Sun, Sep 30, 2018
Full text of the speech of Iraq delivered by Dr. Ibrahim Al- Jaafari Foreign Minster of Iraq in session of the United nations general Assembly in new York
In the name of God
(but as for that which benefits the people, it remains on the earth ) [alRaad 17]
Mrs. Maria Fernanda Espinosa President of the UN general Assembly73rd session ..
HE Antonio Guterres UN Secretary-General .. Majesty, and Excellecies
Mercy and blessings of God be upon you
At the start it is my pleasure to congratulate you for your assumption of presidency of the current session of the Seventy-third UN general Assembly and I wish you luck, and success in your mission, and would like to express thank, and appreciation for efforts exerted by your predecessor Mr. Miroslav Lajik , on the work of the previous session.
Before 4 years I stood here on the platform of the general Assembly, spoke to you about the situation of the country that the Daesh terrorist gangs occupied one-third of its land, burned Green and dry, and destroyed the features of civilization in Nineveh the cradle of civilizations, and home to Prophet Yunus ... they have forced the migration of nearly six million Iraqi citizen in the provinces occupied by it and destryed Yazidi religious minority , the rest of the religious components of religious,the Turkomans were displaced in the area of Tal Afar and they attacked the Shiite Turkmen women in that area and burned them alive. The issue almost ended up in a historical catastrophy that led the country to the abyss ....despair was in the hearts of many at a time when faith in God filled us, The Iraqis, with all their sects, their components, their religios Marja stood side by side in the trench of honor and dignity. Their blood was mixed up in the battlefield until their land was liberated after heavy sacrifices, and the blood of thousands of martyrs and wounded from the sons of our armed forces from the heroic Iraqi army, Peshmarga forces , the police, the popular mobilization forces , tribes until their land was liberated after the sacrifices and the anti-terrorist forces in a battle that we fought with honor on behalf of the whole world, with the help of a distinguished international organization represented by the International Alliance, and the support of friends, brothers and sisters, And neighbors who deserve all our praise and gratitude .. Iraq did not and will not forget those that stood with it.
This battle was a decisive and historic battle at a time when the security of the whole world was threatened. Terrorism tried to spread its octopus arms on the widest area of the globe, joined by supporters of more than 120 nationalities. Thanks to God, for aid and the support of the international community, We eliminated this vicious enemy, and end its presence in Iraq, and today it is breathing its last breath in the last strongholds in Syria.
Today, I speak to you and my country, which is removing the dust of war, and is preparing for a new stage: the period of construction and reconstruction. This is usually the end of wars and the return of the remaining displaced people who have fled their homes to the various regions of the world. And thus complete a new chapter by entering the democratic club with merit by promoting participation in governance, real partnership, constitutional political consensus, and overcoming all forms of sectarianism to a pattern and a genuine national context based on respect for the Constitution and the law.
Iraq is witnessing neW chapter on democracy, with the election that started in 2004 and the preparation for the election of the President of the Republic and the task of appointing the new Prime Minister to select a ministerial team capable of bearing the burden of the next phase in the fight against corruption and achiving development. As I stand here speaking to you, our Iraqi people in the Kurdistan region are preparing for democratic parliamentary elections for the federal, pluralist federal system;I call on the international community to complete its commitments to Iraq in support of the reconstruction and construction process and to launch the allocations that have been taken by the Kuwait Conference to support Iraq, and to open prospects for investing in a rich and promising country such as Iraq that bore the torch of civilization. It was and still represents the crossroads of civilizations, the meeting of religions, the meeting of nationalities, and the forum of various resources.
The military victory over terrorism does not necessarily mean the end of it entirely, but new stages and pages await us to complete in order to ensure that it is completely eradicated by confronting the causes that led to its inception. Therefore, we must work together to formulate a strategic plan with economic dimensions cultural, political and social issues in order to protect societies from the danger of the return of terrorism, to work for the care of youth, women and children, to provide promising programs to improve their situation, to raise the standard of living and to eliminate unemployment. Nation 2030, and the protection of diversity, support for minorities, and the maintenance of security and peace in the liberated areas, and the transition from an ambitious national reconciliation to achieve the stage of institutions shared by everyone.
The Iraqis united today defying all attempts at division and are in harmony with the unified geography that insisted on rejecting all kinds of fragmentation, foreign interventions and resisting partition. In this last stage, Iraq has been fighting terrorism, important steps in the field of consolidating democracy, In their constitutional deadlines, the protection of human rights, freedom of expression and political pluralism, advanced legislation in this area, The United Nations was not absent from supporting Iraq by its mission in Baghdad, UNAMI, as well as the sacrifices made by the United Nations. In the past, the Mission has worked to sustain the movement; to achieve its objectives;I am honored to pay tribute to the outstanding role of the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Mr. Jan Kubic and his acheivments , We welcome the appointment of his successor, Ms. Janine Henness Blachkert, who is the first woman to head the mission in Iraq. We are still looking forward to ending the effects of the war on terrorism by supporting the victims, returning the displaced and collecting evidence of the crimes committed by the terrorist in Iraq through the committee to document crimes commited by Daesh through Security Council Resolution No. 2379 in 2017.
