MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in Iraq
19.2.2014 - (2014/2565(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Willy Meyer, Patrick Le Hyaric, Nikolaos Chountis, Marie-Christine Vergiat on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Iraq, of the other part,
– having regard to its resolution of 17 January 2013 on the EU-Iraq Partnership and Cooperation Agreement[1],
– having regard to the first EU-Iraq Cooperation Council meeting of 20 January 2014,
– having regard to the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, on the recent violence in Iraq of 5 September 2013 and on the latest attacks in Iraq of 5 February 2014,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Iraq, in particular those of 14 March 2013 on ‘Iraq: the plight of minority groups, including the Iraqi Turkmen’[2] and of 10 October 2013 on recent violence in Iraq[3],
– having regard to the Council Conclusions on Iraq of 10 February 2014,
– having regard to the statements by UN Special Representative for Iraq Nickolay Mladenov,
– having regard to the statements by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Iraq, in particular following his last visit to the country in January 2014,
– having regard to the Commission’s Joint Strategy Paper for Iraq 2011-2013,
– having regard to the report published in April 2013 on ‘Environmental characteristics and prevalence of birth defects among children in post-war Iraq: implications for policies on rebuilding the Iraqi education system’,
– having regard to its resolution of 22 May 2008 on (depleted) ‘uranium weapons and their effect on human health and the environment – towards a global ban on the use of such weapons’[4],
– having regard to UN Security Council resolutions 1956 (2010), 1957 (2010) and 1958 (2010) of 15 December 2010,
– having regard to the 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief,
– having regard to the UN Convention against Corruption, ratified by Iraq in 2008,
– having regard to the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iraq is a party,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the entire population of Iraq has been shocked by a war that caused more than 1 000 000 casualties and destroyed large parts of Iraq’s infrastructure, and by the consequent increase of violence in the country, with an alarming number of terrorist attacks and human rights violations;
B. whereas the recent marked increase in violence in the country has resulted in casualty figures not seen since 2008; whereas the developments in Anbar Province have resulted in large numbers of internally displaced persons fleeing the conflict zones;
C. whereas, according to UNAMI (UN Assistance Mission for Iraq) casualty figures for November 2013, violence remains of great concern in Iraq as indiscriminate violence is constant, 979 Iraqis having been killed and another 1 902 wounded in acts of terrorism and violence in October 2013 alone;
D. whereas ten years of occupation has left the country poorer, illiteracy has risen and more people are dying of starvation; whereas poverty has hit 88 % of Iraq’s population and some six million Iraqis live below the poverty line; whereas even though Iraq has been able to restore its oil productivity almost to full capacity, social inequality is growing as the Iraqi state continues to be unable to provide basic services to the Iraqi population, such as regular electricity in the summer, clean water and public health care;
E. whereas, rather than help Iraq to move forward, the US and its allies have, in recent years, allowed the country to drift back towards a deeply fragmented society; whereas during the past few years there has been a significant deterioration of the situation in Iraq and ethnic clashes between Shiites and Sunnis have increased; whereas 20 % of Iraqi oil resources are located in the Kirkuk region;
F. whereas, since the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the coalition troops, the situation in the country has dramatically worsened and violence, human rights violations, torture and ethnic clashes have become common practice in the country; whereas the current everyday pace of bombings and shootings leaves most Iraqis uncertain about their future and makes it impossible to promote the social and economic integration of the Iraqi population at large;
G. whereas, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, to date 1 500 000 Iraqis have been displaced within the country, 500 000 of whom are homeless, and 230 000 have sought refuge in neighbouring countries;
H. whereas the Syrian conflict is having many negative repercussions in the region, and has created new substantial flows of over 220 000 refugees and returnees towards Iraq, who are living in conditions of extreme vulnerability in Iraq;
I. whereas more than 1 300 people are believed to have been sentenced to death in Iraq since 2004; whereas Iraqi law authorises the death penalty for close to 50 crimes, including terrorism, kidnapping, and murder, but also including such offences as damage to public property;
J. whereas, according to Transparency International, Iraq has the most corrupt government in the Middle East; whereas corruption is a structural problem in the country, as there is no effective parliamentary control and the judicial system is inactive, which are symptoms of a failed state; whereas, according to the Office of the US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, USD 800 000 000 is transferred outside Iraq illegally every week;
K. whereas the long-running dispute in the Kirkuk region over the region’s oil exports via a new pipeline has not been settled;
L. whereas at least 10 journalists were killed in 2013; whereas with not a single conviction for the 100 murders of journalists in the past decade, Iraq remains the country with the worst record in the world for impunity related to unsolved murders of journalists;
M. whereas Spanish journalist José Couso was murdered in April 2003 in a US army attack together with the journalists Taras Protsyuk and Tareq Ayub; whereas a Spanish court has sought the arrest of three US soldiers accused of involvement in the case; whereas justice has still not been done; whereas the US has obstructed the arrest warrants and Interpol has failed to process them;
N. whereas significant quantities of depleted uranium munitions have been used in Iraq by the United States and United Kingdom, leading to a tragic increase in childhood cancers and congenital birth defects;
O. whereas the lack of information about the use of DU residue by the US is seriously hindering decontamination, monitoring and awareness-raising efforts aimed at reducing the exposure of civilians to such residue;
P. whereas, contrary to the worldwide trend towards the abolition of the death penalty, the number of executions in Iraq is increasing; whereas, according to international press accounts, at least 150 people were executed in Iraq in 2013;
