ARAB LEAGUE IRAQ NATIONAL ACCORD CONFERENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CAIRO 008812 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/22/2015 TAGS: PREL IZ EG SUBJECT: ARAB LEAGUE IRAQ NATIONAL ACCORD CONFERENCE STATEMENT REF: A. CAIRO 8704 ¶B. CAIRO 8618 ¶C. CAIRO 8785 Classified by ECPO John Desrocher for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (U) The text below represents an unofficial translation of the "Agreed Statement" produced following the three day Conference for Iraqi National Accord, held in Cairo November 19-21. BEGIN TEXT: "The Preparatory Meeting of the Conference for Iraqi National Accord convened at the Headquarters of the Arab League during the period of November 19-21, 2005 with the participation of the Iraqi political parties from the different entities of the Iraqi people at the invitation Mr. Amre Moussa, Secretary-General of the Arab League. SIPDIS His Excellency President Muhammed Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, President Jalal Talabani, Dr. Irahim al-Ja'ffari, Prime Minister of Iraq, Mr. Abdel-Aziz Belkhadem, personal representative of President Boutaflika of Algeria, and Special Representative of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Mr. Ashraf Qazi opened the meeting. The inaugural session was attended by Arab Foreign Ministers, members of the special ministerial committee on Iraq, the Foreign Minister of Lebanon, Mustapha Osman Ismai'il, Advisor to the President of Sudan, President of the African Union Commission, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Representative of the Union of North African States, Representative of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Representative of the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, representatives of the Permanent Members of the Security Council, Permanent Representatives of the Arab Countries to the Arab League, foreign ambassadors of countries which have Memoranda of Understanding with the Arab League, a representative of the European Union, representatives of the Islamic Conference, a representative of the Islamic Bank for Development and the International Commission of the Red Cross. The participants discussed the preparations for the Conference for the Iraqi National Accord and mechanisms for the next stage of building the Iraq of the future. After the end of the practices and policies of the condemned previous regime, the deliberations demonstrated agreement on the following: ¶1. Welcoming of the initiative of the Arab League to convene the Iraqi National Accord Conference (INAC) and emphasis on the interest of all to provide the best environment for the convening and success of the conference. ¶2. Commitment to the unity, independence, sovereignty and freedom of Iraq and not to allow intervention in its internal affairs. Respect for the will of the Iraqi people and their democratic in the framework of pluralism and a federal system and their right to decide Iraq's future on their own. ¶3. The Iraqi people are looking forward to the day in which foreign forces would leave Iraq and to build their military and security forces in order to enjoy peace and stability, and get rid of the terrorism that targets Iraqis and Iraqi infrastructure and destroys the national wealth and the State's apparatus. ¶4. Although resistance is a legitimate right for all people, terrorism does not represent legitimate resistance. Accordingly we condemn terrorism and acts of violence, killing, and kidnapping that target Iraqi citizens, civilian, humanitarian, governmental institutions, national wealth, and places of worship and we call for confronting terrorism immediately. ¶5. Condemn "Takfir" or the accusation of being infidels as it contradicts the noble traditions of Islam which prohibit the accusation of being an infidel of a Muslim by his Muslim brothers and work to spread the Islamic values that call for brotherhood, tolerance,a nd enhancement of national unity. ¶6. Call for release of innocent detainees who were not indicted before the law and the investigation of the claims of torture; holding accountable the negligent and the perpetrators of such acts, and the immediate halt of arbitrary raids and arrests without documented judicial warrants. ¶7. Taking into account the resolutions of the Security Council 1546 (2004) and 1637 (2005),the withdrawal of foreign troops is called for according to a timetable through the establishment of an immediate national program for rebuilding the security forces to train, prepare and arm them properly, that would enable them to protect the borders, control the security situation, guarantee the security of citizens and country, and end the terrorist operations. ¶8. Respect the position of all Iraqi peoples, entities and the political process should not be impeded, and respect for wide-scale participation in the forthcoming elections, and respect for the ballot boxes and respect for the opinion of the Iraqi people in choosing their representatives. The participants called the Arab countries to support Iraq in different areas; at the top of which include the following: ¶1. Accelerate canceling the debt of Iraq or reduce it in accordance with Paris Club and the Arab League resolutions. ¶2. Contribute in training and rehabilitating the Iraqi cadres in the different sectors of the State. ¶3. Enhance the Arab diplomatic presence in Iraq and provide the necessary security for the Arab diplomatic missions. ¶4. Provide humanitarian assistance and play an active role