Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells answers questions on Iraq

Kim Howells, the Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East answers questions on Iraq including on its labour movement and civil society.

Foreign Office minister Kim Howells answers your questions on Iraq

Thank you very much for your questions. It has been a very interesting and historic week in Iraq but it is important to remember that there is a great deal of work to do beyond the elections to try and turn the aspiration of 15 million people for a democratic state into a reality.

1) There have been several media reports in the last week about provisional plans to withdraw British soldiers from the Iraqi provinces of Mathuna and Misa, maybe as soon as spring of next year. For example, "Newsnight" on December 12th featured an interview with a senior army officer saying that such a timescale is "not unrealistic". Recognising that you do not wish to encourage the insurgent side in any way, but given that these stories are in the public domain, can you clarify the Government's intentions? James

2) Do we envisage a set of circumstances when we would feel comfortable in withdrawing the majority of troops? If so, are you in a position to share what those circumstances are? If we do envisage a set of circumstances do we have a view of timescales that relate to those? I do understand that we have committed to stay as long as we are needed but I wanted to understand the thinking beyond this statement of fact thanks, Kelvin

3) Congratulations on the political progress made to date in Iraq. Now that the parliament and democratic elections have been set up and conducted; now is the time to introduce the subject of an Œexit-strategy¹ - both allies and non-aligned expect it. Dennis

Kim Howells: Thanks to James, Kelvin and Dennis for their questions. On the question of whether or not we should be publishing an exit strategy or a timetable for withdrawal, I would say this. Multinational forces remain in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi Government under a UN mandate. Iraqis are no different from anyone else they do not like to see foreign troops on their soil, and they want to be able to provide their own security. But they can¹t yet, and they recognise this. That¹s why our policy is designed to give them the means to do the job themselves. Until that time, we have to maintain a military presence on the ground to provide security. The Secretary of State for Defence has confirmed, on several occasions, that if the conditions are met, troops could begin withdrawal within the next year. However, this will be conditions-based and not timetable based and it will be a process and not an event.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1637 extends the UN mandate for the Multinational force to operate in Iraq for a period of a further 12 months from 31 December 2005 on the Iraqi Prime Minister¹s request. It extends resolution 1546 which noted ³the Iraqi request for the continued presence of the multinational force² and set out its tasks including, ³by preventing and deterring terrorism so that the United Nations can fulfil its role in assisting the Iraqi people² and allowing them to, ³implement freely and without intimidation the timetable and programme for the political process and benefit from reconstruction and rehabilitation activities.² Our armed forces are in Iraq fulfilling the terms of this UN mandate, and at the invitation of the Iraqi government, and that their responsibilities will be progressively transferred to Iraq¹s security forces.

4) The advance of social democracy in Iraq should of course be welcomed. What can we as social democrats here in the Labour Party do to support our fellow democrats in Iraq who are working to establish viable trade unions and other parts of civic society? Rory

5) What is the UK doing to support the social and economic reconstruction of Iraq? Nick

Kim Howells: Thanks very much for enquiring about what we ought to think about doing to support our fellow democrats in Iraq and how best to try and establish viable trade unions and other elements of civic society. I found it difficult to imagine how we can help create a stable society in Iraq without the popular participation by ordinary Iraqis in those institutions which determine the nature and quality of day to day life.

The question of how best to develop civic society is a particularly difficult one given that Saddam Hussein had outlawed so much of what we take for granted in terms of the normal democratic process at every level of public administration. Giving people the self confidence and self regard to participate again in creating democratic institutions at national, regional and local level is one of the great tasks that the Iraqi people face and which we face in our attempts to help that country to take its place among the great family of nations. It¹s quite obvious that there is a thirst for democracy in Iraq and what we have to help the Iraqis to do is to show them how it might be possible to harness this enthusiasm and focus it on transforming civic society, as well as the economy and security in that country.

To date, $32 billion has been pledged by the international community for reconstruction, and the UK has committed £544 million for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance, of which £453 million has already been disbursed. This has included money in response to emergency appeals, and millions of pounds for reconstruction and support to central government, the justice sector, independent media, civil society and political participation. We have contributed £70 million to the World Bank and UN International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq trust funds. And DFID has recently announced plans to provide over £10 million to support Iraqi civil society and political participation through two major new funds, managed by the British Council.

