Tuesday, April 29, 2008
RI Says Iraq’s Security Still Faces Serious Challenges
Source: Antara News

New York - Indonesia admitted that in the past few years Iraq had achieved notable progress but serious challenges continued to cloud the country's security and stability.

During a debate in the UN Security Council on Monday with a briefing on the situation in Iraq, Indonesian permanent representative to the UN, Marty Natalegawa, welcomed Iraqi government's continued efforts to promote dialog and reconciliation.

"The recent spiral of violence in various parts of Iraq was a clear indication of the continued importance of national consensus and unity through political dialog and reconciliation," Marty said.

He added that the convening of a national political reconciliation conference on March 18 had been a welcome step.

Marty also recognized the reconciliation potential of some legislative measures, welcoming the adoption of a package of laws on February 13, which could achieve a national consensus on the sharing of power and resources.

He said Indonesia also attached great importance to the agreement on a hydrocarbon law, which was critical, not only to national unity, but also to the country's prosperity.

"Despite an increase in Iraq's national capacity, the need for regional and international support remained critical," Marty said.

He, therefore, welcomed the convening of the Kuwait Conference on April 22 and the upcoming high-level meeting of the International Compact in Sweden.

He said the government's diplomatic initiatives were also welcome, as was its intention to develop a national strategy to address the problem of internally displaced persons and refugees.

Regional partnership, according to Marty, could help Iraq in tackling that issue.

"In that regard, Indonesia welcomed the launch in January of a fund-raising and public-awareness campaign by the League of Arab States, in partnership with the United Nations and other agencies. Hopefully, the 2008 Consolidated Appeal would receive wide response," he noted.

"The role of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) would remain critical," he added, welcoming continued expansion of its activities in accordance with resolution 1770.

The Mission's support for the Iraqi Government in promoting reconciliation was commendable, and extensive meetings between the Special Representative and various religious and political leaders were an important part of that support.

He also welcomed the Mission's constitutional support activities and its electoral assistance.

And he reaffirmed Indonesia's support for Iraq's independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial, as well as the principle of non-interference in its internal affairs.

Participating in the debate were representatives of Libya, China, Indonesia, Russian Federation, Belgium, Croatia, Panama, France, United Kingdom, Viet Nam, Italy, Burkina Faso, Costa Rica and South Africa.