12.1 |
Security Sector Reform
1146.
The
establishment of the Rule of Law Green Zone was discussed at a
meeting
between Mr
Miliband, Lord Goldsmith and Mr Browne on 7 March and was
described
1147.
Baroness
Scotland, Lord Goldsmith’s successor, visited Iraq from 19
to
21 November.1082
The purpose
of her visit was to “emphasise the importance of the
Rule of Law
and the independence of the judiciary”. She summarised that there
was “a
long way to
go to establish the Rule of Law in Iraq” and although her message
was well
received
there was a need to “ensure that those words are met with action”.
She stated:
“I was very
much struck that there was a genuine lack of leadership
and
understanding
of where the responsibility for driving forward the Rule of Law
agenda
lies within
the Government of Iraq. It seemed to be the responsibility of
everyone
and the
responsibility of no‑one!”
1148.
A Report to
Congress on 14 December 2007 stated that the previous
September,
Prime Minister Maliki had signed an executive order requiring
humane
treatment
of detainees and more expeditious processing of their
cases.1083
The
order
directed a
Ministerial Committee for Rule of Law and Detention, consisting of
senior
representatives
from the relevant ministries, to meet weekly and address
issues.
1149.
On 20
December, a junior FCO official submitted advice to
Mr Miliband about
working
more closely with the US to reduce the number of their Iraqi
detainees.1084
The
official
wrote that the Ministerial Committee had “been taking steps to
improve Iraqi
procedures
for detainee handling, but progress [was] slow”.
1150.
The official
stated that detainees were “frequently subject to abuse”, mainly
in
MOI
facilities, “often to obtain confessions”. The Ministry of
Justice’s prisons suffered
from
“severe overcrowding”. The official wrote:
“Through a
combination of negligence, incompetence, poor co‑ordination
and
lack of
adequate facilities it can take a long time to process detainees
through the
investigative,
judicial and correctional systems.”
1151.
The
Stabilisation Fund was introduced in July 2007, effectively
replacing the
GCPP for
the funding of SSR projects in Iraq (see Section
13.1).1085
The
Stabilisation
Fund was
owned by the MOD but was jointly managed with the FCO and
DFID.
1081
Email
PS/SoS [FCO] to Brind, 12 March 2007, ‘Foreign Secretary’s Meeting
with Attorney General and
Defence
Secretary, 7 March’.
1082
Letter
Scotland to Miliband, 3 December 2007, ‘Iraq’.
1083
Report to
Congress, 14 December 2007, Measuring
Stability and Security in Iraq.
1084
Minute FCO
[junior official] to PS/SofS [FCO], 20 December 2007, ‘Iraq:
Detention and Reconciliation:
UK Approach
for 2008’.
1085
Minute
Treasury [junior official] to Chief Secretary, 23 July 2007,
‘CSR2007 – Conflict Prevention and
Post‑Conflict
Stabilisation’.
323