§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government supports the establishment of a United Nations mediator to Iraq. [171810]
§ Mr. RammellThe Government supports a vital and developing role for the United Nations in Iraq. The UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, is already playing an important role building an Iraqi consensus on the formation of an Interim Government by 30 June. We welcome his proposals and look forward to working with him and the people of Iraq on developing them. We also welcome the role of Carina Perelli, Head of the UN's Elections Assistance Division, whose proposals for the preparations for elections in early 2005 have been agreed by the Iraqi Governing Council.
§ Ms DrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will encourage those responsible for the final Iraq constitution to amend the constitution so that the target of 25 per cent. of women in political positions in the interim constitution becomes a minimum requirement. [172201]
§ Mr. RammellThe Transitional National Assembly will be formed by democratic elections by early 2005. The Transitional Administrative Law stipulates that the electoral law shall aim to achieve the goal of having women constitute no less than one quarter of the National Assembly. The members of that Assembly will draft the Iraqi constitution, which will then be ratified by a referendum. We would expect democratically-elected members to ensure appropriate representation of women and we will ensure they are fully aware of the Government's policy of encouraging this.