It is my pleasure to greet the Assembly on behalf of Iraq, a founding State Member of the Organization that hosts us today. I congratulate Mr. Csaba Korosi on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session, and am confident in his expertise and competence in achieving the desired objectives of this session. I extend my sincere thanks to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his vital role in leading this organ over the past years and in supporting and assisting the Government of Iraq. Our people will always be grateful and appreciative of his efforts.
Iraq is a country deeply rooted in history and human memory. It represents a living example of how hope prevails over significant challenges that may seem difficult, especially at the level of domestic political conflict. However, the spirit of hope embodied by the people of Iraq makes them capable of taking advantage of opportunities to live and achieve progress and peace while overcoming conflicts, crises and challenges. Despite all the difficult circumstances, Iraqis wielded that spirit of hope to fight terrorism and defeat it on behalf of the entire world. The task was arduous. Our people made enormous sacrifices not only to liberate their land from the terrorist gangs of Da’esh but also to prevent that dangerous organization from threatening people everywhere and uproot its destructive ideology. In that regard, I recall the martyrs of Iraq who sacrificed their lives in defence of the values of freedom, justice, democracy and human rights.
During that just war, our Iraqi military forces acquired unique skills in fighting Da’esh, enforcing the rule of law and peacekeeping. Iraq benefited from the expertise of our allies in the fight against terrorism. I would like to reiterate our thanks and appreciation to them. We also reiterate the call of the Government of the Republic of Iraq for continued confrontation of the phenomenon of international terrorism and the groups that back it. Iraq looks forward to receiving more United Nations support for rebuilding the areas liberated and affected by the occupation of Da’esh terrorist gangs, and more United Nations aid for responding to urgent and necessary humanitarian needs in order to enhance Iraq’s capabilities and efforts to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure in a way that would help our cities and their people, including internally displaced persons, to return to normal life.
It is worth noting that the State’s ministries and institutions have pursued their efforts to help repatriate Iraqi families living in Al-Hol camp in Syria and to reintegrate them into their hometowns. In that regard, I note that we have developed a comprehensive Government programme for the reconstruction of liberated areas, the rehabilitation of infrastructure and the safe and voluntary return of displaced people. We take this opportunity to express our profound thanks and appreciation to donor countries and international organizations for their humanitarian support and assistance to Iraq.
As I address the Assembly from this rostrum, I reiterate Iraq’s call on other countries not to use our territories under any pretext, be it combating terrorism or protecting their own national security, while endangering our security and stability. Iraq stresses the need to respect the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, the rules of international law and international relations, and to respect the sovereignty of States. We therefore ask all States not to interfere in Iraqi territories and to respect the principle of good- neighbourliness, while promoting cooperative relations. The Government of Iraq affirms its adherence to an approach that calls for resolving differences through diplomatic channels.
There is no doubt that Iraq, like the rest of the world, has been affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which has impacted all aspects of life and proven that international cooperation and solidarity were successful in confronting it. The Government of Iraq and its national institutions have taken the many preventive and curative measures necessary to control and curtail the pandemic and treat the infected. I take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation to those countries and international organizations, including the World Health Organization, for their role and sincere efforts in addressing the pandemic
and assisting developing countries in confronting and combating it.
Realizing the importance of national commitments, the protection of democratic experience and the people’s demands to democratically exercise their rights and freedom of expression, the Iraqi Government held free and fair elections with the support of the Security Council, the United Nations and other international organizations, which have all praised the integrity and high professionalism with which they were held. I also want to thank all States and organizations that supported the elections. In that regard, I want to thank the people who helped in holding the most successful of elections since 2003 until now, in particular Sayyid Al-Sistani, the Highest Marja’, for protecting the democratic process in Iraq.
Despite the success of the elections, the political forces could not agree on the formation of a new Government, leading to a political impasse. My Government has called for a serious and transparent national dialogue among all political forces and various parties to discuss ways out of the current political crisis in an effort to form a Government that meets the people’s aspirations and hopes in achieving their goals and securing their future.
The Government of Iraq is working to build the State and maintain its stature on the basis of coexistence among all the constituents of the Iraqi people, while respecting diversity and ideological, religious and sectarian pluralism pursuant to the values and principles of justice and equality. That can be done by ensuring the freedom of expression, the right to peaceful demonstration and human rights; strengthening law enforcement agencies and accountability measures; ending violations and subjecting perpetrators to accountability: achieving a State monopoly on arms; preventing the possession and use of arms outside the law and State institutions; investigating those who use them against citizens and members of the security forces; holding the perpetrators accountable according to the law; and applying justice to all.
