Iraq

Tabled by Tarja Cronberg, Barbara Lochbihler, Raül Romeva i Rueda on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group

The European Parliament,

- Having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Iraq and notably the one of 14 March 2013 on Iraq: the plight of minority groups, including the Iraqi Turkmen and the one of 17 January 2013 on the EU-Iraq Partnership and Cooperation Agreement

- 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(1),

- Having regard to the warnings by the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on 29 July and 30 September 2013 that the deterioration of the security situation in Iraq, where deadly attacks are becoming “all too commonplace” carries the danger that the country falls back into sectarian strife,

- Having regard to the statement on 1 September by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the 'tragic events in Camp Ashraf that have reportedly left 47 killed'

- Having regard to the declaration of EU HR/VP Catherine Ashton on Iraq of 24 January and of 2 September 2013

- Having regard to the joint UNAMI/ Commission on Human Rights Report on Human Rights in Iraq: January to June 2012 of 19 December 2012

- Having regard to the declarations of the UN Special Envoy of 6 October 2013 calling on all parties "to find a reasonable compromise on the draft election law" and calling on "the political, religious and civil leaders to work together with the security forces and take joint action to halt the accelerated surge in violence and bloodshed"

- Having regard to Rule 122(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. Whereas Iraq continues to face serious political, security and socio-economic challenges and the political scene is extremely fragmented and plagued by violence to the severe detriment of the legitimate aspirations of the Iraqi people for peace, prosperity and a genuine transition to democracy; whereas regrettably neither the Iraqi government nor the former occupying powers have adhered to the standards which could have been expected after the end of the Saddam Hussein dictatorship;

B. Whereas the raid by government forces of a Sunni-led protest camp in Hawija (Kirkuk Province) on 23 April 2013, killing over 50 and injuring 110 people, sparked an unprecedented and continuing wave of violence

C. Whereas according to UN figures in September 2013 alone almost 1000 Iraqis were killed and over 2000 injured in acts of terrorism and violence, levels which have not been seen since 2007

D. Whereas an important reason for the recent spike in violence is -according to International Crisis Group, UNAMI and other observers - the spill-over of fighting and tensions from the civil war in neighboring Syria, with Iraq fighters now involved on both sides

E. Whereas the Iraqi Constitution guarantees equality before the law for all its citizens and the "administrative, political, cultural and educational rights of the various nationalities"

F. Whereas there are reports that President Jalal Talabani, who has been playing a mediating role between various political constituencies, has died in a German hospital while the ongoing dispute between the central government of Iraq and the Regional government of Kurdistan has further escalated, which negatively affects the security situation in the region and endangers the peaceful co-existence of different ethnic and religious groups, notably Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Assyrians, and Turkmen;

G. whereas in addition to territorial tensions, Northern Iraq is also a target of seemingly sectarian attacks, in which the Shiite population is frequently targeted by Sunni, possibly Al-Qaeda-linked, militants;

H. Whereas since the arrest of body-guards of Sunni Finance Minister Rafia al-Issawi Iraq has embarked on a wave of protests against the Shiite lead government of Prime Minister al-Maliki over human rights violations, alleged mistreatment of Sunnis by the security forces and unequal distribution of power in the government among various communities;

I. Whereas the successful Iraqi-organized governorate council elections on 20 April and 20 June and the provincial elections in Kurdistan on 21 September 2013 should nevertheless be commented

1. Is deeply concerned at the increasing acts of violence perpetrated against the civilian population in Iraq, particularly the sectarian divide between Sunnis and Shiites, but also attacks against particularly vulnerable groups such as religious, ethnic and cultural minorities and calls on the Iraqi authorities to improve security and public order and to combat terrorism and sectarian violence throughout the country;

2. Strongly condemns all terrorist attacks and extends its condolences to the families and acquaintances of the deceased and the injured;

3. Expresses its grave concern that the new surge of instability and sectarian violence in Iraq; Calls on both the government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional government to conduct a full and swift investigations into the recent terrorist attacks in the region, notably the incident in Hawiya and to bring those responsible to justice;

4. Calls on the government of Iraq and the Regional Kurdistan government to recognize the multicultural, multi/ethnic and multi/religious diversity of Iraq allow its citizens to freely choose their identity, including language, religion and culture; calls on all political leaders of Iraq to engage in a genuine, inclusive dialogue with the aim of ensuring effective democratic governance of Iraq, underpinned by the rule of law and respect for the individual and collective rights of all Iraqi citizens;

5. Urges the government of Iraq and local authorities to agree on local ceasefires and to work on joint command and coordination structures in order to prevent that al Quaeda fighters cross back and force between the Iraqi-Syrian border and further drag Iraq into the Syrian civil war

6. Calls on the Iraqi Government and Parliament to return to the Constitution as the political framework for resolving all prevailing conflicts, to reform the Justice and Accountability Law and to clarify the role of the defense, interior and justice ministries

7. Believes that as the third largest exporter of oil in the world, Iraq has a great need and the capacities to more efficiently manage and share its revenues for the good of its economic growth, social development and political stability and notably calls on the Central and Kurdistan Regional Governments to agree on oil and gas revenue sharing

8. Calls on the Iraqi government and all political leaders in the country to take the necessary measures to provide security and protection for all Iraqi citizens in general and members of vulnerable ethnic and religious minorities in particular; calls on the government to instruct the security forces to show constraint in maintaining law and order, in keeping with the rule of law and international standards; notably reiterates it's grave concern over the still endemic use of torture and the widespread impunity in Iraq;

9. Deeply regrets that Iraq has returned to the status of being a country with one of the highest execution rates of the world, often imposing death sentences after unfair trials and on the basis of confessions obtained under duress; Urgently appeals to the Iraqi government to declare a moratorium on all executions, with a view to abolishing the death penalty in the near future;

10. Deeply regrets the death of the Camp Ashraf inhabitants who had refused to be relocated to the safer Camp Hurriya; expresses its support for the work of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) who is trying to relocate the some 3000 inhabitants outside of Iraq despite being subjected to harassment and verbal abuse by some; calls on the Government of Iraq who is responsible for the camp sites to promptly investigate the incident and to disclose the findings as well as to do everything to locate the seven individuals who remain missing from the attack

11. Re-iterates its concerns over the degradation of the environment in Iraq and neighboring Iran, and urges the Iraqi authorities to address particularly the key issue of sandstorms and dust storms; welcomes the set up of the national commission to combat the storms and to facilitate regional cooperation towards that aim

12. Calls attention to the declaration of the UN Special Envoy for Iraq calling upon the Government to scale up a national policy on women and to funnel greater resources towards projects and programmes benefiting the country's youth "who in addition to insecurity, grapple with a lack of opportunities for education and employment"

13. Urgently calls on the EU VP/HR and the Member States to wake up to the alarming instability in Iraq which is on the brink of being fully drawn into the ongoing Syrian war and to mobilize a concerted international effort to support and re-enforce the efforts of all forces in Iraq engaged in a future stable and democratic state

14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the Special Representative for Human Rights, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the UN Secretary-General, the President of the UN General Assembly, the governments of the UN member states and the Government and Parliament of Iraq.