





A Speech by





The Minister for Foreign Affairs  The Hon Alexander Downer MP



to the





Iraq and the Challenges for Human Rights Symposium



Australia:  A Resolute Friend of Iraq





Melbourne, 1 October 2004

(check against delivery)

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Introduction



Ladies and gentlemen



It is a pleasure to be here at the Australian Iraqi Forum’s symposium Iraq and the

Challenges for Human Rights.



I want to congratulate Dr Riadh Al Mahaidi and the Australian Iraqi Forum for the

excellent job they are doing to promote cooperation between Australia and Iraq.



I am particularly pleased to welcome keynote speaker Dr Hussein al-Shahristani to

Australia.



Dr Shahristani has long held a prominent place in Iraq’s scientific and human rights

fields as



- Chairman of the Association of Iraqi Political Prisoners



- founder of the Iraqi Refugee Aid Council



- and Chairman of the Iraqi National Academy of Science.



A former Chief Scientific Advisor at the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission, he has

been a leading commentator on Saddam Hussein’s WMD aspirations…



…and he has first-hand experience of the brutality of Saddam’s regime having served

time as a political prisoner.



I would also like to welcome officials from Iraq’s new Ministry of Human Rights,

who are undertaking a Government-sponsored study tour of Australia’s human rights

and legislative bodies...



…and Australia’s Ambassador designate to Iraq, Howard Brown.



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Resolve and determination



Ladies and gentlemen.



It is a great source of pride to me that Australia joined the international coalition that

removed Saddam Hussein’s barbarous regime.



That decision was not an easy one to make:  there is no act more solemn than a

decision to send Australians into harm’s way.



But I remain firmly of the view that our actions were right; that our cause was

overwhelmingly just…



…and that our decision has been vindicated.



For all we have learnt before and since the war has shown that Saddam Hussein was a

brutal and evil dictator…



…a threat to his own people and to international peace and security.



Saddam Hussein defied the international community’s express demand that he disarm

and comply with no fewer than 17 mandatory UN Security Council resolutions.



Even when confronted with the ‘final opportunity to comply’ presented in the

unanimous UN Security Council Resolution 1441, he refused to do so.



And that is because he had no intention of ever complying with the reasonable

demands of the international community.



The work of the Iraq Survey Group shows Saddam was in material breach of his

international obligations and that his ambition for WMD remained undiminished.



Military action was the only way the international community could bring Saddam

into compliance.

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In removing Saddam we have ensured that he will never again use WMD - whether

against his own people or his neighbours.



We have ended his support for terrorist groups and donations of US$25,000 to the

relatives of Palestinian suicide bombers.



But just as significantly for the people of Iraq, we have removed a regime that

sustained its rule through rape, torture and murder.



Saddam’s regime perpetrated some of the most egregious human rights abuses the

world has seen.



Prime Minister Allawi has estimated the total number of missing from the Saddam era

exceeds one million people.



And since the end of the war the Coalition has received reports of some 275 mass

graves containing the remains of some 300,000 slain men, women and children.



But this is only a portion of the victims of Saddam’s rule.



Over one million people perished as a consequence of the brutal war he launched

against Iran in 1980.



Some 5,000 people died during the chemical weapons attack on the Kurdish town of

Halabja in March 1988



And of course many died during Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait and his subsequent

suppression of the Kurd and Sh’ia uprisings that followed the 1991 conflict.



Murder and torture have become by-words for Saddam’s regime.



Saddam’s removal and forthcoming trial are thus a great victory for the Iraqi people



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- and for the people of neighbouring countries and the international community



- at last justice will be done.



Foundations of a new beginning



Ladies and gentlemen



We must do more than simply bring Saddam and his cronies to justice.



We must help the Iraqi people lay the foundations for a modern, democratic and just

nation.



I am very pleased that Iraq has already made significant progress on the path to this

brighter future.



That Iraqis have achieved so much in a short time reflects their strong will to take

charge of their future and make Iraq a better place.



Iraqis have embraced their new hard-won human rights such as freedoms of speech,

assembly and association.



New political parties have emerged, while women and minorities are engaged and

welcomed in political life.



Iraqis are conducting religious ceremonies and pilgrimages banned previously under

Saddam’s tyranny.



They have access to a flourishing media through some 170 newspapers, satellite

television and the internet.



To safeguard these freedoms, the Interim Government has set up a Ministry of Human

Rights.



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But even greater protection of human rights is delivered in the Transitional

Administrative Law.



The Law enshrines fundamental freedoms for the people of Iraq



- it protects the rights of minorities and regional groups



- and it establishes a framework for the creation of governmental and judicial

structures to exercise temporary authority until Iraqi’s elect a new government.



It is under this law that the Interim Iraqi Government assumed full control in June.



The Interim Government reflects the ethnic and religious diversity of the Iraqi people

and includes six women.



Prime Minister Allawi has made a strong start in dealing with the threats to Iraq’s

transition…



… and in preparations towards a fully representative, elected Iraqi government in

2005.



The smooth creation of the Interim National Council in August and its first meeting in

early September were clear signs that overwhelming majority Iraqis want to move

forward together.



Participants came together in a spirit of tolerance and inclusiveness…



…and spoke freely and emotionally after decades of repression, in an atmosphere of

respect.



Ladies and gentlemen.



The next key step in Iraq’s transition to democracy will be the national elections to be

held next year.

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I welcome Prime Minister Allawi’s commitment to the elections and the January 2005

schedule.



His efforts are supported by Iraq’s newly founded independent electoral commission

which is making progress on the logistics of the election.



But it will need help:  the UN must fulfil the role set out for it in Security Council

Resolution 1546 to help Iraq complete arrangements for the elections on time.



The size of the UN’s presence in Iraq must be commensurate with the importance and

urgency of its task.



