Iraq

To contribute to the existing pool of evidence on the dynamic interplay between illicit trade and armed conflicts, this report looks at illicit trade flows in four separate conflict-affected countries in the MENA region: Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen. For the case of Yemen, the report also presents a deep-dive analysis of illicit trade flows and the relevant governance environment. The findings highlight that illicit trade networks in these countries are dynamic, complex, and heavily integrated into regional and global networks.

This paper empirically tests whether individual-level informality status is linked to a weak social contract, as measured through individual perceptions of its various aspects. Accounting for workers’ heterogeneity and a possible simultaneity between informality status and attitudes towards institutions, the paper shows that informal workers are systematically more dissatisfied with the social contract, as compared to formal workers. The paper enriches the literature by looking at a broad range of aspects of the social contract. The results show that informality is associated with a lower level of confidence in labour unions, in parliament, in civil services; a lower satisfaction with the healthcare system, the way the government performs its duties, the quality of healthcare, and the city setting. The paper concludes with some policy implications.

In May 2016, the World Humanitarian Summit represented a turning point for humanitarian policies. The Summit gave the impetus to seriously reflect on how to operate in environments where people’s needs don’t coincide anymore with existing mandates and sectors. The OECD believes that an effective humanitarian response is the one that addresses affected people’s needs in a timely and efficient manner. One way to measure effectiveness is to ask aid beneficiaries what they think about the aid they get. With this is mind, the OECD initiated a first round of surveys during the cycle 2016-2017 in six countries affected by different type of crisis : Lebanon, Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Somalia and Uganda. Two years after the World humanitarian Summit, the OECD and Ground Truth Solutions took another round of surveys in the same countries, plus Bangladesh. The purpose of this second round of surveys is to assess whether the commitments made at the World Humanitarian Summit, including the Grand Bargain, are having a tangible impact on people’s lives in the most difficult contexts in the world. This paper provides some answers to this question.

Iraq's Energy Sector: A Roadmap to a Brighter Future is the International Energy Agency’s first in-depth analysis of the country’s energy sector since 2012. It examines the problems affecting Iraq’s power sector and offers recommendations for how to address the situation, including the potential role of renewables. It also takes a detailed look at the country’s oil and gas industry and its prospects for the next decade.

Public procurement is a particularly corruption-prone government activity. Governments around the globe have grown increasingly alert to the risks of corruption and to the need for greater transparency and accountability in public procurement given its tremendous importance, both economic (10-15% of gross domestic product)1 and strategic (procuring the goods and providing the services that administrations need).

The challenges ahead for Iraq in managing economic recovery and implementing governance reforms remain considerable. While security improvements and increased oil revenues allowed economic reconstruction to take a substantial step forward over the period 2007-2008, there are still many concerns regarding the country’s future, particularly in fields such as security, infrastructure, electricity production and distribution, water and fuel supply, and telecommunications. High unemployment rates remain a source of urgent concern. Reforms in governance have allowed a relative rehabilitation of Iraqi institutions and progress in the rebuilding of the state, but this process must be further consolidated. At the economic level, challenges remain numerous, with investments remaining modest due to persistent political uncertainties. The decline of oil prices since 2008 has forced the Government of Iraq (GoI) to reduce its budget for reconstruction plans, and that, combined with the failing state of the country’s oil infrastructure, is likely to prolong severe financial problems, impairing the capacity of the GoI to implement its ambitious agenda. Also, as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) 2008 World Investment Report emphasises, FDI inflows into Iraq have remained low – USD 448 million in 2007 – and are directed mainly at oil and petrochemical investment projects.* They have, in fact, been lower than in any of the neighbouring MENA countries apart from Kuwait.

Expectations of citizens, businesses and civil society drive governments to ensure appropriate standards of integrity among public officials. Enhancing integrity and preventing corruption is a key consideration in their day to day work as they seek to maintain trust in government and public decision making.

Iraq’s recent political development has seen remarkable progress: a new political system and constitution have given rise to competitive elections, crucial policy development in such areas as the regulatory framework for governance and investment, and the creation or strengthening of relevant government agencies. In this context, the MENA-OECD Initiative on Governance and Investment for Development, within the framework of the International Compact for Iraq (ICI), conducted a series of capacity development workshops and policy consultations with the Iraqi government in 2007-2008, addressing the substantive reform challenges presented in this publication.

The GoI has become increasingly aware of the risks posed by corruption to its country’s development and investment programme. “Corruption” as a term covers a multitude of sins, but is frequently defined as the “abuse of public or private office for private gain”. It distorts economic decision-making and saps economic activity, diminishing the quantity and quality of domestic and foreign investments and aid projects, while businesses that disregard good governance are unduly rewarded with dominance. This, in turn, curbs growth and undermines the credibility of governmental institutions in public opinion. Corruption is particularly critical in countries rich in resources and torn by major military conflicts since the 1990s. They are prone to instability and weak rule of law,1 and opportunities to divert revenue from resources on a grand scale are plentiful, while punitive measures are almost non-existent.2 As many Iraqis observe, corruption also exacerbates sectarian conflict, hampers the re-establishment of functioning public institutions operating under the rule of law, and deters the development of a business-friendly climate. Multiple rounds of information exchange between the GoI, Iraqi business actors, and MENA-OECD have confirmed the existence of widespread corruption in Iraq and its inherent link to the country’s slow economic recovery. Strikingly, the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index published in 2008 ranks Iraq 178 out of 180 countries.

Iraq faces considerable economic, political and security challenges. Although security has improved since 2007, it remains problematic, and high perceived levels of corruption in the public and private sectors, closely interlinked with a “resource curse”, continue to impede government policies and deter investors. In order to overcome these serious obstacles to economic development and investment, the government of Iraq (GoI) has committed to anti-corruption and investment reforms – prerequisites for progress in all other areas.

Corruption affects public procurement in developed and developing countries alike. To fight it, however, any good practitioner must first study and understand it. This chapter explores the techniques used to misappropriate funds and seeks to draw up as comprehensive an inventory as possible of the types of fraud and corruption that have tainted public procurement. The aim is to make stakeholders (public procurement practitioners, elected officials, businesses, investigators, magistrates, etc.) aware of the risks of fraud and corruption.

This chapter reviews the bilateral and multilateral agreements that inform Iraq’s investment framework, as well as the growing body of domestic provisions stemming from the 2006 Investment Law, in light of the GoI’s stated objective to increase investment in the country.

Iraq’s new Constitution (2005) states that all Iraqis are equal before the law and prohibits discrimination based on sex. It cites Islam as a basic source of legislation and forbids the passing of laws contradictory to its “established rulings”. As a result, the situation of women in Iraq very much depends on the implementation of Islamic law.

Cette partie contient la note de référence, l’ordre du jour ainsi que les conclusions de la réflexion du CAD sur la reconstruction en Irak, tenue à Paris le 21 et 22 juillet, 2003. La réflexion a servi de cadre à la tenue d’un échange de vue informel sur les défis que posent les secours, le redressement et la reconstruction en Irak...