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Friday, 14 December 2007
Museum für Völkerkunde - Seminarraum DG39
A-1010 WIEN, Neue Hofburg
Topic: "Conflict in Iraq: Status of the Kurdish Populated Kirkuk"
The
following 7 positions are available:
3 representatives of the Iraqi government, consisting of the following positions:
1 representative of the Shiites
1 representative of the Sunnis
1
representative of the Kurds
The
three representatives should try to formulate a common position for the Iraqi
government.
1
representative of the EU as facilitator
1
representative of the US
1
representative of Syria
1
representative of Turkey
Background and hypothetical scenario
Iraq
experienced years of external military intervention, insurgent violence, and
inter-communal strive. As part of national and international efforts to
consolidate the still fragile state-building process and create a peaceful order
in Iraq, the European Union has brought together the main national and
international parties to negotiate one of the most crucial issues: The future
status of the Kurdish provinces in Iraq.
The
US has withdrawn the major part of their military forces (with the exception of
25-30.000 troops to carry out “anti-terrorism-operations”) and
administration and general security has been transferred into the hands of the
Iraqi government.
Attacks
by Sunni insurgent groups and violent acts carried out by Shiite death-squads
decreased, but violence incidents still occur and without a settlement between
the different communities the situation might again escalate into civil war.
The
Kurdish provinces in northern Iraq maintain a semi-autonomous status and are
governed by a regional Kurdish government. This province is the most stable and
economically prosperous in Iraq, but its future development depends on better
cooperation with the other communities and neighbouring countries. Security
within the Kurdish provinces and at the border with neighbouring countries is
currently in the hands of the Kurdish forces, mainly the “Peshmerga” militia.
The
oil-rich city of Kirkuk is partly under Kurdish de-facto control, but is not
officially under the authority of the Kurdish government. One of the three oil
pipelines that lead out of the Kirkuk-oilfield (the one via Syria) is
dysfunctional and can not be repaired in the near future. The other pipelines
via Turkey and through central Iraq are workable and account for 50% of total
pipeline capacity each, but oil supply has been stopped. The area of Kirkuk also
is one of the centres of the Turcoman ethnic minority in Iraq which historically
has close ties to Turkey. Turcomen suffered gravely under Saddam Hussein’s
policy of ethnic cleansing and today they constitute less than 10% of the
population in the northern Iraqi provinces.
The
Iraqi government is dominated by the major Shiite parties and some Kurdish
representatives, while the Sunnites feel that they can not effectively
participate in government decisions. Still, in the negotiations, any agreement
on what the “Iraqi government” should do (deployment of Iraqi forces, etc.)
needs the consent of all three parties. Many members of the Sunni elite have
been banned from any government- and civil-service position on the grounds that
they were members of the Baath-party.
A
draft constitution has been formulated, but some parties still oppose several of
the regulations, particularly concerning the distribution of oil revenues. In
its current form, the draft constitution states that future oil-concessions are
entirely under the authority of the regional governments.
The
social and economic recovery of Iraq, particularly the production of oil, is
severely hampered by the unstable security situation, the lack of agreement on a
non-transitional constitution and government, and the lack of co-operation with
bordering countries. Latter have to bear a significant burden of Iraqi
instability as well. E.g. more than 50,000 refugees are still living in camps in
Syria which begins to destabilise the social balance locally. And most recently
the Eastern Turkey has seen an upsurge in violent attacks by the PKK.
Concerning
oil resources in the proximity of Kirkuk: There is a so called “super-giant”
oilfield in the area of Kirkuk, which is several times larger than any other
oilfield in Iraq. This oilfield is already exploited, though not to its full
potential due to out-of-date installations and lack of pipeline capacity.
At
present, the
question of the right to give concessions for fields within the Kurdish (and
other areas) and the distribution of future oil revenues are crucial. The
current regulations of the draft constitution, as well as the concessions
already given to foreign companies, are open for renegotiation.
The conference is convened by the European Union.
The main issues at the conference
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The status of Kirkuk and the adjacent area
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The administration of the concerned region
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Distribution of oil revenue
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The region in context of the national consolidation in Iraq
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The region in the broader sub-regional context
Brief
description of the positions of the negotiators
We had prepared a detailed description of all the positions offered in a report, which was distributed to every participant after registration.
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