Note to Correspondents

FACT SHEET ON THE INTERNATIONAL COMPACT WITH IRAQ

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will co-launch with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki the International Compact with Iraq in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, on 3 May:

What is the International Compact with Iraq?

The International Compact with Iraq is an initiative of the Government of Iraq for a new partnership with the international community.  The Compact is a five-year national plan that includes benchmarks and mutual commitments from both Iraq and the international community, all with the aim of helping Iraq on the path towards peace, sound governance and economic reconstruction.

The United Nations -- through the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the International Compact with Iraq and Other Political Issues, Ibrahim Gambari -- and Iraq have been co-chairs of the preparatory process, which has also had the support of the World Bank.

The Compact affirms the Iraqi Government’s vision that, in five years, Iraq shall be a united, federal and democratic country, at peace with its neighbours and itself, well on its way to sustainable economic self-sufficiency and prosperity, and well integrated in its region and the world.  Guided by the Millennium Development Goals -- global antipoverty targets agreed to at a United Nations Summit in 2000 -- the Government will work to meet basic needs, protect the rights of all citizens and ensure the optimal use of the country’s resources for the common good.

The International Compact is premised on a reciprocal relationship between peacebuilding and economic prosperity.  Together, national reconciliation, improved security, better governance and continued economic and social reforms will help unlock Iraq’s own development potential.   Iraq’s international partners will provide financial, technical and political support to help meet these challenges on the basis of mutual commitments.

As such, it is a shared vision and a mutual commitment, which allows the international community to support Iraq’s priorities, as envisaged and implemented by Iraqis.

Representing a negotiated agreement among United Nations Member States and the Government of Iraq, the Compact tries to provide a way forward.  This has been developed with the support of the United Nations and World Bank, through genuine, multilateral consultation and due diligence in all respects.

Objectives

The Compact aims to:

-- Chart the way forward to realize the aspirations of the Iraqi people in establishing a unified, federal democratic State dominated by security and stability, in which all citizens are enjoying equal rights and duties.

-- Establish a prosperous economy with a diverse production base capable of providing the requirements of sustainable development, based on market factors, and open to the world, while integrated with it and with regional economies, in particular neighbouring countries.

-- Make Iraq an active member in regional and international organizations, and capable of providing assistance to poor and needy countries.

-- Allow the private sector a leading role in the economic activity, with a specified role for the Government in regulating this activity and protecting it from the effects of the foreign fluctuation.

-- Protect poor and vulnerable groups from the deprivation and starvation, and provide Iraqi citizens with proper standards of public social services.

Role of Government of Iraq

-- To achieve this vision, the Government of Iraq undertakes to make progress on political inclusion and consensus-building, on the rule of law and on the establishment of professional security forces.  The Government of Iraq is committed to tackling corruption, creating a transparent and efficient oil sector, developing a solid budgetary framework, improving governance and building and consolidating effective national institutions.  The United Nations is committed to support and facilitate the Compact, through its Mission and agencies in Iraq and the good offices of the Secretary-General and his representatives.

-- The Government of Iraq recognizes that good governance and resolution of security and political challenges are prerequisites for progress in all other areas, including economic revival and normalization.  It will, therefore, make every effort in the coming period to realize these conditions, with the assistance of regional and international partners, in order to achieve the Compact’s primary focus: building a framework for Iraq’s economic transformation and integration into the regional and global economy.

Role of United Nations

-- The Compact initiative is co-chaired by the Government of Iraq and the United Nations.  Other partners include the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other regional financial institutions.

-- Over the Compact’s lifespan, the United Nations Secretariat, its agencies, funds and programs will continue to support the implementation of the Compact.  They will do so through the International Reconstructions Fund Facility for Iraq and the United Nations Country Team Joint Priority Action Plan, designed to deliver direct assistance to basic services that are of vital humanitarian importance to the people of Iraq.

-- The United Nations will support establishing a formal Secretariat for the Compact, working closely with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, as the focal point of the Government.

For further information, please contact:

In New York:  Michèle Montas, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, on +1 212 963 6172, email: montas@un.org.

In Cairo: Maher Nasser, Director of the United Nations Information Centre, on +20 12 391 9236, email: mnasser@unic-eg.org.

Prepared by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq in cooperation with the United Nations Department of Public Information.

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For information media • not an official record