Iraq

Allow me to extend my congratulations to Mr. D’Escoto Brockmann on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-third session. I wish him success in his great work responsibilities and projects. I hope he will be able to work for the interests of States Members of the United Nations. I would like also to thank his predecessor, Mr. Srgjan Kerim, for presiding over the last session of the General Assembly. It is with honour and pleasure at this major international gathering that I convey greetings from the Government of the Republic of Iraq and its people. Iraq’s former regime left behind security and political conditions that had become a drain on the energy of the Iraqi people and that led to a deterioration of the country’s economy. Those conditions also left behind significant environmental and social damage. The foreign policy of the former regime and its domestic practices dragged the country into futile wars, leaving behind millions of victims and the destruction of economic and state institutions. While the Iraqi people are building a new federal State on the basis of democracy, pluralism and the peaceful distribution of power, they have been subject to and affected by a series of terrorist acts targeting all Iraqis, be they Sunni or Shia Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen or Chaldo-Assyrians, and attempts to ignite sectarian strife, undermine the political process and stability of the country, and return Iraq to the days of tyranny, backwardness, oppression and dictatorship. 27 08-51845 Terrorism is a blind danger that threatens everyone. At a time when the Iraqi people call upon the representatives of their elected national Government to combat the remnants of terrorism, they call upon the international community, and in particular neighbouring countries, to support Iraq in its efforts to suppress violence and terrorism and to promote peace, security and stability. That would have a positive impact on the stability and security of the region and on the interests of its peoples and of the international community as a whole. The acts of terrorism committed by the enemies of freedom will not discourage our people from creating a new democratic experience. Our people have paid a heavy price for embracing that experience. Our position requires the support and assistance of countries around the world if we are to build a modern nation that ensures justice, equality, strengthened the rule of law, respect for human rights and participation by women in all spheres of life. The Iraqi Government continues to impose the rule of law throughout Iraq with determination, disarming militias and armed gangs, fighting sectarian conflict and building State institutions on the basis of national unity. The initiative for reconciliation and national dialogue launched by the Iraqi Government among the various stakeholders in Iraq — be they Muslim, non-Muslim, Arab, Kurd, Turkmen, Chaldo-Assyrian, Shiite or Sunni — draws its strength from the heritage of the Iraqi people, which has rendered great services to humanity. Iraqis have coexisted in a spirit of fraternity, love and tolerance since the dawn of history. Their religious, sectarian and national diversity has been a driving force in promoting national unity. National reconciliation is a shared responsibility between political forces, decision makers, religious scholars, intellectuals, civil society organizations and all active actors in Iraq. Progress has been achieved on the ground thanks to ongoing national reconciliation activities that have brought about the end of sectarian killings and an improvement in the security situation, along with the return of thousands of displaced families to their homes, the launch of construction projects and the provision of services to citizens. The proper preparation and continuous training given to security and military forces have greatly impacted their efficiency and capacity to respond to criminal gangs, militias and terrorist organizations. Those forces conducted successful security campaigns to enforce the law in Baghdad and thereby eliminated most of the armed militias and gangs and terrorist groups, which greatly helped us to restore security and stability. We also undertook similar and successful campaigns in Basra, Mosul, Diyala and other provinces. The Iraqi security forces have taken over security duties from the multinational forces in many of Iraq’s provinces, most recently in Anbar. We are currently assuming full responsibility for defending and preserving the democratic achievements of our people. The Government is aware that those efforts have not fully attained our objectives and aspirations and that there is still much work ahead of us before we achieve the stable and prosperous Iraq to which we all aspire. Therefore, we call upon the international community to support and assist Iraq in achieving those noble goals. We are determined to assume responsibility for all security tasks by the end of this year. The national unity Government has sought to improve Iraq’s relations with other countries throughout the world, in particular our neighbours, in accordance with the principles set out in the new Iraqi Constitution. It calls for the establishment of good relations with neighbouring countries that share our interests, on the basis of non-interference in their internal affairs, diplomacy, direct dialogue and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Therefore, Iraq is no longer a threat to international peace and security. We call on the international community to ensure that Iraq is no longer subjected to action under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, putting an end to all Security Council measures against Iraq, including with regard to compensation. We thank our neighbouring countries for participating in three large regional conferences, the most recent of which was held in Kuwait in April 2008. We also thank them for their continued cooperation and coordination to support the efforts of the Government and the people of Iraq to restore peace, stability and prosperity, by promoting ongoing dialogue in the areas of national reconciliation, combating terrorism, strengthening the rule of law and increasing political participation. Those conferences have given participants the opportunity to reaffirm their commitments to Iraq’s territorial integrity, unity, full 08-51845 28 sovereignty and independence and to non-interference in its internal