S/PV.5949
5949th meeting
Wednesday, 6 August 2008, 10 a.m.
New York
The situation concerning Iraq
Mr. Ettalhi (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic): It is my pleasure at the outset to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this month. I assure you of our full engagement and cooperation with your work.
We also express our appreciation for the excellent work of Ambassador Le Luong Minh and the delegation of Viet Nam in presiding over the Security Council in July.
Allow me further to thank Under-Secretary-General Lynn Pascoe for his briefing. We highly appreciate the efforts of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and thank Ambassador Wolff, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States of America, for his briefing on the activities of the Multinational Force in Iraq (MNF-I).
We welcome the improved security situation in some regions of Iraq, as clearly reflected in the statistics provided by Ambassador Wolff in his briefing. We also welcome the positive political developments in Iraq, including the end of the boycott of the Government by the Tawafuq bloc. Nevertheless, we wish to caution yet again that the stability of the security situation is contingent on national reconciliation and the conviction of all Iraqi parties that they have the opportunity to contribute to and participate in the governance of the country and to share the country’s wealth equally, beyond all sectarian and ethnic considerations. The stability of the security situation is also contingent on the end of the occupation and on convincing Iraqis of their own full sovereignty over their territory.
Regrettably, there is much of concern in the Secretary-General’s report (S/2008/495).
First is the rising level of violence. Operations undertaken by the MNF-I and Iraqi security forces continue to claim large numbers of civilian casualties. That is perhaps best reflected in paragraph 27 of the report.
Secondly, the human rights situation has been and remains grave. The report notes that
“The human rights situation in Iraq remains serious … UNAMI remained concerned about the physical safety and legal protection of hundreds of suspects arrested, as well as detention conditions and lack of due process following detention. Those apparently rounded up as suspects included a number of children.” (S/2008/495, para. 26)
Furthermore, as a representative of the MNF-I noted recently, the Force is currently detaining 21,000 individuals under the pretext that the United Nations mandate gives the Force the right to detain any person it deems to be a threat to security.
Thirdly, ongoing abuses against children — including their recruitment and attacks on schools and hospitals — are widespread. The report states in paragraph 29 that “[a]pproximately 1,500 children are known to be held in detention facilities for alleged association with armed groups”.
Fourthly, it is also a source of concern that refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) continue to face very difficult circumstances. The rate of return — 10,000 per month — is extremely low, which indicates that genuine efforts have not been made to create conditions conducive to return. We hope that the adoption of an Iraqi national policy on refugees and returnees will lessen the suffering of displaced persons and make resettlement easier for them. There have been reports that there are 2.5 million IDPs in Iraq and a similar number of refugees in neighbouring countries. We believe that this issue too merits special attention by the Security Council. We hope that future reports of the Secretary-General will contain greater detail on this matter.
Fifthly, yet another matter of concern is that the adoption of some fundamental laws — such as an electoral law making possible the organization of elections to governorate councils — continues to be delayed. We were delighted to hear the Permanent Representative of Iraq speak of developments in that regard. On other contentious constitutional issues, we are also concerned about the ongoing dispute on the status of Kirkuk.
Libya supports all ongoing efforts towards national reconciliation in Iraq. We support a stable security situation, an end to occupation and the maintenance of Iraq’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. We greatly appreciate UNAMI’s efforts to assist Iraq, along with those of all other United Nations entities. We attach importance to the observations contained in the report of the Secretary-General before us today. In particular, we support his observation that
“Iraq can no longer afford continued delays in finding viable political solutions. Long-term stability will require significant political buy-in from all segments of the population, many of which are not yet fully engaged in the political process”. (S/2008/495, para. 56)
