The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
95.
During 2001,
on the initiative of Mr Robin Cook, the Foreign Secretary, the
UK
Government
worked on a draft ‘Contract with the Iraqi People’ intended to
deliver a
clear
statement on the steps the international community would take to
restore and
rehabilitate
Iraq in the event of Saddam Hussein’s departure (see Box
below).68
The
‘Contract with the Iraqi People’ made clear that Iraq could not be
re-integrated into
the
international community without fundamental change in the behaviour
of Saddam
Hussein’s
regime, but stopped short of calling directly for the regime’s
overthrow.69
It
was
designed
“to appeal to regional states and to signal to any successor regime
the sort of
relationship
with the international community that would be in
prospect”.
The last
(December 2001) version of the text seen by the Inquiry
stated:
“We want to
work with the International Community to enhance stability and
security
in the Gulf
region. We are committed to maintenance of Iraq’s sovereignty
and
territorial
integrity within its current borders.
“We want to
work with an Iraq which respects the rights of its people, lives at
peace
with its
neighbours and which observes international law. We want to see
Iraq’s full
integration
into the International Community.
“The Iraqi
people have a right to live in a society based on the rule of law,
free from
repression,
murder, torture and arbitrary arrest; to enjoy respect for human
rights,
economic
freedom and prosperity.
“For all
this to happen the Iraqi regime must abide by its obligations
under
international
law …
“The record
of the current regime … suggests that its priorities remain
elsewhere.
The regime
must end its mistreatment of the Iraqi people and be held to
account
for its
war crimes. We must ensure that the Iraqi people have access to
information
not
controlled by the regime. Those who wish to promote change in Iraq
deserve
our support.
“Until such
time as Iraq is able to rejoin the international community we will
continue
to ensure
that it is not in a position to threaten its neighbours and that
there are
tight
controls on its ability to build up its military and WMD
capability. We will also
endeavour
to minimise the impact of these controls on the Iraqi
people.”
The
‘Contract’ set out objectives to be pursued once Iraq rejoined the
international
community:
•
support for an
international reconstruction programme for Iraq;
•
rebuilding
political relations with the rest of the world;
68
Minute MED
[junior official] to Goulty, 7 June 2001, ‘Iraq Basket III: The
Opposition And Regime Change’
attaching
Paper Middle East Department, 7 June 2001, ‘Iraq: Policy Towards
The Opposition’ and Annex,
‘Contract
with the Iraqi People’.
69
Letter
McDonald to Tatham, 3 December 2001, ‘Iraq: Options’ attaching
Paper [unattributed and
undated],
‘Contract with the Iraqi People’.
130