A 25-member national Governing Council includes three women and Kurdish, Sunni, Christian, Turkmen, and Shi'ia representatives. The establishment of this body is a first and important move toward Iraqi self-government.
The Governing Council is creating a Preparatory Commission to write a constitution. After a constitution is approved, elections will lead to a fully sovereign Iraqi government.
There are municipal councils in all major cities and 85 percent of towns, enabling Iraqis to take responsibility for management of local matters like healthcare, water, and electricity.
Provisional councils have been formed in Najaf, Al Anbar, and Basra.
The Baghdad City Advisory Council was inaugurated on July 7, 2003. Its 37 members were selected by members of the city's nine district councils, who themselves were selected by Baghdad citizens in 88 neighborhoods throughout the city.
Local governance councils are robust in Basra and Umm Qasr, helping to identify areas for immediate humanitarian and reconstruction assistance.
The Office of Human Rights and Transitional Justice is working to locate missing persons, investigate, analyze, and exhume mass graves, archive past human rights abuses and promote civic education/public awareness about human rights.
To facilitate voluntary resolutions of property claims, the Property Reconciliation Facility is being created.
The Coalition is helping fund and train Iraqis wanting to create their own non-governmental organizations. These new NGOs include public policy think tanks and an association of former political prisoners.
More than 150 newspapers are now published in Iraq offering Iraqis access to many different kinds of information. Foreign publications, radio, and television broadcasts are also available.
Results in Iraq: 100 Days Toward Security and Freedom