in reconstructing Iraq. ¶5. Assist in controlling the borders to prevent infiltration. In light of the discussions and contributions, the first working group headed by Abdel Aziz Belkhadem was established to prepare for the Iraqi National Accord Conference. The second working group was headed by Mustapha Ismai'il to prepare confidence building measures. Based on their work, the following has been agreed for the Conference: ¶1. The Iraqi National Accord Conference would be held during the last week of February or the first week in March in Baghdad. ¶2. The Agenda for the Conference includes the following elements: a. Expansion of the political process to include all parties based on a democratic approach b. The unity, independence and sovereignty of Iraq and establishing a program for ending the mission of the MNF-I c. The security situation d. Equal citizenship (rights and duties) e. Forms of required support for the National Accord process to succeed f. Debts and reconstruction of Iraq ¶3. Standards for participation in the Conference are as follows: a. Ensuring a balanced and inclusive representation of the Iraqi political parties and forces representing all the entities of the Iraqi people, including the tribes, civil society organizations and women. b. Commitment to dialogue, democratic approach, denouncement of violence and willingness to participate in the political process. c. Commitment to seek the achievement of the goals of the political process through peaceful means and respect of different points of view. ¶4. Establishment of a standing committee to prepare for the INAC to be called the Follow-up and Preparation Committee, to be comprised of the political parties in Iraq with the participation of the Arab League and the cooperation of the United Nations. ¶5. Approval of several practical confidence building measures during the coming phase as follows: a. Avoid the exchange of accusations and call the Iraqi and Arab media to work to bridge the gaps between Iraqi communities. b. Restriction on the use of religious, political and media fora for incitement of hatred and division. c. Work on providing the appropriate environment for the forthcoming elections in a free and transparent manner. d. Provide the practical formula for regular meetings among the political forces and Iraqi entities or communities to create the environment for achieving Iraqi National Accord. e. Underline the necessity to review the situation of detainees as soon as possible and release those who were not convicted and stop the raids unless they have documented judicial warrants and provide an atmosphere of security and peace. The participants supported the struggle of the Palestinian's people and their just and legitimate right to establish a Palestinian state with Holy Jerusalem as its capital. In conclusion, the participants expressed their gratitude and appreciation for the Arab Republic of Egypt, the President, government and the people for the warm reception and kind hospitality. They also appreciated the speech of His Excellency President Muhammed Hosni Mubarak and President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. They also expressed their appreciation for the role played by the Special Ministerial Committee of the Arab League on Iraq and the efforts of the Secretary General of the Arab League for convening this meeting, and the results of this meeting and his important speech at the inaugural session. They also expressed their appreciation for the role played by the United Nations in supporting this effort. The Arab League expressed its gratitude for the efforts of Hoshyar Zebari, the Foreign Minister of Iraq, and his assistance at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the cooperation they provided in preparing this meeting. END TEXT ¶2. (C) Arab League reaction: Department TDY officers and poloff met with Arab League Chief of Cabinet Hesham Youssef immediately following the release of the agreed statement. Youssef said the USG would likely be happy with some parts of the document and unhappy with others. He said the League's Secretary General Amre Moussa pressed participants to keep SIPDIS the language in the "Agreed Statement" on the level of "principles" because the detailed discussions touched sensitive areas, such as withdrawal of the MNF-I. Offering an example, Youssef said that when all participants agreed to describe the presence of foreign forces as an "occupation," Moussa pushed back. Likewise, when some participants resisted including a reference to respect for the political process in the statement, the League pressed to include the reference. Confirming the pledge Moussa made to the Ambassador in prior meetings, Youssef said the League "did not and will not work at cross purposes" with the USG. But because of Iraq's complexity, he explained, the national accord process is also key. ¶3. (C) UN reaction: A visiting UN representative who attended the conference told poloff that the UN believes the conference dialogue was positive and that the agenda for the proposed follow on conference is reasonable. When poloff asked about the reference to the resistance as a "legitimate right" (paragraph 4 of the first subsection of statement),he said the participants did not indicate they wanted language that could be interpreted as legitimizing attacks on foreign forces. Rather, he noted, their intent was to condemn terrorism. He noted that discussions at the proposed Baghdad conference would most likely be more sensitive for the U.S. RICCIARDONE