March 26, 2004

Jordan Times

Setting the Right Course for Iraq

Editorial

The stage is set for greater and more meaningful UN involvement in Iraq in the wake of the UN Security Council's recent statement that “welcomes and strongly supports” UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's decision to send Lakhdar Ibrahimi, a UN senior adviser, and Carina Perelli, the head of the UN Electoral Unit, to Iraq “as soon as possible.”
The Security Council's statement also called on all parties in Iraq to cooperate fully with these UN envoys.

Another UN Security Council resolution is also expected in May, which aims to define this additional UN involvement and role in Iraq as well as approve the creation of a multinational force, albeit under US command.

These developments on the UN front would allay the anxieties of many countries, including Spain, whose new prime minister has vowed to pull out his country's forces deployed in Iraq unless they come under UN command.

With the UN directly involved in conducting Iraqi general elections, the stage is also set for the establishment of an expanded or even a new interim government in Iraq, as well as a new legislative body that will adopt the permanent constitution of the country.

Given the controversy that ensued in the wake of the recent adoption of the provisional constitution, the adoption of a permanent organic law for the country is of utmost importance. And considering the lingering differences of opinion between the Shiites, on the one hand, and the other ethnic groups in the country, on the other, over the shape and form of a new Iraq, the adoption of a permanent constitution that succeeds in reconciling these conflicts would create a new climate that may lead to a stable Iraq.

With the international community poised to play a more prominent role in shaping the future of the country, many countries which oppose the US occupation of Iraq would be able to participate more fully in the restructuring and development of the country, both politically and economically. The success of the two projected UN missions to Iraq is therefore critical to the increased efforts to stabilise the country and put it on the right course among the comity of nations. We all hope, therefore, that they succeed against the prevailing odds.