Q. whereas serious concerns have been expressed, among others by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, about the failure of trials leading to the death penalty to meet international fair trial safeguards, including the lack of transparency in court proceedings and instances where ‘confessions’ were obtained under torture or other forms of ill-treatment of the defendants; whereas capital punishment is a cruel and inhumane form of treatment that must be abolished;
R. whereas general elections are scheduled for 30 April 2014 in Iraq;
1. Reiterates its strong condemnation of the military intervention of coalition forces in Iraq, reiterates that this invasion violated international law and stresses its illegal character; underlines the fact that the main result of the US invasion of Iraq has been the almost total collapse of the rule of law and the rise of religious extremism in the country;
2. Reiterates its condemnation of this violation of international law; considers that those responsible for this illegal war and crimes against humanity should be brought to international justice;
3. Recalls that the right of peoples to self-determination means full independence, both at political and economic level; condemns any past, present or future foreign interference in Iraqi internal affairs; underlines the fact that, in order to achieve real independence, Iraq should have full control of its own economy including its natural resources; underlines the fact that oil revenues should be used as a tool and an opportunity for sustainable social and economic reconstruction benefiting Iraqi society at large; calls on the Iraqi Government to ensure that the country’s resources are used in a transparent and responsible way, for the benefit of all Iraqi people;
4. Considers that the countries that participated in the invasion of Iraq, including several Member States, must ask the Iraqi people for forgiveness for a war fought on the basis of lies; recognises that this illegal war has destroyed the country and increased violence in the whole area; condemns the plundering of Iraqi natural resources by oil corporations such as the Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company, BP or ExxonMobil;
5. Condemns all forms of violence against social, political or religious groups; deplores the large number of people killed and wounded; condemns all the killings and executions since the beginning of the war in 2003; expresses deep concern about the increasing violent attacks; expresses its condolences to the families of the victims and the wounded; calls for an immediate end to violence; considers that the perpetrators of these crimes should be brought to justice;
6. Draws attention to the urgent need to resolve the humanitarian problems facing the Iraqi people; emphasises the need to ensure that action coordinated between the Iraqi authorities and the international aid organisations working on the ground is taken with a view to assisting vulnerable groups, including refugees and displaced persons, and to ensure that these people are protected and that adequate conditions for their security and dignity are created;
7. Notes that, according to the UNHCR, more than 220 000 Syrian refugees have sought refuge in the Kurdish part of Iraq since the start of the war; urges the EU to pledge assistance to these people; recalls the importance of fully respecting international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians, calls on the Iraqi authorities to ensure the provision of essential services, as well as access by humanitarian agencies to areas affected by the fighting; expresses its concern at the insufficient support for the Syrian refugees;
8. Regrets the fact that corruption is endemic in the country, in particular within the army and the police, which is creating serious problems within Iraq’s security apparatus; regrets the fact that this culture of corruption filters up to the highest level of government;
9. Deplores the dramatic rise of executions and the use of ‘confessions’ obtained under torture or other ill-treatment as evidence against prisoners;
10. Condemns the death penalty under any circumstances; calls on the Iraqi Government to abolish the death penalty as a first step, and to declare and implement immediately a moratorium on executions;
11. Demands the opening of an international inquiry under the auspices of the UN to confirm the widespread use of torture and the presence of secret prisons or other torture centres in Iraq, in order to state the liability of each party involved in the matter and punish those responsible;
12. Condemns all forms of violence against social, political or religious groups, condemns all the killings and executions since the beginning of the war in 2003, and deplores the latest wave of terrorist attacks;
13. Recalls the importance of justice, truth and reparation principles; considers that all the perpetrators of this illegal war and the crimes against humanity that resulted from it must be brought to justice; ten years after their killing; insists on the need to ensure that justice is done in the case of journalists Couso, Protsyuk and Ayub so that these murders do not remain unpunished;
14. Rejects the partnership and cooperation agreement between the EU and the Republic of Iraq; takes the view that bringing violence to an end, social and economic development, full compliance with human rights and restoration of the welfare of Iraqis must be the main objectives of EU cooperation with Iraq, and not the introduction and expansion of the EU oil industries in the country;
15. Condemns the use of depleted uranium munitions during the war, notably by the United States and the United Kingdom; calls for the EU to develop a common EU position in favour of the restriction or prohibition of the use of depleted uranium munitions and to develop cleaning programmes in the affected areas;
16. Calls on the Iraqi authorities to adopt measures to ensure that equality between men and women, as well as women’s rights, are fully respected;
17. Urges the Iraqi Parliament and Government to guarantee respect for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and to fight against child labour, prostitution of children and trafficking;
18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President of the European Council, the President of the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the presidents of the parliaments of the Member States, and the Government and Council of Representatives of the Republic of Iraq.
- [1] Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0022.
- [2] Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0101.
- [3] Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0424.
- [4] OJ C 279, 19.11.2009, p. 84.