Iraq, 2004

It is with

pleasure that I congratulate you, Sir, on your

assumption of the presidency at the fifty-ninth session

of the General Assembly.

It is also a pleasure to speak to the Assembly

today as the Prime Minister of a fully sovereign State

that seeks to recover its place among the community of

nations. Iraq has been isolated from the international

community for a very long time. It was deprived of the

very important role it should play in the community of

nations. The Iraqi people aspire to recover that role

today.

Iraq is a nation rich in cultural heritage and

history, as the cradle of civilization. But the oppressive

regime of Saddam Hussein cast a long, sinister shadow

over Iraq. It traumatized and suppressed the people of

Iraq for decades. With the fall of Saddam Hussein’s

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oppressive regime, our country and the world have

been made safer. New horizons for fruitful and

constructive cooperation with the world have emerged.

A new situation has emerged in Iraq, which is

now experiencing a conflict of far-reaching

consequences for the country’s future and its relations

with the world. It is the struggle of the Iraqi people —

and its vision for future peace and democracy —

against the terrorists and extremists and the remnants

of Saddam Hussein’s regime, who are targeting that

noble dream long nurtured by our people. It is the

struggle of all civilized nations against those working

to destroy civilization and world culture. I therefore

appeal to the representatives of the countries assembled

here to help Iraq to defeat the forces of terrorism and to

build a better future for its people.

The President returned to the Chair.

The brutal dictatorship imposed by Saddam

Hussein on Iraq brought destruction to Iraq and

brutalized and traumatized the Iraqi people. The regime

killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens. It

arrested and tortured many thousands more and drove

millions of Iraqis to leave their country after depriving

them of the most fundamental human and civil rights.

It also ruined relations among Iraqis by sowing the

seeds of religious, ethnic and other divisions.

My words today cannot adequately convey the

oppression and suffering endured by the Iraqi people

over three decades. We have discovered 262 mass

graves, and we continue to find more; they prove the

corruption of the Saddam regime and its lack of

compassion and respect for life.

During the brutal era of Saddam Hussein, the

dream of the Iraqi people was to build a democratic,

federal and free Iraq that would ensure a dignified life

for its citizens. Today, we have a genuine opportunity

to make that dream come true. Iraq has now become a

country of laws that ensure respect for human rights

and freedoms. It has a Government that embodies the

diversity of the Iraqi people within the framework of

genuine national unity.

Today, we are also preparing to hold democratic

elections next January under the timeline set in the

Law of Administration of the State of Iraq for the

Transitional Period and in Security Council resolution

1546 (2004). We are committed to that timeline despite

the complexities and difficulties involved, and, with

the Assembly’s help, we can meet the deadline.

Holding elections is a vital and necessary step towards

improving the security situation in Iraq. We hope that

all Iraqis will participate in the elections and contribute

to the completion of the political process.

Nonetheless, there is a tiny extremist minority

that seeks to deprive Iraqis of the opportunity to fulfil

their dream of building a democratic future in Iraq.

Like all terrorists everywhere in the world, those who

are responsible for terrorism in Iraq hate democracy,

freedom and humanity. They are abetted in their

criminal endeavours by a number of foreigners who

have infiltrated Iraq from neighbouring countries.

There are also criminals from the previous regime, who

aim at destroying our country and impeding progress.

They are not freedom fighters, as is claimed by some

biased circles. They do not mean to liberate our

country; rather, they want to spread chaos, violence

and terror and jeopardize the security of citizens and of

the country. They target the dreams and aspirations of

the Iraqi people.

In fact, our goal in the ongoing conflict is to

restore stability and the rule of law and to enable the

men, women and children of Iraq to live free from fear.

The aim of the terrorists, on the other hand, is to

destroy the aspirations and will power of our people

through mass killings and the destruction of Iraq’s

infrastructure, and to stop economic life in Iraq and

create a state of tension, panic and instability in order

to undermine peace and security. They want to destroy

human civilization in our region and, indeed,

throughout the world.

