In response to an invitation by the Arab Republic of Egypt, an international ministerial meeting on Iraq was held in Sharm al-Shaykh on 23 November 2004. The aim of this meeting was to discuss the Iraqi people's needs and to support the process stipulated in [UN] Security Council Resolution 1546, including the holding of direct democratic elections and backing the Iraqi republic's efforts in this process.
The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of the group of states neighbouring Iraq. They are the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan, the Republic of Turkey, the Republic of Iraq, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Arab Republic of Syria, the State of Kuwait and the Arab Republic of Egypt. It was also attended by the foreign ministers of the Group of Eight [G8]. They are Germany, Italy, the Russian Federation, France, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan. This is in addition to the foreign minister of the People's Republic of China, being a permanent member of the Security Council, and the foreign ministers of the Republic of Tunisia, the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, the Kingdom of Bahrain, Malaysia and the Netherlands. Moreover, it was attended by the secretary-general of the United Nations, the secretary-general of the Arab League, the secretary general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference [OIC] and the representatives of the European Union.
The participants decided as follows:
1. Reaffirming Iraq's sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity, as well as its national unity, in accordance with the principles of non-interference in internal affairs and the relations of good neighbourliness between states as stated in the UN Charter. Reaffirming also the Iraqi people's right to a secure and stable life, the determination of their political future in freedom by democratic methods, and the exercise of full control over their natural and financial resources, and the commitment to help towards the achievement of these goals.
2. Acknowledging the regional initiative taken by the neighbouring states at their recent meeting in Cairo on 21 July 2004 and considering the efforts exerted by these states as serving the interest of the Iraqi people and the stability of the region.
3. Emphasizing the UN's leading role in supporting the political process in Iraq, in as much as the circumstances permit and in the manner stated in Paragraphs 4 and 7 of Security Council Resolution 1546. The ministers welcomed in this respect the pioneering role which the organization had played in offering advice and support to the election process, including the recent decision to deploy a larger election team in Iraq to help prepare for the elections. They also expressed the importance of the UN continuing its pioneering role in promoting national dialogue and achieving accord among the Iraqi people on drafting the permanent national constitution in 2005. Moreover, they welcomed its role in Iraq and appealed to the international community to offer the necessary support for its protection. The ministers also welcomed the supporting role played by the Arab League alongside the role of the UN.
4. Considering this meeting a step towards achieving wider participation by all the Iraqi political sides so as to contribute to the success of the political process. The ministers welcomed in this context the efforts made by the interim Iraqi government and the other leaderships of the Iraqi society in broadening the scope of political participation by encouraging all elements that reject violence to get involved in the political and election processes by peaceful means. The ministers expressed in this respect their encouragement to the interim Iraqi government to meet with representatives of the different sides in Iraq at the earliest possible date before the general elections.
5. Welcoming all steps that have been taken so far to achieve democracy in Iraq and encouraging the interim Iraqi government to continue with the political process by holding general elections before the end of January 2005. This is in order to form an interim National Assembly, which will assume a number of responsibilities, including the formation of an interim government in Iraq and the drafting of a permanent constitution for Iraq that would lead to the formation of a constitutionally elected government by 31 December 2005 according to the timetable approved by Security Council Resolution 1546. The ministers also welcomed the interim Iraqi government's commitment to work within the spirit of national dialogue and the achievement of accord so as to develop the process of Iraq's transfer to a unified federal pluralistic state, with all the means to preserve political and humanitarian rights.
6. Condemning all acts of terrorism in Iraq and calling for an immediate end to these acts so as to alleviate the Iraqi people's sufferings and preserve innocent life among Iraq, and respect human rights. Calling on all sides to avoid the use of excessive force and to exercise maximum degrees of self-restraint so as to avoid the exposure of civilians to violence. Calling on the ministers of the interim Iraqi government to deal firmly, in accordance with the provisions of humanitarian international law and the relevant Security Council resolutions, with terrorist presence and activities in Iraq that threaten the security of the neighbouring states.
