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Iraq: UN has 'cautious optimism'
15/09/2006 07:27 - (SA)
United Nations - Despite an upsurge in violence, the top UN envoy in Iraq said on Thursday "there is still reason for cautious optimism" about the country's future as a stable, peaceful and prosperous state.
Ashraf Qazi told the UN security council Iraq has become one of the most violent conflict areas in the world although it has been overshadowed in recent months by other crises in the Middle East.
But he said the resilience of the Iraqi people "in the face of a succession of calamities and tribulations" shows they will not be defeated.
"The best option of the international community is to prove the pessimists wrong by assisting the people and government of Iraq in realising their national vision," Qazi said.
International compact on Iraq
Qazi and US ambassador John Bolton strongly backed a meeting on Monday at UN headquarters of supporters of the international compact on Iraq, which was launched in July by the Iraqi government and the United Nations, with support from the US and Britain.
Over the next five years, Bolton said, the compact will "bring together the international community and multilateral organisations to help Iraq achieve its vision of a united, federal, and democratic country, at peace with its neighbours and itself, and economically self-sufficient and prosperous".
Qazi called the compact "an initiative for a new partnership between Iraq and the international community."
Priorities
At the preparatory meeting in Abu Dhabi on September 10, he said, the Iraqi government outlined the key priorities for the compact - effective management of its resources including oil, private sector and social sector reforms, a new effort to tackle corruption, improved governance and budget procedures, and stepped up efforts to build effective national institutions.
"The government recognised that good governance and resolution of security and political challenges are interlinked, and prerequisites for progress in all other areas," Qazi said.
Neighbours share responsibility
Bolton said Iraq's neighbours also share some responsibility for the country's security problems - and all of them should do more to support the country's democratic government by following through on pledges to provide economic assistance and debt relief.
"Syria should prevent financial and material support, particularly arms, from entering Iraq," Bolton said. "Iran should stop providing munitions and other support to extremist groups in Iraq."
Escalating violence
In the last three months, he said, "sectarian tensions, purposely incited by insurgents and extremists, increased ... resulting in increased killings, kidnappings, attacks on civilians, and increasing numbers of internally displaced persons".
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Extremists are increasingly interlocked in retaliatory violence and seeking to expand their existing areas of influence," Bolton said.
He called the sustained level of ethnic and sectarian violence "one of the most significant threats to security and stability in Iraq".
Over the last three months, Bolton said, the average number of weekly attacks increased 15% and Iraqi casualties increased by 51% compared to the previous three months.
"The insurgency remains potent and viable, although its visibility has been overshadowed by the increase in sectarian violence it has sought to foment," he said. "This rising sectarian strife defines the emerging nature of violence in mid-2006."
Steps toward reconciliation
But Bolton said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has taken "promising steps" toward national reconciliation and economic development with the establishment of the international compact. He said the multinational force was continuing to train Iraqi security forces who are conducting more independent operations every day.
"Training Iraqi security forces to assume primary responsibility for security is essential," he said.
- AP
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