Iraq is keen to be a source of regional and international stability. Iraq seeks to bring together different viewpoints and endeavours to find sustainable peaceful solutions to regional crises and mend ties among the region’s countries by introducing a number of initiatives to ensure the protection of peace and security in our region, which has long suffered from senseless wars and crises. The time has come to rebuild the region, pursuant to our era, history and balanced State policy. Baghdad has hosted many meetings for the region’s countries. It is a consequence of the balanced policy pursued by this Government and Iraqi diplomacy with a view to establishing moderation in the region and finding common grounds with neighbouring countries. That will serve the interests of all parties and peoples of the region with historical and cultural ties, encourage regional cooperation and defuse crises.
The Baghdad Conference for Partnership and Cooperation, held in August 2021, witnessed a remarkable participation by regional neighbouring brotherly and friendly countries. The Conference resulted in a number of important recommendations included in the communique of the Baghdad summit.
It is no secret to anyone that Iraq is enduring difficult climate conditions due to the scarcity of water resources, the change in course of rivers that Iraq shares with some neighbouring countries, and the implementation of projects without taking into account their effects on water quotas and fair use by riparian countries. All of those conditions have come together and led Iraq to become the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change, which has recently caused most of Iraq’s marshes to dry up and damaged the livelihoods of hundreds of rural families living there. The marshes are natural reserves and listed as a World Heritage Site. Those conditions have led to an increase in the rate of desertification and internal displacement due to nature and the loss of many family livelihoods, as well as a drop in the proportion of agricultural land. Iraq calls on all regional countries to enter into a dialogue to resolve water issues, in accordance with international law and conventions.
Iraq is an oil-producing country that has participated in the progress and development of the global economy since the beginning of the twentieth century. While Iraq suffers from climate change, it will also suffer from all the measures taken to address this phenomenon and the reduction in dependence on fossil fuels. Nevertheless, my Government has worked on important strategic projects in clean energy, associated gas extraction and other areas related to the green economy. That requires international support in various fields in order to back Iraq’s efforts and enable us to move forward in implementing national policies and strategies to mitigate and adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.
Similarly, we have not neglected the need to develop the education and culture sectors. My Government has made the implementation of the 2030 national strategy for public and higher education a top priority. The most important goals of the strategy are to achieve a 100 per cent school enrolment rate, upgrade the standards of public and higher education, develop educational techniques and technologies, and enhance skills in accordance with the job market and economic development. We have also launched a national initiative for early childhood development that covers a period of 10 years with a view to reducing the illiteracy rate in our society and providing an appropriate educational environment for our children, especially since many sectors have suffered the repercussions of senseless wars, clashes and corruption, which have rocked the foundations of the educational sector in Iraq. We have recently embarked on a campaign to build hundreds of schools in various Iraqi governorates that have suffered significant shortages in recent decades, in addition to facilitating the task of building universities and colleges in the country.
We stress Iraq’s steadfast position on the Palestinian question, all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and respect for the historical status of Jerusalem and its holy sites.
While we stress the need to preserve Syria’s territorial integrity and security, we support the holding of political talks among all Syrian parties. We also support the efforts of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions.
Like other countries of the world, Iraq believes that regional crises and wars have consequences for all countries of the world. We also believe that peoples always pay the price for such wars. Wars impact all aspects of life, particularly energy supplies, food and security. Iraq has faced many wars and is consequently sensitive to the issue. We stress the need to find peaceful and sustainable solutions to regional and international crises through dialogue and to avoid the use of force. We call for the maintenance of international peace and security. The global economy and humankind must be saved from the repercussions of such wars.
In conclusion, the challenges facing my country, Iraq, today are but the result of the accumulation of political crises and conflicts over a long period. We are working to defuse them, hoping that our society, which is made up mostly of young people, will adhere to and defend democracy as a way of life and a means of good governance. Our nascent experience of democracy is still imbued with the spirit of courage and hope. We are in dire need of understanding and support from the international community so that we can continue building a modern State, undertaking reconstruction, providing services and building the infrastructure that has been destroyed by senseless wars. We believe in the need to invest in people and uphold their dignity while working to implement the Sustainable Development Goals in cooperation and comprehensive partnership with our neighbours in the region and the international community.