Iraqi Members of Parliament discussed justice and accountability with international experts in Baghdad

Baghdad, 15 December 2015 – Some 30 members of the Iraqi Parliament, along with Government officials and clerics, met today in Baghdad in the presence of international experts to discuss experiences from countries that have undergone political transition, and which was titled “Learning from precedent: the Cost of Failure and the Benefits of Success in Coming to Terms with the Past. “

Mr. Gyorgy Busztin, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations in Iraq, welcomed the participants by reconfirming the United Nations’ continuous support for Iraqi efforts to achieve national reconciliation, including by facilitating discussions on the Justice and Accountability and the Banning of the Baath Party bills. He stressed that there was a momentum for common ground to be found on these two draft laws, and that Iraq needs to turn the dark pages of its past. “Tolerance is the basis of the future of Iraq” added DSRSG Busztin.



International experts presented lessons learned and challenges from experiences of justice and accountability and transitional justice mechanisms in Eastern Europe, Central America, Northern Ireland, and South Africa. They discussed with the Iraqi MPs the concepts of justice, tolerance, reconciliation, coexistence, the power of forgiveness, and how to deal with the past. Religious clerics recalled that forgiveness was deeply rooted in Islam, and that the Iraqi people were desperate to heal their wounds.



“Iraq is going through one the most difficult phases of its history. We are at a cross-road and have to deal with the past if we are willing to maintain Iraq’s diversity and unity. Iraq needs a real national reconciliation, and Iraq’s children deserve a new beginning”, concluded Sheikh Hisham Suhail, Chairman of the Reconciliation, Accountability, Justice Affairs Committee of the Council of Representatives.



Participants in the workshop ended today’s session by agreeing on a series of principles, which will be used as the basis for discussions that will take place at the beginning of 2016. The workshop took place in collaboration with the Reconciliation, Accountability, Justice Affairs Committee of the Iraqi Parliament and the Prime Minister’s Office—Implementation and Follow-up Committee for National Reconciliation and thanks to the generous contribution of the Federal Foreign Office of the Republic of Germany and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.