Andrew S. Natsios
Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development
Reconstruction in Iraq
Remarks Before
The Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce
West Bloomfield, Michigan
September 9, 2005
I'm here today mainly to learn from you what more can be done for the Christian community in Iraq and other minority religions and groups - so that they may live and worship in security; so that your needs may be more effectively met; so that your voice is not submerged; so that your rich heritage continues to be recognized in Iraq and becomes better appreciated here; and so that my Agency can better help you contribute to the regeneration of political life in the new country that is coming into being. I am also here to explain the posture of the US government in matters of concern to you, and, more specifically, what USAID has done and is doing to help secure a better future for the Iraq and your people.
The Insurgency
Attacks by insurgents on Iraqi Christians are a part of a broader campaign to destabilize the country, divide its populations, and incite wholesale violence. For some, death and destruction has become a nihilistic end in itself. But those who equip and motivate the suicide bomber know very well that it is only through chaos that they can achieve their objectives.
The insurgency therefore has to be met with force. That is why the US, its NATO allies, and other members of the coalition team are training requisite numbers of Iraqis to meet the task. And it is why sufficient military power to backstop them must continue to be present. The birthing of democracy that we are witnessing will be taking place against this harsh background. That is the reality of things and it will not change over night.
But it is also important to counter the hate that the insurgents are trying to spread. This is why it is an encouraging sign that holds promise for life in the new Iraq that the Iraqi Government and other Iraqi religious leaders were so forceful in publicly condemning the attacks against Iraqi Christians.
For its part, the U.S. Embassy, Baghdad maintains close contact with many Iraqi Christians, including religious leaders, and continues to monitor their situation closely.
The U.S. Department of State has been active in other ways as well. In recognition of the critical need for migration and refugee assistance, State initiated a $70 million reallocation in October, 2004 to augment the already-apportioned $105 million to migration and refugee assistance programs. These programs are providing emergency relief assistance, resettlement assistance, and contingency-building help for quick response to sudden population displacement due to violence or natural disasters. USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and the International Organization of Migration are fully engaged in this issue.
TRANSITIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
Several articles of the Transitional Administrative Law, under which the Iraqi Government is operating while the constitutional process moves forward, specifically protect religious freedoms and ChaldoAssyrians:
- Article 13F of the TAL states, "Each Iraqi has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religious belief and practice. Coercion in such matters shall be prohibited."
- Article 7A states that Islam will be considered as "a" source of legislation, not "the" source, and "guarantees the full religious rights of all individuals to freedom of religious belief and practice."
- Article 53D of the Transitional Administrative Law, "guarantee[s] the administrative, cultural, and political rights of the Turcomans, ChaldoAssyrians, and all other citizens." This establishes the legal basis for creating an administrative unit explicitly for ChaldoAssyrians.
I know that Ambassador Zal Khalilzad has weighed in forcefully during recent constitutional debates and, as I understand things, similar freedoms are enshrined in the new blueprint that will go to referendum.
ELECTIONS
There were several Christian political entities which were certified for the January 30, 2004 elections for the Provincial Government and National Assembly. The Assyrian Patriotic Party; Assyrian Independent Gathering Movement; Iraqi Christian Democratic Party; the Assyrian National Gathering, among others. Additionally, the Assyrian Political Council was certified as a coalition.
USAID's election related assistance benefits all political actors by contributing to the development of transparent and credible elections administration. This included the development of a domestic observation capacity to ensure that legitimacy was built into the election process. USAID also supported voter education and election public information campaigns that targeted marginalized or minority groups with educational and motivational messaging.
USAID has supported the Constitutional process by facilitating dialogues all over Iraq to gather input and understanding of constitutional issues. In Ninawa' governorate, 195 such workshops were attended by 5,500 participants.
There are 52 voter registration sites in Ninawa' for the upcoming constitutional referendum and national elections, and the Iraq Electoral Commission has already met three times with sixteen political parties to ensure that they are getting the word out about how to register and then to vote. USAID provides training assistance to the commission and the embassy monitors the commission's work in Ninawa'.
RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN NINAWA' GOVERNATE
The U.S. Government has taken great care to ensure that Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Funds are equitably distributed to programs assisting all regional and cultural groups throughout Iraq. I want to make clear that USAID does not specifically provide assistance based on ethnicity or religious affiliation. However, we are operating in regions where religious minorities are directly affected. I will confine my remarks to the Ninawa' Governorate, home to a large ChaldoAssyrian population.
Infrastructure
- Of 890 megawatts of new power available so far from USAID's rehabilitation or construction of generation capacity, approximately 100mw is delivered to Ninawa' governorate. An additional 150mw will begin to be delivered to Ninawa' in October 2005.
- Our Community Action partner for Ninawa' governorate has completed 47 projects were completed worth $1.7 m and has 51 projects are in progress worth $1.34 m. The projects vary from school rehabilitation to rural road development to civil society strengthening to community health initiatives. These CAP projects are undertaken in collaboration with the communities they are intended to assist and are contingent upon the community's financial or material contribution. For example, USAID paid for 8.8 km of water pipe to connect a community of 16,000 people in Shinjar district to mountain spring water.
- USAID's local governance program made $1.5 million in grants for rehabilitating Mosul's Central City Park, UXO removal, repair of Governorate road maintenance vehicles, and technical assistance and repairs to the Ninawa' Water Supply Department.
- USAID has made 242 small grants to communities with a value of $13.7 million in the Governorate of Ninawa' for community rebuilding, short-term employment such as debris removal and irrigation canal clean-ups, seminars to promote women's participation in the elections. For example, in three villages near Mosul, USAID granted funds to repair water supply systems, install new water storage tanks, and extend pipelines to benefit 3,900 people.
EDUCATION
Three grantees under USAID's Higher Education and Development program partner U.S. universities with the University of Mosul:
- The State University of New York/Stony Brook and the Universities of Chicago, Boston, and Oxford are partnering with Baghdad University, Al Mustansiriyah University in Baghdad and the Universities of Basrah and Mosul in the areas of Archeology, Library Refurbishment and Environmental Health Research.
- Jackson State University and the Mississippi Consortium for International Development (JSU/MCID) are partnering with the Universities of Mosul and Dahuk and the Nursing Institute/Dahuk to work on the replacement of destroyed equipment and textbooks, retooling the faculty, re-establishing the institutional viability of the university, and expanding inter-university relations.
- The University of Hawaii College of Agriculture and Human Resources is partnering with University of Mosul Hamam al Alil and University of Dahuk Program to improve academic programs, laboratory and research facilities, and administration in the agricultural sciences.
USAID distributed 33,911 school kits to 163 schools in Ninawa' Governorate in February, 2005. And we have rehabilitated 173 schools there. Additionally, our education program there is establishing four model schools which will serve as examples of high quality teaching and learning.
Programs operated by the United Nations in Ninawa' governorate include:
- Rehabilitation of Mosul Gas Power Station (UNDP with Japanese funds)
- 30,000 school children are benefiting from better water and sanitation (UNICEF with USAID funds)
- Technical and vocational schools in Mosul (UNESCO)
Infrastructure projects managed by the embassy's project and Contracting Office PCO in Ninawa' governorate include 34 schools, 19 water distribution, 9 trains stations, the tower at Mosul airport, 9 clinics, 2 hospitals, 9 fire stations, 18 electric substations.
This effectively highlights some of the projects we have been involved in and I would appreciate your comments on ways to strengthen or
supplement them.
Going forward, we are looking at new ways to address the complex issues in Iraq. This includes forming public-private partnerships. To this end we have reached out to companies, associations and private individuals who want to build a strong future for Iraq.
We view the Iraqi-American community as an important partner. We know that you are eager to assist and in response we have developed a tool that allows you to contribute directly to local development projects in Iraq.
Together with GlobalGiving, a leader in online philanthropy, we have created a website, www.iraqpartnership.org that allows you to read about USAID programs in Iraq and confidently donate to those that interest you most.
You can help put desks in classrooms; provide water pumps to farmers; and improve medical services throughout the country.
Iraq Partnership is one way for you to support America's efforts in Iraq but I believe that more substantial contributions are possible. Working together, we can develop innovative ways to help build a stronger, more prosperous and democratic Iraq.
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