Summary by Debie Waggoner
Panelists---
Christine McNab:
Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General & UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq
John Desrocher:
Director, Office of Iraq Affairs, US Department of State
Leslie Campbell,
Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, National Democratic Institute (NDI)
Christine McNab:
Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General & UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq
John Desrocher:
Director, Office of Iraq Affairs, US Department of State
Leslie Campbell,
Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, National Democratic Institute (NDI)
www.ndi.org
Quote of the Discussion: “You’ve all heard the saying, ‘If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.’ Well, the same can be said for Iraq, ‘If you think reconstruction is expensive, try a failed state.” ~ Christine McNab
McNab: UNDP, needless to say, has a lot of work to do in Iraq; things look bad on the news, and they are in some places. However, reconstruction is progressing. Biggest concerns: Jobs, Water supply, Security, Banking system, Healthcare, Education, Legal Development. For example, there are 30,000 jobs in the oil fields in southern Iraq; however 3 million jobs are needed and it’s one of the most dangerous regions of Iraq, not to mention most Iraqis do not have the needed skills. She manages the multi-donor trust fund of $1.3 billion dollars from donors in the international community-all of which has been allocated over the years for reconstruction. The majority of U.S. funds have gone to humanitarian needs for Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and refugees seeking to return. As for security (a church attacked yesterday, 8 bombs went off in Baghdad this afternoon, etc.) it clearly remains a huge worry. UN officials try to blend into the civil service as much as possible, but they cannot conduct reconstruction work behind walls-the risks are real. The south is not safe for foreigners, but the north is (Kurdistan). McNab, from Sweden, stated, “It is heartwarming to go out traveling around with the American soldiers; many of whom are on their third or fourth tour. They tell me they were there when the fighting was intense back in 2003/2004 and now they want to be there to see the reconstruction happening. A soldier told me this right after he had been shot, but had been saved by his flak jacket.”
Her two prong approach to increasing safety for UN folks:
1. Printed and Online social media communication-many Iraqis do not understand the work the UN is doing and the help they are there to provide
2. Provide solutions to specific issues-one of which is safer transport for UN staff
Desrocher: The USG is working in almost every sector of Iraq to help bring it up to speed. One of the biggest concerns is building the capacity of the courts through a US project called Commercial Law Development which aims to train judges and court administrators on the best practices for legal and regulatory affairs-without a proper legal system, contracts and titles of ownership become worthless and businesses do not want to invest in a country/region where the laws are not upheld, particularly when it comes to enforcing contracts. Iraq has also passed its own laws internally to support contract laws. We have to remember that Iraq has been economically isolated since before the sanctions in the 90s-most large enterprises were state-owned, so private businesses are just beginning to take off and develop. Obviously, infrastructure has taken a major hit-not only roads and bridges, but basic healthcare and education. Many of the more educated Iraqis fled during the worst parts of the conflict. Agriculture is a huge part of the economy, or could be, but the approach is out-dated. The banking system is also just beginning to develop and link in to the international network.
Campbell: On Politics in Iraq- “The invasion was a bad idea, but it would be extremely irresponsible to have left Iraq until it is functioning like a “normal” country.” He stated that he was one of the first people into Iraq in 2003 and remembers the naiveté of foreigners--including himself-- that things would progress more quickly in the development arena.
Good news today: women and youth are participants in the political process-even if Iraqi men do not take it seriously; there are the required 25% female members of Parliament. Speaking of Parliament-oh yeah-it has been at an impasse for the past 7 months, much to the frustration of the Iraqi people. When the Parliament was working, it worked well-legislation was passed and decisions were made “unlike any other Arab Parliament where nothing gets done.” There are hundreds of political parties (maybe a good thing, maybe not) but people feel free to express themselves and vote for whomever they wish.
