Draft final communique of Iraq conference highlights sovereignty
Iraq-Regional, Politics, 11/23/2004

The draft of the final communique of the international Iraqi conference highlighted Iraq's sovereignty and the importance of the leading role of the UN in the coming stage.

The UN will playa consultative role in the coming elections and, to this end, it will deploy a larger number of UN staffers to assist in the electoral process, the draft, expected to be approved on Tuesday, said.

The statement called on the international community to offer more support to secure UN staffers in Iraq.

It included condemnation of all shapes of violence in Iraq and underlined the necessity to take all the measures required to stabilize peace in Iraq.

Following are the 14 items, expected to be included within the draft final communiquŽ expected to be approved by the international Iraq conference in Sharm El-Sheikh.

The participants decided upon the following:

ÊÊÊ 1 -To reaffirm the sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity and national unity of Iraq, as well as the relevance of the principles of non interference in internal affairs as articulated in the UN Charter and the principle of good neighborly relations.

They also affirm the right of the Iraqi people to a secure and stable life and to determine freely their future through democratic means and to exercise full control over their natural and financial resources.

They committed themselves to help the Iraqi people reach these goals.

2 -To take note of the regional initiative of the neighbors of Iraq and their meeting held in Cairo on July 21 and consider that their efforts are for the benefit of the Iraqi people and in the interest of stability in the region.

3 -To stress that the leading role of the United Nations in supporting, as circumstances permit, the political process in Iraq as stated in paragraphs 4 and 7 of Security Council resolution 1546.

The ministers welcome the leading role the UN has played in terms of advice and support for the process of holding elections, including the recent decision to deplay more electoral staff to Iraq to help with preparations for elections.

The ministers underline the importance of the United Nations continuing to play a leading role, including the promoting of national dialogue and consensus building, on the drafting of a permanent national constitution by the people of Iraq in 2005.

The ministers welcome the efforts of the United Nations and call upon the international community to provide the assistance necessary to protect the UN in Iraq.

The ministers also welcome a supporting role by the League of Arab states alongside the role of the United Nations.

4- To consider this meeting a step towards achieving broader participation of the Iraqi political spectrum, thus contributing to the success of the political process.

In this respect, they welcome the efforts of the Interim Government of Iraq and other leaders of the Iraqi community to broaden political participation, by encouraging all elements that reject violence to engage in the political and electoral process through peaceful means.

In this respect the ministers encourage the Interim Government of Iraq to convene in Iraq, at the earliest date, before the general elections, representatives of the Iraqi political spectrum and civil society in order to share with them the results of the Sharm El-Sheikh meeting, so as to advance nation-building and national reconciliation with the view to encouraging broader participation in the general elections.

5- To welcome all steps taken so far to achieve democracy in Iraq and to encourage the Interim Government of Iraq to continue the political process by holding general elections before the end of January 2005, to a select Transitional National Assembly, which will have responsibility for forming a Transitional Government of Iraq and drafting a permanent constitution for Iraq leading to the formation of a constitutionally elected government by December 31,2005 in line with the timetable endorsed in Security Council resolution 1546.

They also welcome the commitment of the Interim Government of Iraq, acting in the spirit of national dialogue and consensus building, to promote Iraq's transition to a united, federal, democratic and pluralistic state, in which political and human rights are observed in full measures.

6- To condemn all acts of terrorism in Iraq and call for the immediate cessation of all such acts in order to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people, preserve the lives of innocent Iraqis and display respect for their human rights.

They also call on all parties to avoid excessive use of force and to exercise maximum self-restraint to avoid violence inflicted on civilians.

They also call on the Interim government of Iraq to deal resolutely, in accordance with international humanitarian law and Relevant Security council resolutions, with the terrorist presence in Iraq and terrorist activities in and from Iraq which threaten security.

7- To condemn all acts of kidnapping and assassinati9n, including those of civilians working in local and foreign firms for the reconstruction of Iraq, international and humanitarian organizations providing assistance to the Iraqi people members of diplomatic missions and journalists, call on all parties to intensify their efforts and to support interim government of Iraq in confronting criminal activities.

8. To call on all parties concerned to take steps to contribute to the stability of Iraq, to reaffirm the obligations of United Nations member states under UNSCR 1546 to prevent the transit of terrorists to and from Iraq, arms for terrorists, and financing that would support terrorists, and call upon the neighboring countries of Iraq and all concerned international parties to intensify cooperation co control the Iraqi borders.

To that end, they take note of the agreement reached by the neighboring countries of Iraq to intensify their cooperation and note further their call for a meeting of Ministers of Interior of the neighboring countries of Iraq, as agreed upon in the Sixth Meeting of the Neighboring Countries of Iraq held in Cairo on July 21, 2004.

9. To re-emphasis the importance of following the principles of good neighborly relations and non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations as articulated in the UN Charter, and also to welcome the role played by all parties concerned, including those of the regional organizations, especially the league of Arab States, to create a conducive environment to achieve security and stability in the region. The Ministers encourage measures aimed at building confidence as related to the situation in Iraq.

10. To reiterate that the mandate of the Multi-National Forces in Iraq is not open ended, it will expire in accordance with paragraphs 4 and 12 of UNSCR 1456, on completion of the political process.

Also to recognize the importance of the consent of the sovereign Government of Iraq for the presence of these forces and that these forces have indicated their commitment to act in accordance with International Law, as noted in UNSCR 1546.

Also to highlight the need to enable the Iraq security force s as expeditiously as possible to play an increasingly greater role and to ultimately assume full responsibility for the maintenance of security and stability in Iraq, and to request countries to continue, and where possible, increase, their efforts to assist the Interim Government of Iraq in building the capability of these forces, as specified in paragraph 16 of Security Council Resolution 1546.

11. To reiterate the importance of humanitarian assistance and providing support for the reconstruction of Iraq, as well as creating the necessary conditions to achieve economic and social development, thereby contributing to the efforts to achieve stability and security in Iraq.

To call, also in this context, on all donor countries and organizations to expedite the disbursement of financial assistance pledged at the October 2003 Madrid meeting of the donors committee, in order to meet the priorities outlined by the Interim Government of Iraq, and to allocate these pledges to specific projects for Iraq, and to encourage further contributions.

In this context, the Ministers note the achievements of the Tokyo meeting in October 2004, in broadening further international cooperation in support of self-help by the Interim Government of Iraq, following its own national development strategy.

To recognize the importance of the effective pursuit of the Interim Government of Iraq of its commitment to the creation of fair and transparent and non-discriminatory conditions that would enable all parties to participate in the reconstruction of Iraq on an equal footing and to the fullest extent possible, for the benefit of Iraqi economic development.

12. To recognize that reduction of debt is a key element in Iraq's reconstruction. In this context, the Ministers welcome the commitments taken in this regard by many creditors including those of the Paris Club and call on Iraq's creditors to take steps to reduce substantially Iraq's foreign debt.

13. To reaffirm the importance of bringing to justice members of the previous Iraqi regime who have committed war crimes against Iran and Kuwait, and crimes against humanity affecting the Iraqi people.

14. To direct their respective representatives to regularly review progress in fulfilling the commitments and implementing the conclusions reached at this conference and to report to Ministers on the outcome of their follow-up meeting, the first such meeting to take place in February 2005, and to consult with the Iraqi authorities on the possibility of convening further international meetings, including in Iraq.

At the end of the meeting the ministers expressed their appreciation to the Arab Republic of Egypt for hosting the meeting.

Previous Stories:
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