IRAQ'S CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW COMMITTEE SUBMITS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001739

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM ECON IZ
SUBJECT: IRAQ'S CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW COMMITTEE SUBMITS
INTERIM REPORT, GAINS ADDITIONAL TIME ON SOME KEY ISSUES

REF: BAGHDAD 1605

Classified By: Deputy Political Counselor Bob Gilchrist for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. On May 23 the Constitutional Review Committee
(CRC) submitted its interim report to the Council of
Representatives (CoR). CRC Chair Humam Hammoudi (ISIC),and
Deputy Chairs Fouad Ma'sum (PUK) and Ayad Sammarai (IIP)
addressed the CoR to explain the progress the CRC has made.
They also noted the need for additional time to prepare the
final report so that "political agreements" on outstanding
issues such as Article 140 (determining the final status of
Kirkuk and disputed territories) and the authorities of the
President can be reached. The CoR voted to give the CRC a
one month extension. The interim report is significant in
that it recommends federal supremacy in issues including:
collection and distribution of hydrocarbons revenue, customs,
civil aviation, and waterways. Furthermore, the interim
report recommends changing Article 111 to state that "the
federal government shall collect oil revenues and distribute"
to the regions and governorates. CoR has an opportunity to
debate the submissions, although it is unclear if debate will
start immediately or wait until the CRC finishes the final
report. The next step is to seek political consensus from
party leaders on the outstanding issues and cementing support
for agreements already reached, perhaps by using the
Political Council for National Security (PCNS) as suggested
by Hammoudi. End Summary.

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UNEXPECTED COMPROMISES REACHED, OLD AGREEMENTS HOLD
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2. (C) The May 23 CRC submission to CoR included last-minute
compromises on critical issues surrounding shared powers
between the regions and central government, and critical
agreements concerning the collection and distribution of oil
revenues. Most notably, the report recommends federal
authority over taxation, customs, waterways, civil aviation,
and collection and distribution of hydrocarbons wealth.


3. (C) On hydrocarbons the CRC recommended rewriting Article
111 to include the following provisions:

First: Oil and gas are the property of all Iraqi people
Second: The federal government shall collect oil
revenues and distribute equally to all Iraqis according to
the law of the state budget in a transparent and fair way
that is proportional with the populations in the province.
Third: The assessed share in the general budget shall
flow to the regions and governorates not organized into
regions automatically and in accordance with an effective and
transparent mechanism.
Fourth: A percentage of the revenue shall be allocated
to the productive province in compensation for damages
Fifth: A percentage or share shall be allocated for a
specified period for the affected and deprived areas in a way
that ensures balanced development for different regions of
the country.
Sixth: Stipulations in this article shall be regulated
by a law.


4. (C) Agreements previously reached (reftel) including
recommendations for defining the role of the judiciary,
independent commissions and the federation council, remained
in the report. In total the CRC's report affected
approximately 50 existing articles and included
recommendations to add approximately 40 new articles. (Note.
Embassy's informal translation of the submitted report will
be forwarded to NEA/I-Pol. End Note).

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ARTICLE 140, ROLE OF THE PRESIDENT TO BE RESOLVED
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5. (C) Hammoudi told CoR two key issues remain unresolved:
Article 140 (determining the final status of Kirkuk and other
disputed territories) and Article 73 (the authorities of the
President). The recommended changes to Article 140 include
delaying the referendum for three to five years, preventing
Kirkuk from joining another region, and using an
international arbitrator to resolve boundary, normalization,
and census issues. While Kurdish leaders agree privately
that meeting the current deadline (December 31, 2007) will be
difficult, they remain opposed to changing the article or
agreeing to a three to five year delay.


6. (C) Increasing the role of the President remains a
critical issue for the Sunni coalition. While calls for
naming the President as Commander-in-chief appear to have
subsided, the Sunnis continue to push for shifting powers
away from the Prime Minister and to the President. Other
outstanding issues include Article 41 (the personal status

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law). The CRC's report notes that "there is more than one
formulation" for Article 41, although it is not mentioned as
one of the articles the CRC will try to resolve during the
one month extension.

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ENGAGING LEADERS TO FIND COMPROMISES, REACH CONSENSUS
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7. (C) During his presentation to CoR Hammoudi suggested the
CoR Speaker use the PCNS as the forum for reaching consensus
on the remaining issues. While the CRC has demonstrated an
impressive ability to work together to address difficult
issues, party leaders need to endorse the final proposals.
On Article 140 only the most senior of Kurdish leadership can
consent to changes, while leaders from all groups will need
to agree if the President's powers are to be expanded. Most
importantly, the party leaders need to continue their support
for the agreements presented in the CRC report, especially on
the key issues of federal versus regional authority and
hydrocarbons related issues. While the CRC brokered deals
and compromises it remains uncertain whether the interim
report has been fully approved by the party leaders.


8. (C) According to the constitution, CoR is allowed to
debate the submitted report for an unspecified period of
time. It is uncertain whether this debate will begin
immediately or if CoR Speaker Mashadani and Deputy Speaker
Khalid al-Attiya will delay discussions until the final
report is received. There was no discussion of the report
during the May 24 CoR session. Following debate, CoR will
vote on the proposed recommendations and a public referendum
on the changes must be held within 60 days of the vote.

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Comment
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9. (C) While there remains much to be done before the
constitutional review process concludes and it can be
determined whether the process aided national reconciliation,
the CRC's interim report offers hope that compromise is
possible. For example, prior to the report's release it had
been assumed that power-sharing between the central
government and the regions, as well as articles pertaining to
hydrocarbons, would require additional time and negotiation.
Instead, the CRC demonstrated a surprising ability to find
consensus on critical issues and make recommendations which
enjoy at least a certain level of support. Securing
senior-level support for existing proposals, as well as those
suggestions not yet finalized, is the next challenge.
Whether discussions between the party leaders play out in the
PCNS as Hammoudi suggested or whether deals are brokered in
smaller meetings, all parties will need to engage in honest
dialogue and demonstrate a willingness to concede certain
positions. Only then can the constitutional review process
be viewed as a positive step towards reconciliation.
CROCKER