Quote of the Discussion: “You’ve all heard the saying, ‘If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.’ Well, the same can be said for Iraq, ‘If you think reconstruction is expensive, try a failed state.” ~ Christine McNab
McNab: UNDP, needless to say, has a lot of work to do in Iraq; things look bad on the news, and they are in some places. However, reconstruction is progressing. Biggest concerns: Jobs, Water supply, Security, Banking system, Healthcare, Education, Legal Development. For example, there are 30,000 jobs in the oil fields in southern Iraq; however 3 million jobs are needed and it’s one of the most dangerous regions of Iraq, not to mention most Iraqis do not have the needed skills. She manages the multi-donor trust fund of $1.3 billion dollars from donors in the international community-all of which has been allocated over the years for reconstruction. The majority of U.S. funds have gone to humanitarian needs for Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and refugees seeking to return. As for security (a church attacked yesterday, 8 bombs went off in Baghdad this afternoon, etc.) it clearly remains a huge worry. UN officials try to blend into the civil service as much as possible, but they cannot conduct reconstruction work behind walls-the risks are real. The south is not safe for foreigners, but the north is (Kurdistan). McNab, from Sweden, stated, “It is heartwarming to go out traveling around with the American soldiers; many of whom are on their third or fourth tour. They tell me they were there when the fighting was intense back in 2003/2004 and now they want to be there to see the reconstruction happening. A soldier told me this right after he had been shot, but had been saved by his flak jacket.”
Her two prong approach to increasing safety for UN folks:
1. Printed and Online social media communication-many Iraqis do not understand the work the UN is doing and the help they are there to provide
2. Provide solutions to specific issues-one of which is safer transport for UN staff
Desrocher: The USG is working in almost every sector of Iraq to help bring it up to speed. One of the biggest concerns is building the capacity of the courts through a US project called Commercial Law Development which aims to train judges and court administrators on the best practices for legal and regulatory affairs-without a proper legal system, contracts and titles of ownership become worthless and businesses do not want to invest in a country/region where the laws are not upheld, particularly when it comes to enforcing contracts. Iraq has also passed its own laws internally to support contract laws. We have to remember that Iraq has been economically isolated since before the sanctions in the 90s-most large enterprises were state-owned, so private businesses are just beginning to take off and develop. Obviously, infrastructure has taken a major hit-not only roads and bridges, but basic healthcare and education. Many of the more educated Iraqis fled during the worst parts of the conflict. Agriculture is a huge part of the economy, or could be, but the approach is out-dated. The banking system is also just beginning to develop and link in to the international network.
Campbell: On Politics in Iraq- “The invasion was a bad idea, but it would be extremely irresponsible to have left Iraq until it is functioning like a “normal” country.” He stated that he was one of the first people into Iraq in 2003 and remembers the naiveté of foreigners--including himself-- that things would progress more quickly in the development arena.
Good news today: women and youth are participants in the political process-even if Iraqi men do not take it seriously; there are the required 25% female members of Parliament. Speaking of Parliament-oh yeah-it has been at an impasse for the past 7 months, much to the frustration of the Iraqi people. When the Parliament was working, it worked well-legislation was passed and decisions were made “unlike any other Arab Parliament where nothing gets done.” There are hundreds of political parties (maybe a good thing, maybe not) but people feel free to express themselves and vote for whomever they wish.
Bad news: The frustration is that those that are in office are perceived as self-centered politicians who do not have the Iraqi public’s best interests in mind (according to interviews by NDI). Parliamentarians tend to travel to neighboring countries to gain publicity and to prove their legitimacy-this creates a problem because there is no true head of state (the President is not perceived as such), so Parliamentarians feel they can speak for the Iraqi government. He mentioned twice that Nouri al-Malaki should have stepped aside when he was voted out, but has thrown off the democratic process by refusing to step down when the election was declared fair by all monitors.
Final Note: Concern for the Youth-ONLY 20% are able to study or work-the other 80% are a major concern. These young people are the future of Iraq, but they are uneducated and lack opportunities for experience. The UN is knocking on the doors of every major corporation planting itself in Iraq and asking them to create internships for young Iraqis. A great idea, but not enough.
And, so the work continues-
Final Note: Concern for the Youth-ONLY 20% are able to study or work-the other 80% are a major concern. These young people are the future of Iraq, but they are uneducated and lack opportunities for experience. The UN is knocking on the doors of every major corporation planting itself in Iraq and asking them to create internships for young Iraqis. A great idea, but not enough.
And, so the work continues-
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