The Government of Iraq believes that the maintenance and preserving international peace and security is the responsibility of all and emphasizes the importance of investing and the continued engagement of the international community; and thanks to joint efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction to ensure a future of security, Iraq supports efforts to ensure the strengthening of the universality of treaties and conventions related to the issue of disarmament; because they are the real guarantee of the non-use or threat of use of such weapons, The use of these weapons in the era of dictatorship when the people of the city of Halabja faced the worst historical crime, the use of chemical weapons similar to the massacres suffered by Shia Iraqis in mass graves in the center and south and the rest of the communities.
Mrs. President
My Government is working to overcome the economic crisis through optimal use of resources, building economic partnerships and creating an attractive investment environment in order to benefit from opportunities and achieve sustainable economic development.
Iraq affirms its firm position on the Palestinian issue and stresses that peace in the region can be achieved only with the complete withdrawal of the Israeli occupation from the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and denounces the settelements policy and its violation of international law in this context, Iraq renews its rejection of the transfer of the American Embassy to East Jerusalem, and that this does not serve the peace process in the region,And that this does not serve the peace process in the region, but only complicates it, and Iraq rejects the policy of unilateral blockade outside the United Nations system, and considers that economic sanctions are not a way to punish regimes under a certain pretext .. Whether this excuse acceptable, or unacceptable, It is the peoples who bear the unjust consequences of these sanctions. The people of Iraq were victims of sanctions that lasted nearly 13 years at the end of the last century, from 1990 to 2003, and the two peoples were tamed in the face of this. All Iraqi citizens, men, women, and young and children and it hurt the Iraqi people most, and worse than that era suffered by the sanctions ; so we are not with any sanction and we believe that they and wrong, and pose a risk of hurt to the people.
We believe that security can not be dismantled, nor can it be taken away from the security of neighboring countries. Therefore, security is united by the unification of geography, as are the repercussions of the political process on neighboring countries, geopolitics, geo-political, Security also can not be taken in isolation from other States.
Iraq welcomes the agreement on the situation on the Korean Peninsula, which is consistent with the objectives of the United Nations Organization in the maintenance of peace and international security. Iraq also cares for peace, restoring security and stability, ending the cycle of violence in Syria, preserving its territorial integrity, Which will lead to a balanced political solution agreed upon by the Syrian government and other Syrian parties, and will avoid spilling more blood and victims of innocent civilians, putting an end to the repercussions that have occurred, and insisting on military solutions. And to seek a political solution. In addition, we believe that the solution in Yemen is to support peaceful dialogue.
And the end of the ongoing conflict, and the cessation of foreign interventions, as Iraq reiterates its rejection of the presence of Turkish troops in Baasheqa, and the continuing violations of Iraqi sovereignty .. While Iraq maintains good and distinguished relations,with neighboring Turkey, like all neighboring countries, it demands a serious, And we are still waiting to increase Iraq's legitimate share of the water discharges, which could cause a significant decline in the level of the Tigris and Euphrates basins, which led, consequently, to the greatest damage if the civilization of Mesopotamia which was founded on the banks of the two rivers, and the first civilization in the world was born since the beginning of the fourth millennium before the birth of Jesus Christ from the southern marshes of Amara and Nasiriyah. Therefore, we must preserve this right, And this global cultural heritage.
Iraq rejects the derogatory statements made by the Prime Minister of the Israeli entity and claims that there are Iranian forces in Iraq to justify its aggression against Iraq. We also reject the use of the international platform of the United Nations General Assembly to threaten the sovereignty of States and threaten its security.
We have worked in the past period to create excellent relations with all our neighbors and friends, away from the encroachments,and away from the policy of the international axes, and we tried to be a diplomatic bridge through these distinguished relations, and our keenness to communicate with all parties in the region and the world to be an influential party, For the benefit of regional security.
Iraq will remain the cradle of multiculturalism, religious,and Baghdad remains as described by Sargon Akkadi as the dome of the world, and those who govern it controls the four winds .. This Baghdad is resistant to death and destruction, and will remain stubborn to the cruelty and crisis, The steadfastness of the great poet of Iraq Mustafa Jamal al-Din.
Peace, mercy and blessings of God.
To read the full piece from Iraq Ministry of Foreign Affairs, click here.