Your Excellency Chairman of the First World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth,

Your Excellencies heads and members of the delegations,

It gives me great pleasure to convey to you my sincere greetings on behalf of myself and in the name of the members of the delegation of the Republic of Iraq that are participating in this Conference. I would like to congratulate you for being elected Chairman of the First World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth that is now being held in Lisbon for the period of 8-12 August 1998. I am fully confident that you are worthy of this trust and responsibility. I would also like to take this opportunity to give credit to the great efforts exerted for the preparation for this Conference. It is our belief that this Conference will achieve great significance through the topics that will be discussed concerning the conditions of the youths in the world, their problems, the facilities available for taking care of them and the means for developing these facilities, particularly now we are approaching the twenty-first century. This demands that we should all work very hard and use our full resources to arrive at the best possible decisions and recommendations that are intended to serve the youth sector.

Your Excellency,

Everyone in this Conference know that Iraq is a country of an ancient civilization that dates back to more than six thousand years. It is a country that is rich in heritage, history and resources. It was from the land of Mesopotamia that the first civilization known to mankind evolved. It was from Baghdad, Dar-al-Salaam (City of Peace), that the beacons of scholarship, culture and civilization started to beam out to all the world The Iraqis have had their continuous role in building the civilization of mankind across history.

The Government of the Republic of Iraq has given great attention to the youth, being fully aware of their important active role in the social, economic and cultural development, and of the fact that they represent the basis of power and construction in the society. The Government stresses that winning the youth is the definite security we can have for the future.

The Constitution of the Republic of Iraq of 1970 stressed that the State secures to the youth the right for free education in all study stages. A number of educational legislations have been made to ensure the achievement of the desired educational goals of spreading education for all sectors of the society without any discrimination of religion, sex, language or region. Both compulsory education and the national campaign for the eradication of illiteracy have been going hand in hand since 1978. Another development is the implementation of basic education and the expansion of secondary and vocational education. All these are tangible practical indicators that point to the features of the education and youth policy in Iraq, which is compatible with the noble objectives that our Conference is trying to achieve.

The Iraqi sport has witnessed a huge advance in quality in all fields whether on the regional, Arab or international levels. The items of sport action have been expanded and developed in a way that is compatible with the orientations of the youth. This has the effect of establishing a distinctive place for Iraq in the Arab and international competitions, tournaments and events. The youth sector has received particular attention in the fields of health care, mass media and arts. Numerous scientific and cultural events have been held, which have contributed to the establishment of a sound basis and strong supports for the continuity of the development of society.

Your Excellency,

Friends,

Iraq has been exposed to an unjust aggression and subjected to large-scale sanctions since 1990. The continuation of the sanctions for eight years has left serious effects on the Iraqi people in general and on the children and youths in particular. In addition, it has led to shortage of food and medicine, the spread of disease, extensive pollution and massive damage of the environment. These are the result of low operating capacity for the purification of drinking water and the stoppage of drainage stations due to lack of spare parts. The effects of the damage on the environment has been negatively reflected on the individual's health. Further, there has been a severe drop in generating electric power. Other effects include limitation of job opportunities for the youths as well as opportunities to get married and form a family. The youths have not been able to attend youth conferences and gatherings with other youth representatives in the world. The sanctions have also led to obstructing the achievement of plans for educational development. More than eight thousand school buildings comprising three million school seats have been destroyed in the aggression together with educational equipment worth millions of dollars. These are now very difficult to substitute, considering the continuous growth in the number of pupils seeking schooling at a hard time when the sanctions are still ongoing. This will deprive a large number of children and youths from the opportunity of joining schools or continuing their learning.

The continuation of the sanctions will also deprive the education sector of any acquisition related to the continuous and fast growing developments in science and technology in the world. This is due to insufficient funds necessary for development and renewal. It is also due to the freezing of the Iraqi assets in foreign banks and, thus, the inability to import school equipment and necessities. Furthermore, scholarship and award programmes for carrying out postgraduate studies abroad have been stopped.

The severe economic, social and health conditions that the youths have been suffering from have forced a substantial proportion to drop out and leave schools or to abandon their professional jobs and find jobs that are not compatible with their fields of specialisation. This has the effect of weakening the constructive role of the youth in the society. Some have been exposed to unnecessary risks or diseases as a result of exhaustion, problems of combining work and study, malnutrition, frustration and the inability to enjoy any leisure time activities, whether in art or sport, or take up any hobbies, which are all considered basic requisites if youths are to use their time and energy properly.

Doubtless, all the effects mentioned so far contradicts the spirit of the UN Charter and the charters and decisions adopted by world humanitarian organisations. Particular mention should be made of the Charter of Human Rights, which the United Nations adopted on 10 December 1948 and which stipulates that the enjoyment of culture, education and science is one of the natural rights of the peoples of the world and that every individual has the right for free participation in the cultural activities of the societies. Other international covenants adopted by the UN afterwards all stress that UN member states should comply with the International Charter of Human Rights and should totally implement its provisions. Among them are the international covenant of 1966, which stresses the protection of the economic, social and cultural rights of the nations of the world, and the declaration made by the UN in 1969 which stipulates that the fruits of technological advancement should be fairly distributed between developed and developing countries.

The continuation of the sanctions will both quantitatively and qualitatively multiply the size of the problems that we have mentioned.

Your Excellency,

Friends,

Iraq has, with unparalleled patience, firmness and perceptiveness, complied with all the resolutions issued by the Security Council throughout the last eight years despite the great hardships and the serious effects brought about by the illness and death of hundreds of thousands of children, youths and older people due to malnutrition, shortage of drugs and other basic living necessities, problems that are now well known to the world. In addition, all people have been deprived of the opportunities of obtaining the basic requisites for scientific and technological growth and of attending international conferences.

Despite the exceptional efforts exerted by the Government of the Republic of Iraq to reduce the size of the negative effects of the sanctions to the minimum through the best possible use of available resources and capacities, these efforts will remain limited in efficiency and effectiveness, unless powerful, just and far-reaching calls are made for lifting the unjust sanctions from the people of Iraq. Since Iraq has met all its commitments for the international community by complying to the resolutions adopted by the Security Council, there is no reason why the sanctions should continue.

Your Excellency,

Friends,

This Conference has a great historic, human, moral and educational obligation for making a decision or a recommendation to call the General Secretary of the United Nations and the Security Council and the Governments of the World to make a fast and serious effort to lift the unjustified sanctions from the people of Iraq. We would like Iraq to assume again its active role in participating in the economic, social, scientific and educational development, in reinforcing the ties of mutual attachment, understanding and cooperation with all the countries of the world and in coping with the general movement of development, advancement and growth in civilization, all based on sound and fair principles, especially now we are approaching the twenty-first century.

Thank you for granting me the opportunity to talk before the Conference.