7. Condemning all acts of kidnapping and assassination, including those affecting civilians who are employed by local and foreign establishments in the reconstruction of Iraq, as well as international humanitarian organizations that offer aid to the Iraqi people and members of political missions and journalists. Calling on all sides to redouble their efforts in supporting their interim Iraqi government in its confrontation of these criminal activities.
8. Calling on all the sides concerned to take steps that will help achieve Iraq's stability and to reaffirm the obligations of UN member states, as stipulated in Security Council Resolution 1546, about stopping any crossing by terrorists to and from Iraq, supplying them with arms, or providing them with funds, as it would give them encouragement. Calling on the neighbouring states and all the international sides concerned to strengthen their cooperation in controlling the Iraqi borders. In the achievement of this aim, the ministers referred to the agreement reached by the neighbouring states to intensify cooperation between them and to call a meeting of their interior ministers, as agreed on in the sixth meeting of the neighbouring states in Cairo on 21 July 2004.
9. Re-emphasizing the importance of commitment to the principles of good neighbourliness and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states in the manner stated in the UN Charter. Welcoming the role played by all the parties concerned, including regional organizations and especially the Arab League in creating the right atmosphere for achieving security and stability in the region. The ministers also expressed their encouragement for confidence-building measures, as related to the situation in Iraq.
10. The ministers reiterated that the mandate of the multinational forces in Iraq is not open-ended and that it would end, as stipulated in Paragraphs 4 and 12 of Security Council Resolution 1546, with the completion of the political process. They also expressed their awareness of the importance of the sovereign Iraqi government's approval of the presence of these forces and their commitment to working in accordance with international law, including the obligations stated in the humanitarian international law in the manner stated in Security Council Resolution 1546. They also stressed the need to enable the Iraqi security forces as soon as possible to play a greater and growing role in the maintenance of security and stability in Iraq. Moreover, they call upon the states to continue with their efforts whenever possible to help the interim Iraqi government in building the capabilities of these forces in the manner specified in Paragraph 16 of Security Council Resolution 1546.
11. The ministers also reiterated the importance of helping and supporting the efforts for the reconstruction of Iraq and creating the necessary circumstances for the achievement of economic and social development by contributing to the efforts to achieve stability and security in Iraq. In this respect, they call upon all donor states and organizations to quickly pay the financial aid they pledged in the meeting of the committee of donor states held in Madrid in October 2003 so that it would be possible to cope with the priorities set by the interim government and direct these pledges to specific projects in Iraq. They also encouraged further contributions. In this respect, the ministers acknowledged the accomplishments which have been made by the Tokyo meeting of donors in October 2004 and its role in expanding international cooperation to support the efforts by the interim Iraqi government to implement its special development strategy. They also expressed in this respect their awareness of the importance of effective follow-up work by the interim Iraqi government on its obligations to lay down fair, transparent and non-discriminatory conditions to enable all sides to participate on equal footing in the reconstruction process of Iraq to the maximum limits possible so as to restore economic development in Iraq.
12. Expressing the awareness that lessening Iraq's debts is a major factor in the reconstruction process. The ministers welcomed in this respect the commitments made by several donors, including the Paris Club, and called on the donors to Iraq to take steps to reduce its foreign debts.
13. Emphasizing the importance of referring to trial the members of the former Iraqi regime, who committed war crimes against Iran and Kuwait and crimes against humanity against the Iraqi people.
14. The ministers instructed their representatives to conduct a periodic review of the fulfilment of obligations, implement the results reached by this conference, submit reports to the ministers on their follow-up meetings, the first of which will be held in February 2005, and coordinate with the Iraqi authorities on the possibility of holding other international meetings in the future inside Iraq as well.
At the end of the meeting, the ministers expressed their appreciation to the Arab Republic of Egypt for hosting the meeting.
Martin Thomas
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