Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05BAGHDAD3783
2005-09-13 18:18:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

DRAFT CONSTITUTION SIGNED, PASSED TO UNAMI

Tags:  PREL PGOV MOPS PTER IZ 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003783 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/13/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS PTER IZ
SUBJECT: DRAFT CONSTITUTION SIGNED, PASSED TO UNAMI

Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES DAVID M. SATTERFIELD FOR REASONS 1.4 (
b) AND (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003783

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/13/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS PTER IZ
SUBJECT: DRAFT CONSTITUTION SIGNED, PASSED TO UNAMI

Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES DAVID M. SATTERFIELD FOR REASONS 1.4 (
b) AND (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY. The Iraqi draft Constitution was signed and
delivered to UNAMI for printing the afternoon of September

13. Deputy Speaker Shahristani plans to announce the final
text at a press conference September 14. SRSG Qazi has
expressed concern that the amended text was never formally
acted on by the TNA. Sunni Arab contacts expressed surprise
that the draft Constitution had been signed. Deputy
Constitution Committee Chairman Masoum confirmed that none of
the fifteen added Sunni Arab members were present at the
September 13 session. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) The Constitution Committee was called to session on
September 13. Deputy Speaker Shahristani attended the
meeting and presented the members with the following five
changes: (a) Article 3 was amended to state that Iraq is a
"founding and effective member of the Arab League and is
committed to its charter"; (b) deletion of the old Article 44
was confirmed (Note: Article 44 had guaranteed individuals
the protection of international human rights treaties, but
problematically had restricted the guarantee to only those
treaty rights not contravening the constitution. End note.);
(c) Article 108 -- now Article 107.8 -- was amended to
reflect that the federal government will have exclusive
authority over "planning policies relating to water sources
from outside Iraq and guaranteeing the rate of water flow to
Iraq and its just distribution inside Iraq in accordance with
laws and international conventions"; (d) Article 111 -- now
Article 110.7 -- was changed to give federal and regional
authorities shared authority over the "policy of internal
water resources in a way that guarantees its fair
distribution"; and (e) Article 135 was added to state that
there will be two Deputy Prime Ministers in the first
electoral term.


3. (C) Shahristani provided Charge with a copy of the draft
signed by himself, Masoum and (Sunni Arab) Deputy
Constitution Committee Chairman Adnan al-Janabi. Shahristani
said that the text would be delivered to UNAMI and that he

would announce the final text at a press conference September

14. Shahristani indicated that he would do his utmost to
line up full Shia Coalition support behind the text before he
makes his announcement, but if necessary would proceed with
the press conference on his own authority. His task was
complicated, he said, by politically-motivated to opposition
to the Constitution draft from Ayad Allawi's INA and PM
Jafari's Da'wa Party within the Drafting Committee.


4. (C) PolOffs spoke separately with three Constitution
Committee members -- (Kurdish) Deputy Chairman Masoum, Adil
Nasir Haiji, and Yonadam Kanna -- all of whom reported that
Shahristani told Committee members that this version is final
and not subject to change. Masoum told PolOff that the
changes on water resources reflected agreements encouraged by
Ambassador Khalilzad and UK Ambassador Patey. Masoum further
noted that the deletion of Article 44 and changes in Article
3 were also made in response to U.S. encouragement. Poloff
noted the absence of "the Sunni 15" from the September 13
Constitution Committee meeting. Masoum responded that the
Sunnis were not invited since they did not support the
Constitution anyway. He added that he believed many Sunni
Arabs, including even some in the group of 15, would support
the text. He said that Shahristani, in response to queries
from Shia Committee members, had said the changes came from
Najaf, ending further discussion. (NOTE: In a separate
conversation, Masoum acknowledged to PolCouns that there had
been significant grumbling in the Constitution Committee
about the latest amendments, and that some members wanted to
reopen the document to other changes, including oil and gas.
END NOTE.)


5. (C) In a conversation with PolOff, SRSG Qazi confirmed
UNAMI's receipt of the signed text. However, he expressed
concern that the text had not been formally put before the
TNA. Qazi said that the UN would be put in an "awkward
position" if asked to use the latest draft for the
UNAMI-supported civic outreach program without further TNA
action. Qazi said he was particularly concerned over lack of
support for the final draft from members of the Da'wa Party
and Iraqi National Accord. Qazi said that if the draft were
formally introduced to the TNA, UNAMI would be in a better
position to support the draft. (COMMENT: We agree, and
Charge has pressed Shahristani on this point. Shahristani
responded that INA/Da'wa dissent over the Constitution makes
such a procedure more problematic than helpful, but would
reassess the situation on Wednesday morning. END COMMENT.)
UNAMI only received a paper copy of the draft, he said, but
expects to receive an electronic version following
Shahristani's September 14 press conference.


6. (C) In a discussion with PolOff, two Sunni Arab contacts
-- Iraqi Republican Gathering leader Saad al-Janabi and
Iraqi Council of National Dialogue (ICND) member Sadoun
al-Zubaidi -- claimed surprise at the news that the draft had
been signed. Both said Sunni Arab Constitution Committee
members and experts would meet the evening of September 13 to
discuss the changes and next steps. They reaffirmed the
importance Sunni Arabs place on "unresolved" issues in the
constitution. In contrast, Sunni Arab TNA member Abdul
Rahman al-Nouaimi from Mosul told PolOff today that "due to
the security situation, we need a Constitution now, and it's
possible to amend it later."
Satterfield