On January 25, 2010, the Iraqi parliament passed a new law that regulates the work of civil society organizations. This new law constitutes a huge improvement in comparison to the old draft law which was proposed by the Iraqi government in March 2009. The adoption of the new law comes after several years of intense lobbying by Iraqi civil society, and hbs partner Iraqi Amal Association in particular, against previous drafts which sought to restrict their work. Moreover, a regional workshop organized by hbs entitled “NGO Legal Framework and Freedom of Association”, held in Beirut in December 2004, provided significant input for Iraqi civil society activism in favor of democratic NGO legislation.
Shortly after the law was passed, Jamal Al-Jawahiri was interviewed by the NGO Coordination Committee of Iraq (NCCI).