Clark Helen: Ministerial Statements — Iraq—New Zealand Assistance 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Clark Helen: Ministerial Statements — Iraq—New Zealand Assistance 
[Sitting date: 10 June 2003. Volume:609;Page:6040. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yesterday the Government announced decisions on further New Zealand contributions to support humanitarian and reconstruction assistance in Iraq. The Government also announced that New Zealand will continue to make a significant contribution to the fight against terrorism under Operation Enduring Freedom. 
The adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1483 on 22 May cleared the way for international participation in the reconstruction of Iraq. That resolution makes it clear that the UN will play a vital role in humanitarian relief in the reconstruction of Iraq and in the restoration and establishment of national and local institutions for representative governance. The resolution paves the way for an internationally recognised representative Government of Iraq to be formed. The Security Council resolution urges member States to play a role in humanitarian relief reconstruction and rehabilitation and welcomes contributions to stability and security. It also provides for those countries like ours which did not participate in the war and are not occupying powers to play a role in Iraq without acquiring the status of occupying powers. The Government has always said that New Zealand was prepared to play a role in post-conflict Iraq but that there needed to be appropriate multilateral cover and authority. UN Security Council Resolution 1483 provides that cover and authority. 
The people of Iraq have suffered greatly from decades of conflict—internal and external—from a Government that abused their human rights and from more than a decade of economic sanctions. Against that background the process of restoring a fully functioning society and economy in Iraq cannot be expected to be easy. It is vital that in accordance with the terms of the UN resolution all countries contribute what they can as quickly as they can. The New Zealand Government has already given practical support to Iraq. It has contributed $4.3 million through UN agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross. We have agreed to provide up to 15 Defence Force personnel to assist in UN mine action service operations there and two have already been deployed. Now we will provide the New Zealand Defence Force engineering group of up to 60 personnel including support staff to work on reconstruction tasks in southern Iraq. The engineering group will operate with a UK unit for a period of up to 12 months and up to three New Zealand Defence Force personnel will be based in the British headquarters to support the New Zealand presence. 
We have also looked at making a civilian contribution to the reconstruction effort in Iraq. One such area is agriculture and we have decided to contribute $1 million to rehabilitate the Iraqi agriculture ministry building in Baghdad. We will also be offering scholarships and custom-made agriculture training courses in New Zealand. Those will help to meet the needs of a generation of young Iraqis who have missed out on education in that critical sector. We are also willing to consider contributing to other civilian tasks that may arise during the period of reconstruction and the subsequent establishment of the Iraqi interim Government. 
We also announced yesterday further initiatives in support of Afghanistan and Operation Enduring Freedom. A significant part of the effort will be through the deployment of a provincial reconstruction team. Such a team is not a combat unit. It provides a strengthened military-observer capacity which also acts as the centre for the facilitation of non-governmental organisation and other civilian contributions to reconstruction. We know that a similar approach was successfully tried in the former Republic of Yugoslavia. In contributing to a provincial reconstruction team we are prepared to lead one if our capacities extend that far and at present we have a reconnaissance team in the field that will report back shortly to us. In addition two NCOs will be deployed to work with a British team that is providing training for the Afghan army. We also consider that to be a priority. We are leaving open the possibility of another round of deployments of the frigates in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. 
New Zealand has long been known for its willingness to provide practical support to societies that are recovering from the trauma of conflict. The assistance to Iraq and Afghanistan is given in line with that longstanding practice. In addition the continuing support for counter-terrorism activities makes a contribution towards building a more secure world for us all.