The Civil Society Fund is a 2-year programme with a budget of £5 million which will seek to strengthen the capacity of Iraqi civil society organisations to address the needs of poor, vulnerable and socially excluded groups, especially women and young people. The Political Participation Fund also has a budget of £6.25 million and will run for two years. Its purpose is to increase opportunities for political representation and participation by all Iraqi citizens, particularly women. The PPF will contribute to the development of stable political institutions and help to ensure that the needs of marginalised and vulnerable groups are addressed in future government decision making. It will provide assistance to a range of organisations, including professional unions and associations and civil society organisations.

6) How active are trade unions in Iraq now? Emily

Kim Howells: The Iraqi labour movement, persecuted and driven underground by the former regime, has grown enormously in confidence and strength since the fall of Saddam Hussein. There is now one unified union, the Iraqi Workers Federation. Officials are subject to election by union members whether in workplace ballots or at open conferences and there are no appointed officials. The TUC, who have sent a fact-finding mission to Iraq, are working with the IWF and with unions in Iraqi Kurdistan to build the capacity of free and democratic unions in Iraq.

UNISON have also sent a delegation to Iraq and have formed links with sister unions. The development of the Iraqi labour movement is part of the flourishing civil society in Iraq. Freedom of speech and civil society is growing - there are more than 100 newspapers and magazines available in Baghdad and other cities, and private radio and television stations have taken to the air. Under Saddam¹s regime, the use of satellite dishes and receivers was banned and the media strictly controlled.

7) Has the role of women changed since the removal of Saddam Hussein? Jill

Kim Howells: Between the 1920s and 1980s, Iraq had one of the most progressive attitudes towards women in the Middle East. But, during the 1990s, this trend was reversed. Politically, women experienced gradual marginalisation from decision making in the 1990s and, due to years of conflict, a 1991 UN report showed increasing numbers of women-headed households, mainly as a result of widow-hood, living on very low incomes.

The economic downturn of the 1990s meant many women lost their jobs, with the proportion of economically active women falling from 12% in 1977 to 9.7% in 1997 and the quality of healthcare and education services fell: maternal mortality more than doubled between 1990 and 1996, and by 2003 nearly 50% of girls in rural areas did not attend school. A law passed in 1991 banning NGOs meant women¹s associations were unable to operate freely, although this did not affect Kurdish administered areas of North Iraq. Following the fall of Saddam¹s regime, momentum for addressing the needs of Iraqi women is gathering pace as Iraq¹s repressed civil society begins to flourish again.

In addition, there has been development electorally and the British government, through DFID, have included support for women in their programmes as I mentioned earlier. Electorally, in the Transitional Government, a ministerial post was dedicated to addressing women¹s issues and every third candidate on party lists was a woman and in last week¹s elections, 25% of the seats in parliament were reserved for women and of the around 7,500 candidates for 15 December, around 2,600 were women (approx 36%).

8) Why are we so quick to assume that participation in the election signifies a commitment to democratic process? My understanding is that among the most enthusiastic canvassers of support both in this election and in the previous interim one are clerics whose dearest ambition is to establish a Sharia-based theocracy. Charles

9) All evidence points to voting in Iraq being largely on sectarian lines. What possibility is there of genuine democracy without this sort of sectarian voting emerging in the future, as Iraqis unlikely to have a stable future whilst it exists? Mike

Kim Howells: Being democratic is a bit like being pregnant. You can¹t be half-democratic any more than you can be half-pregnant. Profoundly religious people have as much a right to vote as have those who are profoundly sceptical about religion. The point is to make the democratic institutions strong and vibrant enough to withstand all assaults on their integrity no matter where they come from.

10) The Iraqi people must be congratulated for their determination to hold their first democratic elections. Even so, I doubt if this will stop the insurgents trying to disrupt the country and lead it into a civil war. Will the US and the UK now agree to strengthen the Iraq borders with neighbouring countries who are known to support the insurgents and stifle the supply of arms, ammunition and manpower that are now freely entering that country Glenn

Kim Howells: You are quite right about the need to co-operate with Iraq¹s neighbours to strengthen border security and, I might add, greater co-operation in economic development. The Iraqi government has worked hard to encourage its neighbours to ensure that their territory is not being used to launch violent attacks upon their people and institutions. I witnessed, first hand, the cowardly slaughter of innocent Iraqi men and women by Al-Zarqawi¹s suicide bombers in Baghdad some months ago.

Despite the predictions of a significant part of the British media, the slaughter has not resulted in civil war in Iraq along religious lines. On the contrary, it has resulted in 15 million Iraqis exercising their democratic rights to help shape the future of their country and the integrity of its borders. I trust that Iraq¹s neighbours understand the great significance of this and that they will continue to help in every way possible to prevent the flow of suicide volunteers, money, explosives and technology to the murderers who want to return despots to power in Iraq and across the whole region.