The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
652.
The Justice
Sector Adviser for the International Legal Assistance
Consortium
(ILAC) and
DFID arrived at the British Embassy Baghdad on 22
September.598
Her
report
described the positive reception of training programmes, but noted
that that was
“accompanied
by clear statements of need for more”. Reform of the Iraqi Bar
Association
would
continue to be “complex and difficult due to the factional and
political in‑fighting”; it
was seen as
a “long‑term project”.
653.
The consultant
identified factors which should inform future training and
strategy
of the
justice sector, including the importance of increasing the number
of jurists being
trained, to
involving women and the regions, and for all training sessions to
include the
basic
requirements of a fair trial (civil and criminal). She also
recommended establishing
a donor
co‑ordination mechanism under Iraqi leadership which would help to
provide a
clear
picture of all assistance being provided and planned and identify
outstanding areas
of
need.
654.
At the AHMGIR
on 9 December the point was made in discussion that
“there
was a
demand in Iraq for more judicial assistance”.599
The minutes
recorded that Lord
Goldsmith
was “exploring what more help we could offer”.
655.
On 15
December, a junior DFID official advised Mr Benn to write to
Lord Goldsmith
explaining
DFID’s work in the justice sector.600
The
official wrote that, following the
AHMGIR on 9
December, Lord Goldsmith had “made clear his frustration” to
officials that
“more was
not being done and that he [was] not being kept sufficiently
informed”.
656.
Mr Benn
wrote to Lord Goldsmith on 13 January 2005.601
Mr Benn
wrote that
“DFID’s
bilateral assistance” had focused on the ILAC project and that, to
date:
•
93 judges
had received training on the independence of the
judiciary;
•
263 judges,
prosecutors and lawyers had received training by the
International
Bar
Association in International Human Rights Law; and
•
13 trainers
had been trained with “cascade training” reported for
between
100 and
200 lawyers in Iraq.
657.
The letter
also highlighted two programmes being funded by the GCPP:
the
Southern
Iraq Prison Programme (to ensure accordance with international
minimum
standards
for the treatment of prisoners and monitoring capacity, and the
MOI
capacity‑building
programme. Mr Benn wrote that the work was undertaken “against
the
598
Email
Hoddinott to [Consultant], 10 October 2004, ‘Olivia’s Initial
Report’ attaching Report Holdsworth,
9 October
2004, ‘Initial Report – Justice Sector Adviser,
Baghdad’.
599
Minutes, 9
December 2004, Ad Hoc Group on Iraq Rehabilitation
meeting.
600
Minute DFID
[junior official] to Private Secretary [DFID], 15 December 2004,
‘Iraq: Letter to the Attorney
General on
Work in the Justice Sector’.
601
Letter Benn
to Goldsmith, 13 January 2005, [untitled] attaching Paper, ‘Iraq:
Update on Donor Support
to the
Justice Sector’.
198