Participation of the Chairman of the East Gate Center in the Rafidain Forum 2022 "The World is Changing"

held in Baghdad, Al Rashid Hotel from 26 to 29.09.2022

The fourth edition of the forum was held with the participation of 33 countries and in cooperation with 20 research and strategic studies centers from different countries of the world, and under the media sponsorship of 15 satellite channels and media institutions, and financial sponsorship from a group of Iraqi non-governmental commercial and economic institutions.

He also participated in the fourth workshop entitled "The Iraqi Constitution: Ongoing Violations... Deferred adjustments. Absent Solutions" for the Rafidain Forum RCDFORUM2022, which lasted from 26-29 / 9 September under the slogan "The World is Changing", and a large number of government officials, academics and those interested in this regard participated in the workshop.

Dialogue Workshop: "The Iraqi Constitution, Ongoing Violations, Deferred Amendments, Absent Solutions"

The President of the Centre's speech at the workshop:

As the individual who has labeled this workshop, I maintain that our landscape remains unsuitable for constitutional modifications. First and foremost, this issue is entwined with culture. We must ask ourselves: Has the culture of accepting the constitution as a unifying document reached a state of stability among all Iraqis? There exists a profound discrepancy between those who see it as a benefit and accept it, and those who do not see it as a benefit and hence reject it.

So what ought we to do to reach these points? In my view, we should turn our attention to procedural steps. For instance, in the West, if they wish to introduce a legislation concerning a garbage bin, the decision is made today and executed a year later. During that year, institutions work on enlightening people about the harms and benefits. They intervene in the society until they arrive at a consensus. Consequently, when the bins are introduced, people accept this subject matter.

Now, we come to the topic of constitutional amendments to achieve security, satisfaction, acceptance, and stability, so that we can transition. There are articles within the constitution that, if activated, could guarantee a kind of assurance, to an extent. Many provinces that are not satisfied and fear for the achievements due to clauses that have not been executed. For example, Article 105 talks about the rights of the provinces and regions in fair participation in the administration of the Federal State, which was applied to missions and other things. Constitutional texts that have not been implemented and specialized bodies have not been formed.

Also, Article 106 is a commission to oversee federal allocations, justice in distribution, and transparency in bidding. A lot of constitutional articles, if bodies specialized in them were formed, societal conviction would be achieved in the importance of the constitution, and the matter of amendments would become incredibly straightforward. It could start with the matters concerning the constituencies, not those concerning the alignments, and the amendment would be achieved.

I believe that we should proceed in this direction, and the workshop's title suggests that "the problem is fundamentally a cultural issue".

Iraq 2005 Constitution

Article 105

A public commission shall be established to guarantee the rights of the regions and governorates that are not organized in a region to ensure their fair participation in managing the various state federal institutions, missions, fellowships, delegations, and regional and international conferences. The commission shall be comprised of representatives of the federal government and representatives of the regions and governorates that are not organized in a region, and shall be regulated by a law.

Article 106

A public commission shall be established by a law to audit and appropriate federal revenues. The commission shall be comprised of experts from the federal government, the regions, the governorates, and its representatives, and shall assume the following responsibilities:

• First: To verify the fair distribution of grants, aid, and international loans pursuant to the entitlement of the regions and governorates that are not organized in a region.
• Second: To verify the ideal use and division of the federal financial resources.
• Third: To guarantee transparency and justice in appropriating funds to the governments of the regions and governorates that are not organized in a region in accordance with the established percentages.