Iraq, 2008

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.

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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

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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

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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.