Full text:
27/11/2006
S72/06
Part of the activities under the European Security and Global Governance programme
DEVELOPMENT, DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN SECURITY:
THE CHALLENGE IN IRAQ
Policy Dialogue - 23 November 2006
least 60 violent deaths every day; public services have broken down; some areas only receive two hours’ electricity a day and have no clean drinking water; the distribution of wealth is very uneven and unemployment is rife; the country’s basic infrastructure has been destroyed; its multiculturalism
has become a hindrance rather than a benefit; and there is rampant
government corruption.
Mr Saeed was also critical of the government’s current logic. Its priority is to improve security, and most overseas resources have gone into this. However, most Iraqi groups have told the authorities that if there were decent services, the violence would stop. This situation has resulted in a “misunderstanding” between the government and the people, said Mr Saeed, as the government is
trying to remedy the situation with military intervention when it should be working to build democracy and involving civil society. Working with civil society on the ground Mr Saeed explained what the NPA is doing on the ground’. Over the last ten years, it set up literacy courses and helped with rural rehabilitation
and community development. Summary While the situation in Iraq is “drastic”, both NGOs and the EU are working to rebuild the country, develop democracy and build civil society, speakers told a joint EPCSolidar Policy Dialogue. They gave positive examples of how this is being done on the ground and at international level, and concluded that a holistic approach is needed, dealing with security issues while also providing basic services, democracy and freedom of speech, and helping to rebuild trust. Full report Soren Saeed, Programme Manager in Iraq, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), outlined the background to
the current conflict in Iraq. The country had been founded “by mistake” at the beginning of the 20th century he said, bringing together diverse territories and many ethnic and religious groups. Iraq was one of the richest countries in the world, with a highly-educated urban population. However, it was ruled by a patriarchy for 3,000 years, has been involved in wars every six or seven years over the last century and 159 presidents have been assassinated.
The current situation is particularly drastic, said Mr Saeed. There are at
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‘Capacity building’ and strengthening civil society are among its key aims, and
it concentrates on three main themes: human rights, women and youth.
In the human rights field, it has also introduced education on this in schools, trained teachers and developed educational materials. Its work on women has included efforts to eradicate violence against women, creating more employment, helping women to reach decision-making positions, setting up training courses, and developing media and information campaigns. Its youth
work concentrates on projects in rural areas, encouraging their participation
in the community.
The EU's role
Karin Gatt-Rutter, Member of the Iraq Task Force, Directorate-General for
External Relations, European Commission, described the institution's work in Iraq.
Prior to 2003, the Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) provided humanitarian assistance to Iraq, mainly channelled through non-governmental organisations. In the summer of 2003, the United Nations/ World Bank ‘needs assessment’ set out what the international community could do to rebuild Iraq, and calculated that aid totalling $36 billion was needed. At the Madrid conference a few months later, the EU and the individual Member States agreed to contribute $1.2 billion, and the international community agreed to establish a UN/WB multilateral fund for Iraq.
The following June (2004), the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1546 on the hand-over of power to the Iraqis and, almost simultaneously, the Commission published
its Communication on ‘The European Union and Iraq: a framework for engagement’, laying out its future work in Iraq. The EU’s contribution to rebuilding the country so far has totalled €720 million, with funds earmarked for basic services (health, clean water and education), support for the political process (including the elections and the constitution), and capacitybuilding
in Iraqi institutions. In June 2006, the Commission published its ‘Communication for Recommendations for renewed European Union engagement with Iraq’. This suggested long-term measures, including endorsing democratic government, contributing to the rule of law and human rights, improving the delivery of basis services, supporting mechanisms for economic recovery, and setting up effective and transparent administrative structures. The Commission foresaw that
civil society’s support would be needed
in delivering many of these measures.
The EU is Iraq's third biggest international
donor, explained Ms Gatt-Rutter, and in
keeping with its heightened engagement,
has increased its presence in Baghdad.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih
has just visited Brussels to open negotiations
on a trade and cooperation agreement. While
Ms Gatt-Rutter acknowledged that this might
seem rather “far-fetched” at the moment, she
explained that it provided greater certainty
for potential investors, easing the country’s
re-entry into the international economic
community.
She also emphasised that the Commission's
involvement in Iraq was an “active, ongoing
process” in which civil society must play
a role.
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Sophie Kisling, Middle East Adviser,
Middle East, Mediterranean Region Unit,
DG- E, Council of the European Union,
explained that June 2004 had been a “turning
point” for the EU, as the adoption of the
UN Security Council Resolution 1546 had
enabled it to develop a consensus on Iraq.
Since then, Iraq has been discussed
frequently at Council meetings, and the
EU is now engaged in offering practical
assistance to the country. One major
activity is the Integrated Rule of Law
Mission to help with capacity-building in
Iraq, particularly in the judiciary. So far,
the EU has helped to train 800 judicial
personnel and this mission will continue
until the end of 2007.
The EU will also be involved in the ‘International
Compact for Iraq’, a programme
being developed by the Iraqi government,
with support from the UN, to provide a
framework for social reforms and for the
international community's support for Iraq.
Ms Kisling described this as an “ambitious
programme” which will address all issues
relevant to development, democracy and
human security.
Discussion
Responding to a comment that the
contrasting presentations seemed to
give a picture of two different worlds,
Ms Gatt-Rutter explained that while she
had explained the “bureaucratic approach”
to dealing with the problem, this did not
ignore the difficulties on the ground.
Asked whether the situation was “hopeless”,
Mr Saeed explained Iraq was like “a liver” -
while some parts had been destroyed, others
continued to function. He added that the
international community had made mistakes,
for example by leaving it to the US to sort
out the problems in Iraq, while the Iraqis
wanted “more neutral” European support.
Asked about the gap in understanding
between the people and the government,
Mr Saeed reiterated that people wanted
food and services, while the government
wanted above all to improve the security
situation. Civil society could help to restore
the country, for example, by helping to
monitor democratic rights.
Asked about the human rights situation,
Ms Kisling said that the new Iraqi
Constitution took a strong line on these
issues. Human rights were always raised
at EU-Iraqi political dialogues, and she
hoped that the EU would use its instruments
to pursue these issues.
Asked how the situation in Iraq could
be resolved, Ms Gatt-Rutter said a holistic
approach was needed that provided security
while at the same time improving basic
services and encouraging democracy and
freedom of speech.
She pointed out that democracy had taken
a long time to develop in Europe, adding
that new Member States would be willing
to share their experiences of building
democratic structures. Ms Kisling responded
that changing mindsets was a major task.
While the goals and aims might only look
good on paper for some time, Europe
“would be there for Iraq”.
Mr Saeed believed that a key problem was
that people and different religious and ethnic
groups in Iraq had lost trust in each other, and
it would take time to rebuild this. He was also
concerned that corruption was supporting
terrorism, and if some people were benefiting
from terrorism, corruption would increase.