuing on previous funding to People Demand Change, this project aims to build the resilience of communities in Deir ez Zor, Syria, by restoring essential water infrastructure and enabling local civil councils to better manage resource-driven conflicts, including through effective reconciliation services to the community. This project will also support civil society organizations to better engage with local councils and will provide youth and women with vocational training.

Project: Support to Independent Media in Syria (SIMS)

Funding: Additional – $2,085,502 (previously announced – $5 million, for a total of $7,085,502)

Description: Continuing on previous funding, this project will further counter disinformation by providing Syrians with reliable and truthful information to reduce violence, promote stabilization, and produce and distribute media content through local independent media. Issues addressed through media content include national and local security, political processes, the economy, women’s issues and health issues, including COVID-19. This project is in partnership with the United States Department of State and implemented by the International Research and Exchanges Board.

Project: Supporting Iraqi National Efforts for an Enhanced Implementation of the National Strategies on the Prevention of Violent Extremism

Funding: $2.5 million

Description: The project will enhance the capacity of the Government of Iraq and civil society stakeholders to analyze and respond to drivers of violent extremism in communities that have shown an elevated susceptibility to recruitment. Furthermore, it will support the Prosecution, Rehabilitation and Reintegration round tables and the implementation of some key recommendations that derive from the round tables.

The project was designed in collaboration with, and in support of, the Government of Iraq’s 2019 National Strategy to Combat Violent Extremism, which links to Iraq’s broader National Security Strategy, launched in 2015.

Project: Airport Communication Project: Detection and Interdiction of Illicit Trafficking and High-Risk Passengers at International Airports in the Middle East

Funding: $2.5 million

Description: This project will increase the ability of law enforcement agents in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq to undertake risk assessment, targeting and profiling of suspicious and high-risk passengers transiting through their international airports.

Project: Community Reintegration of Ex-Associates of Extremist Groups in Chad

Funding: $750,000

Description: This project with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will support efforts to prevent violent extremism in Chad by providing national and local authorities with the technical assistance and legal expertise to facilitate the reintegration of ex-associates of Boko Haram into communities. Building on previous studies, this initiative is a step towards an inclusive and gender-sensitive approach to the screening, prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration of former Boko Haram members in Chad.

Project: Building Strong Procedural Mechanisms for Mutual Legal Assistance in Kenya and Somalia

Funding: $801,189.42

Description: This project will support The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law, notably by facilitating the international cooperation between criminal justice sector stakeholders and by enabling practitioners and decision-makers to set up strong and well-functioning central authorities.

Project: Pakistan’s Terrorism Prevention Programme (PTP2)

Funding: $4.6 million

Description: This project aims to support the Government of Pakistan to better respond to threats from terrorism, including from domestic non-state actors, from foreign terrorist fighters acting regionally and internationally, and from illicit financial flows. Specifically, the project will provide support to federal and provincial counter-terrorism agencies to enhance 3 distinct domains: responding to terrorist activity; conducting terrorist investigations; and bringing perpetrators to justice in accordance with the rule of law and respect for human rights.

Project: Addressing the Terrorism-Arms-Crime Nexus: Preventing and Combatting the Illicit Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons and Their Illicit Supply to Terrorists in Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan)

Funding: $1.8 million

Description: This project aims to enhance the capacity of Central Asian states to counter the risk of illicit firearms trafficking in the region, prevent their illegal access by terrorists, and contain the potential outbreaks of the newly emerging crisis in Afghanistan. By increasing the capacity of recipient countries to monitor, prevent and counter the potential risks of illicit flows of firearms in the region, in particular from neighbouring Afghanistan, and foster more effective international and regional cooperation, the project will help reduce the risk that these arms will be diverted into the hands of terrorist and other criminal groups.

Project: Strengthening Social Cohesion Through Participation and Advancement of Rights Among Young Women and Men Vulnerable to Radicalism

Funding: $1.9 million

Description: This project aims to support the Government of Tajikistan in its implementation of the National Strategy for Countering Extremism and Terrorism. The project will focus on 3 main lines of effort: 1) support to the General Prosecutor’s Office to implement, communicate and measure the strategy; 2) support to stakeholders to adapt and integrate strategy priorities into their regular practices; and 3) support for local state and non-state actors working with vulnerable populations, including youth, young prison inmates, and young ex-inmates, to enhance awareness of risks from violent extremism.