Iraq (Hansard, 1 April 2004)

§ Harry Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the Iraqi Governing Council Will be different after the transfer of sovereignty; and if he will make a statement. [164085]

§ Mr. Rammell
The Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) will cease to exist as the embodiment of Iraqi sovereignty (as provided for in UNSCR 1511) after 30 June. As set out in Article 2B(1) of the Transitional Administrative Law agreed on 8 March, it will be replaced by a fully sovereign Iraqi Interim Government. The best way to establish the Interim Government is now under discussion among Iraqis, the IGC and the Coalition Provisional Authority. The UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi is due to return to Iraq soon to take part in these discussions.

§ Mr. Drew
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what protection is provided for religious communities in Iraq. [164027]

§ Mr. Rammell
The coalition is working hard to strengthen the Iraqi security and judicial sectors to provide law and order for all Iraqis and to safeguard their rights.
Those rights are laid out in the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) agreed by the Iraqi Governing Council on March 8. A copy of the TAL has been placed in the Library of the House. Article 12 states that All Iraqis are equal in their rights without regard to gender, sect, opinion, belief, nationality, religion, or origin, and they are equal before the law. Discrimination against an Iraqi citizen on the basis of his gender, nationality, religion, or origin is prohibited.

§ Mr. Drew
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what protection for the role of women in Government there will be in the plans to hand over power to an Iraqi Government. [164088]

§ Mr. Rammell
The Transitional Administrative Law includes provision for an electoral system designed to achieve a goal of no less than one-quarter representation of women in the Transitional National Assembly to be elected no later than January 2005. The Coalition Provisional Authority is discussing with the Iraqi Governing Council, other Iraqis and the UN how best to achieve this target and to ensure women are strongly represented in the Interim Government to be established after 30 June.