13.1 |
Resources
“Despite
the political importance in the UK of the conflict in Iraq, very
little funding
has been
made available to address … counter‑insurgency and
post‑conflict
nation‑building.
London and Post have both tended to turn towards GCPP as
a
primary
funding source – in some cases to fund programmes that fit neither
the
GCPP
strategy nor even its conflict prevention mandate (i.e. weapons for
ISF [the
Iraqi
Security Forces], Basra poetry festival). Special Advisers and
Ministers without
budgets are
also drawn to the Pool to fund activities in their areas of
interest.”357
The
Treasury was the lead department within the UK Government on
securing debt relief
for
Iraq.358
It worked
closely with the FCO and other departments to achieve that
objective.
Paris Club
creditors agreed on 21 November 2004 to reduce Iraq’s official debt
by
80 percent.359
The deal
would be delivered in three stages: 30 percent
immediately;
30 percent
on approval of a standard IMF programme; and 20 percent on
completion
of the
standard IMF programme. The deal would write off US$31.1bn of the
US$38.9bn
owed to
Paris Club creditors.
The UK’s
share of that write‑off was approximately
US$1.39bn,360
or £954m
(£337m in UK
financial
year 2004/05, £337m in UK financial year 2005/06 and £280m in UK
financial
Section
10.3 describes the Government’s role in the negotiations leading up
to that
agreement.
588.
A DFID review
of the GCPP and ACPP, published in March 2004, stated
that
the issue
of funding military equipment and minor military operations had
been
controversial.362
The position
agreed in May 2003 was that:
“•
The supply
of military equipment will only be funded if essential to the
success
of
strategies. Weapons and ammunition will only be provided on an
exceptional
basis,
subject to Ministerial agreement.
•
Major
military operations will not be funded from the Pools.
•
Only
peace‑support‑type minor military operations will be considered for
Pool
funding
…”
357
Paper DFID,
31 May 2005, ‘GCPP Iraq 2004‑05’.
358
Paper
Treasury, 2010, ‘Iraq Briefing – Debt’.
359
Paris Club,
Press Communiqué, 21 November 2004, Restructuring
the Iraqi debt ‑ Agreement between
the Paris
Club and Iraq.
360
Briefing
Treasury, [undated], ‘Brief: meeting with Barham Saleh, Deputy
Prime Minister of Iraq’.
361
Letter
Cabinet Office [junior official] to Aldred, 13 September 2011,
‘Iraq Inquiry: Request for Further
Information
on Funding’.
362
Department
for International Development, Evaluation
of the Conflict Prevention Pools: Portfolio
Review,
March
2004.
541