ABA Article on KRG’s Anti-Corruption Strategy

Most people who aren’t lawyers in the U.S. practicing international law don’t read the American Bar Association’s publications, so I just want to highlight a brief article that appeared in the organization’s Anti-Corruption Committee Newsletter. It highlights the transparency and anti-corruption initiative being undertaken by the Kurdistan Regional Government—which commenced last July. From the ABA Section of International Law:

“The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the government of the…region which oversees the administration of the three provinces of Erbil, Duhok, and Suleimaniah, is looking to be a leader within Iraq in terms of fighting corruption. Iraq has consistently fared poorly in international studies on the presence of corruption, most recently being ranked 176 out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index. This perception is not helped by the steady stream of bad news coming out of Baghdad’s battle against corruption. Recognizing that this negative perception is causing serious harm to Kurdistan’s efforts to attract international investment, the KRG has taken the unusual step of creating and implementing its own anti-corruption strategy.

“On July 12, 2009, then-Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani announced a comprehensive anti-corruption and transparency strategy designed to, in his words, “…improve international and domestic confidence and increase investment and job development, while helping to raise the living standards of our Region.” This strategy is founded on four principles central to eliminating corruption: (1) the rule of law, (2) public service is a public trust, (3) governmental functions are to be open and transparent, and (4) public funds must always be used for their intended purposes.

“The initiative is being undertaken entirely by the KRG, without receiving any funding from donors. KRG representatives attended the most recent Global Forum Against Corruption and Safeguarding Integrity in Doha to interface with global experts and improve their strategy to match international best practices.

“The new government led by Prime Minister Dr. Barham Salih has reaffirmed the commitment of the KRG to the project. In a recent statement celebrating International Anti-Corruption Day, Dr. Barham reiterated the right of all citizens of the KRG to expect the highest standards of conduct and announced that the government would soon release a new comprehensive Code of Conduct that will govern the behavior of the civil service.”

There is no doubt, the KRG’s Good Governance and Transparency Strategy represents tangible evidence that we are aware of our shortcomings as a burgeoning government and region, and that we are actually doing something about them. To ensure our effort is done in the most professional and, yes, transparent manner, the KRG retained PriceWaterhouseCoopers, one of the world’s largest financial and accountancy consulting firms, to assist in the development and implementation of our strategy. As the program unfolds, I will keep you updated on its progress.

My Week Speaking—Bumped by Barack Obama

This week has been a busy one, with numerous speaking events in and around the Washington, DC area—opportunities to inform both media and government officials about the Kurdistan Region and what’s happening in Iraq.

It was poetic, however, that before delivering remarks on security in our Region to an audience of defense and security experts that the President of the United States bumped me!

Shortly before arriving to the Brookings Institution, where the speech was, I received word that Barack Obama had decided to use the venue to discuss domestic jobs creation. This was an acute reminder that a president’s domestic agenda will always take precedent over foreign affairs.

Undeterred, the event—a part of Brookings Executive Educations program—moved to an alternative location not too far away.

Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute at the Department of Homeland Security, and former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations for Mission Support, Department of Peacekeeping Operations spoke before me. Following me was Strobe Talbott, President, Brookings Institution—former Deputy Secretary of State and former Special Ambassador for the Soviet Union and Russia. More than 50 experts from the government—from offices such as the Department of Defense and Army—attended.

The tone at the Brookings event, and the audience’s continuing interest in Iraq, was decided different from another event I spoke at a few days earlier—which was summed up by one of my fellow panelists, Judith Yaphe, an American expert on Iraq:

“Anybody remember Iraq? You don’t hear about it much anymore. But that doesn’t mean it’s gone away and it doesn’t mean that everything is fine either.”

My sentiments exactly.

Judith joined me at the University of Maryland’s Knight Center for Specialized Journalism for a lively discussion on the Iraq issue—much of which dealt with the place of the Kurdistan Region. I’ve known Judith for years. She’s a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the U.S. National Defense University.

Judith went on: “Iraq now faces its greatest crisis since Saddam disappeared…. This is the most critical juncture in any revolution, and what Iraq has gone through and is going through is revolutionary.”

Again, I couldn’t agree more.

The problem is that this fact isn’t being recognized as the U.S. shifts its focus to Afghanistan and leaves us with mounting challenges and wishful thinking. It is the mistake of the American policymaker to believe or expect Iraq to be stable for the sake of stability, ignoring more than 80 years of history and oppression.

Our national culture—for Sunni, Shia and Kurds—is based on insecurity, which is preventing progress. Yet, at a time when several critical issues need to be sorted out, issues that will shape the very foundation and future of Iraq, we’re being rushed through it all.

Getting these issues right is more important than dealing with them quickly. Iraq cannot be expected to turn from dictatorship to democracy in seven years, and it will take a commitment on the part of the Americans to help us see it through.

During the conversation we had that morning, this was much of the thrust of what both of us talked about. With almost 30 reporters attending from traditional and new media publications, there were plenty of great questions. Click here to see some video of the event, or to review the Knight Center’s Twitter.