For all those reasons, my Government’s top

priorities are to defeat the terrorists’ schemes, to

establish security throughout Iraq and to hunt down the

terrorists and bring them to justice. We have developed

plans to promote security as a vital precondition for the

reconstruction of Iraq, the restoration of economic

progress, the completion of the political process, the

achievement of national reconciliation and the

promotion of a culture of tolerance among all citizens

of Iraq.

Perhaps members now appreciate the daunting

task we are facing. We look forward to assistance from

our neighbours and all of our friends in the

international community in order to achieve security

and stability in Iraq. I recognize that some countries

here objected to the war that brought down the

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oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein and liberated the

people of Iraq. And that is their right. However,

differences over this issue should not remain an

obstacle to establishing new cooperative relationships

that would allow Iraq to receive serious international

support to consolidate security, freedom and

democracy in our country and to forge ahead on the

path of development and progress.

Iraq welcomes international support for the

objectives of the Iraqi people as outlined in Security

Council resolution 1546 (2004), which was adopted

unanimously. That resolution reaffirms the sovereignty

and territorial integrity of Iraq and endorses the

formation of the national Government. It also affirms

the international community’s commitment to support

the Government in fulfilling the will of the Iraqi people

by holding elections and establishing the proper legal

framework for political parties and civil society. In

addition, it places emphasis on the re-establishment of

an effective governmental structure, the application of

the principle of social justice, and the promotion of a

climate of tolerance, dialogue and human rights.

We need more assistance from our neighbours

and from the international community as a whole to

meet all those objectives and to translate the

aspirations of the Iraqi people into realities after so

many decades of suffering under the oppression of the

previous regime and its excessive practices. We are

proud of our membership of the League of Arab States,

the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and

we have started a fruitful dialogue with the European

Union. We hope that all that will lead to concrete

positive results in the near future.

Also, I am pleased to announce here that the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has agreed

to assist Iraq in the training of its security forces. I

especially welcome the upcoming conference of

neighbouring countries and other friendly countries,

with the objective of empowering the Iraqi people to

face its challenges and dangers and of establishing

stability in Iraq.

It is our duty to coordinate our efforts in the fight

against terrorism and to exchange information. It is

also our duty to ensure that our national borders are

more secure, so that we can halt the infiltration of

terrorists into Iraq and put an end to their destructive

activities. In that context, we call upon all friendly and

peace-loving nations to stand by Iraq; we need their

immediate assistance. We need more assistance from

the multinational force, and we need a broadening of

the base of countries contributing troops to that force,

so that it will be better equipped and more determined

to confront terrorism and to provide security protection

for the United Nations and its agencies when they

return to Iraq.

My Government is committed to the

reconstruction and development of the national

economy and is working with the World Bank, the

United Nations system and the International Monetary

Fund to complete the reforms under way and enhance

Iraq’s prospects for welfare and prosperity, so that it

can become effective as a trading partner of other

nations. The problem of foreign debt has emerged as

the most serious obstacle on that road. Our debts

amount to billions of dollars, which is beyond our

capacity to repay. This places an unjust burden on the

Iraqi people, since those debts arose from the

prohibitive costs improperly incurred by the former

regime in its unjustified wars, its support for

international terrorism, its acquisition of weapons of

mass destruction and its plunder of our national

resources.

With good intentions and rational management,

Iraq hopes to reach agreement with the Paris Club by

the end of this year in order to achieve substantial

reductions in our debts. Here, I would like to express

our gratitude to those countries that have decided to

write off their loans to Iraq, and I appeal to other

creditor nations to show the same generosity. Without

their assistance, we will not be able to reconstruct Iraq

and attract the foreign investment that would enhance

our ability to defeat terrorism and improve security for

the Iraqi people, ensuring increased economic benefits

for the region and entire world. Also, I appeal to donor

countries that have pledged generous financial

assistance to fulfil their obligations in order to help us

reconstruct our country. We welcome the meeting of

donor countries scheduled to be convened next month

in Tokyo. Such financial assistance will create an

atmosphere of optimism that will allow us to leave the

past totally behind and will help us finance reforms and

development projects on the ground. In addition, we

hope that Iraq’s friends will provide financial

assistance to ensure the success of our democratic

elections.

