On Jan.27, 2022, the Iraqi Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs signed with France an agreement to support safe havens in Baghdad and women’s protection centers.

The ministry stated in a press statement reported by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that the Iraqi Minister of Labor, Adel Al-Rikabi, signed an agreement to support safe havens in Baghdad and women’s protection centers in three governorates (Nineveh, Anbar, and Basra) in cooperation with France and the United Nations Population Fund.
Al-Rikabi said, in statements on the sidelines of the signing, that the Ministry of Labor, in light of the economic conditions, cannot alone carry out these tasks and is in dire need for support from partners to advance the reality of the fragile and vulnerable groups it sponsors, especially children, women and the elderly. He added, that dealing with cases of gender-based violence requires the ministry and its partners to create the infrastructure to protect and assist these groups, and to focus on addressing the causes of violence and its repercussions.
He continued, that the ministry is looking forward to coordination and cooperation towards partnership with the international community, whether it is the United Nations or friends in France and other countries