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National Reconciliation in Iraq

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National Reconciliation in Iraq National Reconciliation in Iraq Reality & Horizon DISCLAIMER: The opinions and views expressed in the researches solely reflect the perspectives of their respective contributors, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq (NCCI) or Iraqi al-Amal Association (IAA). Prelude National reconciliation in Iraq represents the second non-Western Arab application of a reconciliation endeavor following Morocco’s Justice and Reconciliation effort. Due to its relative recent application and the problems it has faced and is still facing, it was necessary to examine this effort in analytical detail, the NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq (NCCI) and Iraqi Al- Amal Association (IAA), supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), assigned a number of scholars to conduct an extensive study that spans several central issues, the study addresses the roles official and unofficial political and civil institutions play in the process of reconciliation, their positions toward reconciliation and their accomplishments within its framework. This book is a complete content of those studies, which we hope to have met their desired objectives in the most objective and precise manner possible in an attempt to attain the desired benefit in serving Iraq and Iraqis. Reaching common ground in perceiving reconciliation is one of the most important factors that sustain the efforts to build and maintain peace. The objective of studying reconciliation in Iraq is to get a comprehensive understanding of the peace-building and reconciliation process in Iraq, its achievements, the problems it faces, and outlining a future perspective based on a precise diagnosis of its achievements, objectives and planned efforts of governmental blocs and Iraqi parties under reconciliation and peace building processes. Foreword “If we say that the past is gone and forgotten, then we embarrass ourselves. The past is still there, and if we hadn’t done what we’ve done in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, then it can return. Our past is a monster, and we must confront that monster face to face, or it will come back to haunt us.” -Desmond Tutu Archbishop, Head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa National Reconciliation efforts helped draft the outlines for many nations’ futures, and Iraq is not an exception to this rule. Reconciliation is a large- scale, essential process in a nation’s history, and is a historic milestone that must be prepared for meticulously. Many parties must be involved, including governmental, judicial and legislative institutions, media, and non- governmental organizations, national reconciliation necessitates the presence of efficient patriotic personalities that can run negotiations and build confidence amongst the rivals. In many parts of the world, reconciliation came to mean, more or less, boldness in confronting the past, this is especially evident in states which experienced racial discrimination regimes, violent totalitarian regimes or civil wars, examples of such states include South Africa, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Cambodia and Yugoslavia. A close-up examination of those experiences would give us an idea for the presence of several important common characteristics, in spite of the different approaches adopted which is the natural consequence of different cultures and customs. Many of the states which witnessed terrible human rights violations formed truth committees during their respective phases of transitional justice, those committees aimed to help society confront unpleasant memories while marching towards a better future. The eagerness of peoples to discover what happened to them is expressed in the desire to learn the truth and to set the record straight, it is the right of victims to express respect for them, to have their suffering recognized, and to compensate them and their families. Facts must be established to prevent the reemergence of terror regimes. The moments of confession in South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee was described by St. Tutu as nightmares, while the bitter moments of regret and apology eventually led the National Party which led the racist rule of the white minority to permanently dissolve itself, in an attempt to escape the blemishes of its dishonorable legacy. Nevertheless, it is a courageous moment of sincere apology that many political groups and parties all around the world should aspire to have so as to be able to draw a firm line between a shaky present and a bloody past. True reconciliation is a complex intertwined process with many elements and factors to consider. Reconciliation does not mean the imposition of an artificial environment that forces victims to forgive and forget and finds suitable pretexts for criminals and convicts to escape their liability. It is a pressing need to enable societies to transcend tribal and personal vendettas and to attain results superior to those of criminal courts which often tends to punish the criminal and ignore the victim. The experiences of several peoples have shown the benefits of the application of a transitional justice phase. In essence, it is a process which adopts a forward-thinking perspective that is concerned with the restoration of convicts as productive members of society following their reformation and admittance to full responsibility to their actions, and compensating the victims of those wrongdoers. Sincere efforts must focus on tackling issues left over from the past, with defined victims, culprits and reparations, and procedures that seek to fully disclose facts and state what really took place. All can look towards a new beginning, through which we can begin to restore civil peace. In 2004, the United Nations considered “justice, peace and democracy” as mutually dependent concepts, with “peace” needing firm confidence in the future. Some advocate the application of Restorative Justice, which takes an alternative approach towards offense that is primarily concerned with tending to mistakes and to compensate the victims for their damages, while lessening future potential for tragedy in the future through preventing new crimes from being committed, restorative justice is evidence-based, and it aims to achieve healing by letting both the victim and the culprit overcome their mutual incident, this objective maybe accomplished through a suitable reparation, monetary or otherwise, the wrongdoer is hereby reconciled and is assimilated into society, restoring social cohesion. Restorative Justice emerged as a reaction to Punitive Justice which is based on punishment and retribution, according to which the state must pinpoint the culprit and then impose punishment. In this system, punishment is the only method for the victim to overcome its catastrophe; it also inflicts damage upon the wrongdoer in a classical eye-for-an-eye system. Punitive justice considers the state as the victim, but Restorative justice considers the person who has been assaulted as the primary victim. Punitive Justice focuses upon the assault (the past) while Restorative seeks to repair what has been done (the future). Punitive justice is unconcerned with the true needs of the victim and the wrongdoer, viewing the issue as largely a violation of law, while Restorative Justice regards it as a breakdown in humanitarian relationship between those involved. In regards to reconciliation in Iraq, which is the topic of the studies and articles presented in this book, important issues were noted by observers tracking the progress of reconciliation. Those include the emergence of several factors that prevent the realization of a comprehensive national reconciliation, some of which are related to the definition of reconciliation itself, disagreement over which parts should be allowed participation and which are not, stating the reasons behind the selection, whether it’s necessary to form truth committees and listen to the testimonies of victims and culprits simultaneously, the impact of broadcasting truth committee sessions on the public, and whether it’s possible to practically skip the phase of transitional justice while achieving a comprehensive form of national reconciliation that satisfies all sides. The esteemed contributors of those studies and articles attempted to highlight the concept of reconciliation from a variety of perspectives, their efforts have added considerably to the topic of national reconciliation which is still in need of more detailed studies and research, especially through studying the experiences of countries that have endured what we’re going through and have successfully came out of its dark clutches in a healthy and organized fashion. National Reconciliation An Analytical Approach from a Sociopolitical Perspective Dr. Abdul-Salam Ibrahim Baghdadi Foreword The entire intellectual, let alone the political, cultural, social and philosophical spectrum appears to be preoccupied with the concepts of national reconciliation nowadays. Such concepts include civil peace and harmony, national unity, social integration and several other synonymous terminologies that imply the principles of forgiveness, amnesty and justice. This preoccupation is not limited to a particular country, but it covers an wide range of countries that have witnessed or are still currently witnessing a form of conflict or a variety of civil war amongst its ethno-political components (due to ancestral or cultural antagonism.) Some argue that those reconciliation concepts can be the basis for a phase termed ‘transitional
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