For its part, Australia was one of the first to commit assistance to the electoral process

with a $5 million contribution to UN support efforts.



And I welcome the planned visit of Iraqi electoral officials in Australia to observe our

own forthcoming elections as part of their preparations.



Delivering Iraq from evil



Ladies and gentlemen



It is a measure of Iraq’s success in moving toward democracy that terrorists and

insurgents have stepped up their evil campaign.



We all deplore the depraved attacks perpetrated by these terrorists - especially the

deaths of more than 30 children in a vicious attack in Baghdad overnight.



The terrorists know that to defeat the rise of a democratic Iraq would be to secure a

major strategic victory for their cause.



It is for this reason that terrorists have made Iraq the frontline in their global fight

against moderate Islamic governments and the West.

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And that is why it is naÃÂ¯ve and irresponsible to argue that Iraq is somehow separate

from the war against terrorism…



…that we can withdraw - in effect ‘cut and run’ - from Iraq yet still claim that

Australia is tough on terrorists.



Terrorists would see a premature withdrawal from Iraq for what it is:  provocative

weakness that would spur them to greater evil, not to acquiescence and retreat.



The Coalition Government has been clear all along:  we will not bow to terrorists’

demands.



We will listen to the Iraqi people and stand by them in their fight to build a better

future free of tyranny.



To do anything else would be a betrayal of Australia’s fundamental national interests

- and our values as a nation.



To really understand the folly of cutting and running you just have to cast your mind

forward and imagine the consequences.



If in a few weeks’ time Australia announced it was pulling its troops out by Christmas,

imagine the reaction in Iraq.



Terrorists would claim a great victory - the defeat of an original member of the

Coalition of the Willing.



While terrorists celebrate wildly, the people of Iraq would be disappointed and -

justifiably - feel let down.



In London and Washington, Australia's reputation as a solid and reliable ally would

be seriously damaged.



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Our allies would feel they could no longer rely on us.



In other capitals, from Tokyo to Warsaw, Rome to Seoul, Australia would be seen to

have left when the job was not done.



Countries standing with the Iraqi people would wonder why Australia, always strong

and reliable in the past, was now cutting and running.



That is not the Australian way.  That is not what others expect of us or, more

importantly, what we expect of ourselves.



Irrespective of your view of the war, Australia and the international community must

now remain firm in the face of terror.



Today Iraqi and coalition military forces are working hard to ensure security for Iraqis

and the forthcoming elections



Prime Minister Allawi says he now has nearly 100,000 fully trained armed forces and

police and expects more than 125,000 by the end of the year and 200,000 by the end

of next.



Brave Iraqis continue to enlist in the service of their country despite terrorists’

deliberate targeting of them.



Some reports estimate more than 700 policemen and recruits murdered since mid

2003 and yet still Iraqis remain determined.



I am immensely proud of the role Australian defence personnel and police in training

Iraq’s brave new security forces.



Just last week I had the opportunity to welcome home to Australia ADF personnel

based at Robertson Barracks who had been guarding the Australian embassy in Iraq.



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I admire their courage and professional service, and was grateful for the opportunity

to thank them personally for the job they did.



The ADF’s work in Iraq is a practical expression of Australia’s strong, resolute and

determined friendship with the Iraqi people.



Australians and Iraqis delivering a better future



Ladies and gentlemen



Under the Coalition Government, Australia has committed over $125 million in

assistance to Iraq, including $55 million for humanitarian needs in 2003.



Our efforts were critical in delivering some of the first food supplies to Iraq in the

immediate aftermath of the war.



And since then, we have helped restore water and basic health care to Iraqi

communities.



Iraq is a nation recovering from decades of deliberately poor governance and

economic mismanagement.



Our assistance - notably on agriculture, donor coordination and economic governance

- is making a real difference in these areas.



Our efforts in the agricultural sector enabled the early rehabilitation of the agricultural

ministry and early planting of crops.



Our economic advisors have helped deliver Iraq’s first effective government

payments system and credible budget for decades.



I am particularly pleased by the contribution of Australian officials towards human

rights capacity building in Iraq.



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Australian legal officials attached to the former Coalition Provisional Authority

contributed to drafting of the Transitional Administrative Law



Specific Australian contributions to the Law include the right to freedom of assembly

- a first in the history of Iraq - thereby allowing over 1800 non-government

organisations to flourish.



Australian officials are working closely with the Interim Iraqi Government to promote

a culture of human rights.



The presence of the Ministry of Human Rights delegation here today is an example of

Australia’s assistance in action.



We are also developing a training program with the Ministry of Human Rights and I

am confident that further capacity-building training opportunities will be identified.



Conclusion



Ladies and gentlemen



Iraq is undergoing a transition from dictatorship to a better future under a

representative government that respects and upholds fundamental human rights.



There is no doubt that this transition will be difficult with twists and turns.



And some will seek to subvert it.



But there is a clear path ahead for the future of Iraq - and Iraqis are firmly taking the

lead.



The task for us all is to work with the Iraqi people; to help them realise their long-held

wish to live in a nation free from tyranny and injustice.



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The Coalition Government has always been committed to helping the Iraqi people

achieve their goal.



Right from the outset, when we resolved to enforce UN Security Council resolutions

and oust Saddam, we have been looking forward.



We continue to look forward through our commitment to training Iraq security

forces…



…our efforts to rebuild Iraq’s agriculture sector…



…and in our help to Iraqis as they build a new respect and understanding of human

rights in their country.



Now is not the time to cut and run from Iraq; to flee from the terrorists; to abandon

the Iraqi people.



We must stand firm and resolute, and help Iraqis realise their dreams.



To do anything less would be an appalling reflection on the courage and values of our

nation.



Thank you.