affairs, as well as their pledges to honour those commitments. We are currently preparing for a forthcoming meeting among Iraq’s neighbours to be held in Baghdad, at which we will be able to set forth guiding principles for future positive cooperative efforts in the political, economical and security fields. Thanks to Iraq’s new policies, our country has become a meeting place for dialogue for regional and international adversaries. We would like to enhance that positive role and to adopt a policy that will help to further reduce tensions and wars not only in the region but also in the world at large. This year, senior Iraqi officials made important high-level visits to neighbouring countries and other nations. Iraq was also visited by senior officials from the region, and their consultations promoted balanced and stable political and economic policies that increased the Arab diplomatic presence in Iraq. Therefore, we call on all nations — especially given the great improvement in our security situation — to open or reopen diplomatic missions and to enhance existing ones by increasing the level of their representation. Furthermore, in its foreign policy, Iraq has made it a priority to enhance its role in the international community through effective participation in meetings and conferences held by United Nations agencies and funds on various international issues. Iraq has also acceded to many United Nations conventions and treaties, including the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, the Kyoto Protocol and protocols and conventions related to the fight against terrorism. Given the nearly 50 per cent increase in the Iraqi budget compared with last year, and in view of our future aspirations and the improvements owing to increased revenues derived from our natural resources — including our fertile agricultural lands and abundant water, mineral, and human resources — we signed the International Compact with Iraq, aimed at achieving economic prosperity and social justice in partnership with the international community. That document represents a new stage in the establishment of balanced relations between Iraq and the other nations of the world. The First Annual Review Conference of the International Compact, held in Stockholm in May 2008, saw a high level of international participation. Its outcomes included a proposal to establish a new international development partnership that would include a joint financing mechanism for new programmes with international partners in Iraq, as well as an effort to identify critical areas for cooperation on issues such as human development, human rights, reconstruction and economic governance, as points for departure in developing new patterns of international cooperation and assistance with regard to Iraq. The Government of Iraq would like to thank the international community for assisting us in our efforts to address our crises and challenges. We would also like to thank the countries that have cancelled Iraqi debt and to thank the Secretary-General Secretary for his good efforts to that end. The Government of Iraq is eager to cooperate with the United Nations and would like to reactivate the Organization’s work in our country so that the international community can strengthen its efforts to rebuild Iraq and to support national reconciliation and our democratic experience. We thus call on the United Nations to enhance its presence in Iraq so that those efforts will yield greater results. We agree with the world’s leaders regarding the need to reconsider and reassess the international situation and current political, economic and environmental crises. Indeed, the world has become a village and all events are interlinked, which means that an event in one region of the world will affect events in other regions. Therefore we must engage in dialogue, cooperation, coexistence and understanding in order to emerge from such crises. We also wish to highlight the role of international and regional organizations as mechanisms for promoting dialogue and cooperation. Those are lessons that we have learned from the Iraqi experiment and our own difficulties, and we see no alternative to such an approach in addressing the current complex world situation. Therefore we call on international organizations to rebuild and reactivate their structures and to reduce their routine and bureaucracy. The problems of the Middle East can be resolved through constructive and meaningful dialogue, in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy and the principles of international law. Therefore the Government of Iraq supports the struggle of the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights, including the right to establish an independent State. We call for the implementation of the resolutions 29 08-51845 of international legitimacy in returning the occupied Arab territories. We consider the Arab Peace Initiative endorsed by the Arab Summit to be a good and just basis for the settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Therefore, and in order to enhance peace and security in the region, we call for the establishment of a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction. The Government of Iraq attaches great importance to reform of the United Nations, in particular the Security Council, to improve its performance. While we believe that it is important to expand the Council’s membership to make it more representative and more responsive to the great increase in the number of Member States in comparison with 60 years ago, we also believe that it is essential to improve the Council’s working methods in order to enhance its effectiveness and capacity to perform, which affect the interests of all Member States. At any rate, the increase in the membership of the Council must not affect its effectiveness or efficiency. Promoting stability and prosperity calls for enhancing cooperation among the countries of the world. We need to improve relations among the sovereign countries of the world and develop the international system so that it will be fairer and better able to assist development programmes in poor and developing countries through increased support from wealthy countries. In conclusion, allow me on behalf of my country and the people of Iraq to extend congratulations to the President of the General Assembly. We are confident that his wisdom and remarkable qualities will bring about success in the current session of the General Assembly.