Participants tackle prospects and challenges of the National Settlement

The roundtable was organized jointly by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), the Implementation and Follow-up Committee for National Reconciliation (IFCNR) at the Office of the Prime Minister and Al-Rafidain Centre for Dialogue, with funding from the Governments of Germany and the Netherlands.



In his opening remarks, the Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Iraq, Mr. Gyorgy Busztin said, “We believe that reconciliation and coexistence are the way forward towards the country’s stabilization and sustaining the political process based on pluralism and democracy. It is unity which led to successive victories against terrorism as we saw when all the forces and components of the country united to stand up against the vicious attack of the terrorist ISIS.”



“This would never have happened without the unity of all, despite differences, in the fight against the common enemy,” he added.



On his part, the Advisor to the IFCNR, Mr. Hussein Al-Adli said that these roundtables were “a way of including all opinions in the settlement process”, and that discussions “should be frank and constructive.” He added that the current crisis between Baghdad and Erbil is evidence that settlement is a must. He also added that “settlement is an equation of interests and not an equation of ideologies.”



The Chairman of Al-Rafidain Centre for Dialogue, Mr. Zaid Al-Talaqani, said that the “culture of dialogue is important in building societies and promoting peaceful coexistence.” But, he added, that “dialogue in itself is not enough. Rather, it must have direction.”



Participants highlighted post-ISIL challenges with regard to settlement and they put forward recommendations to ensure success of the ongoing reconciliation efforts at the political and societal levels.