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We seek international assistance from the United

Nations for the special Iraqi court in order to ensure

that all defendants, whatever serious crimes they may

be charged with, receive fair trials within the justice

system. That would help Iraq free itself from the

pernicious shackles of the past.

We stress that the efforts and resources

committed by the international community to promote

Iraq’s democracy and revive its economy shall not have

been committed in vain. They may even have a

positive impact on the entire region and the world as a

whole, creating a climate conducive to peace, security

and international and regional cooperation on the basis

of respect for mutual interests.

We highly appreciate the role and good offices of

Secretary-General Kofi Annan in helping us lay the

foundations of freedom and democracy. We also pay

tribute to Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, former Personal Envoy

of the Secretary-General, for his work on the

constitution of the interim Iraqi Government. We also

welcome the appointment of Mr. Ashraf Qazi as

Mr. Brahimi’s successor. We further welcome the

assistance team dispatched by the United Nations to

help us meet our obligation to convene general

elections in January.

We look forward to welcoming United Nations

personnel in Iraq to help see us through an effective

political process and reconstruction. We warmly look

forward to the return of all United Nations agencies to

fulfil their noble mission in Iraq.

On this occasion, I wish to recall with deep

anguish and sorrow the destruction of the United

Nations headquarters in Baghdad just over a year ago

in a brutal and barbaric terrorist attack that claimed the

lives of Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, a brilliant

international figure, and of other United Nations staff

members in the international compound. Their memory

will remain a vivid testimony for the promotion of

democracy and stability in Iraq. I stress our

determination to defeat the cowardly terrorists who

target the lives of foreign workers who come to Iraq to

help us fulfil our noble mission.

Iraq follows closely the challenges that face the

countries of the world, including the emergence of new

forms of terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of

mass destruction, the need to reduce poverty, the

achievement of the Millennium Development Goals,

respect for human rights and the consolidation of

democracy and equality. In that regard, Iraq appeals to

the United Nations in particular to strive even harder,

to combat and eradicate the horrendous scourge of

terrorism. That struggle calls for new ideas and firmer

resolve to implement the existing agreements. It is

important that we affirm the commitment of the

Government and people of Iraq to succeed in this

battle.

Terrorism is a disease that is spreading

throughout the world, employing misleading slogans.

Terrorists have killed numerous people in the name of

Islam in New York, Turkey, the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia, Bali, Madrid, Baghdad and elsewhere. They

are criminals who commit their evil acts without mercy

and evince only a taste for barbarism and bloodshed.

Today, they have chosen Iraq as their battleground

because they fear the success of the Iraqi experience

and the restoration of Iraq’s stability, development and

democratic institution-building. They will reap nothing

but failure and total defeat.

Thus, our struggle is the United Nations struggle,

our victory will be its victory and our defeat will be its

defeat. Indeed, the values of democracy, freedom,

justice and equality for all, irrespective of gender,

colour, faith or race, are common human values. There

is no room or excuse for those who seek to divide our

world by making a distinction of Muslims, which is

extremely damaging to the unity of human society,

peace and security.

Furthermore, we believe in the importance of

consolidating peace and stability in the Middle East on

the basis of United Nations resolutions, of respect for

mutual rights and of a just and comprehensive peace.

Let me appeal today before the international

community, both to those who supported the war in

Iraq and to those who opposed it, as well as to the

United Nations itself, not to remain neutral or idle in

the struggle, but to join us for our sake as well as for

their own. The fulfilment of the Iraqi people’s dream of

a free, stable and prosperous Iraq, with good standing

in the family of peace-loving nations, will strengthen

our capacity and resolve to achieve justice and peace,

to defeat terrorism and violence, and to end all forms

of division and hatred among nations. Let us stand side

by side as one international family in order to achieve

our noble cause.