Baghdad, 23 June 2007 - As the Constitutional Review Committee continues its deliberations to produce a final report, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) commends the Review Committee on the delivery of its draft report to the Council of Representatives on 23 May 2007. The Committee's draft report was the result of a genuine attempt by Committee members to address each others' concerns and to produce compromise proposals that benefit Iraq as a whole. Under the difficult circumstances Iraq faces today, this achievement suggests that broader agreement and popular support for the Constitution are possible. To the extent that outstanding issues with regard to the draft report remain, UNAMI believes that dialogue on the Constitution should be kept open until agreement is reached.
The UNAMI Office of Constitutional Support has provided technical and substantive support to the Committee, including a series of proposals on major constitutional issues. These proposals were based upon international experience and global best practices. We are pleased to note that the Committee responded positively to many of these proposals. UNAMI welcomes the Review Committee's achievement in advancing proposals on the distribution of powers and in principle on the national collection and fair sharing of oil revenues.
At the same time, it should be noted that there are areas where the Committee did not take up UNAMI's suggestions. These areas may merit additional consideration by the Committee, both with regard to Iraq's federal architecture and to the Constitution's Human Rights Chapter. In particular, the Committee could propose ways to address the concerns towards the Constitution's provisions on personal status (Article 41).
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq (SRSG) Ashraf Qazi calls upon Iraq's political leaders to support the Committee's proposals and use them for further discussion on core constitutional issues resulting in an agreement which can be put to the Iraqi people for their endorsement.