Riyam Dhahir Hayder

Riyam Dhahir Hayder

Policy and Advocacy Officer

Ream Dhaher is a human rights defender from Iraq. She currently works as a policy and advocacy officer with Nonviolent Peaceforce in Iraq. Her work focuses on enhancing community-led protection initiatives, supporting women and young people in conflict-affected areas, and connecting local voices with national and international advocacy spaces. Ream has written and led research on enforced disappearances, women searching for missing persons and the protection needs of minorities in the Nineveh Plain.

She previously held the position of Programme Officer at the Yezidi Organisation for Documentation, where she managed transitional justice initiatives, legal assistance to returnees, as well as advocacy activities that successfully led to the amendment of the Missing Persons Law in the Kurdistan Region.

Ream has represented Iraq on multiple global platforms, including UN Women's Young Women Peacebuilders Programme, the CrossCulture Programme Fellowship in Germany, and the International Visitor Leadership Program in the US. Her work highlights the resilience of survivors, the importance of inclusive policies and the urgent need for survivor-centred justice in post-conflict Iraq.