Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—The government is concerned about violence and human rights abuses in Iraq, including violence against women and minorities. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, when he visited Baghdad last week, raised the government’s concern with Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister. The government is encouraged that the Iraqi government takes seriously its constitutional responsibility to safeguard the human rights of all Iraqis and is also encouraged that the Iraqi government is imposing its rightful authority over areas of Iraq recently terrorised by al-Qaeda and armed militia. As part of a $165 million three-year package of assistance for Iraq, the government is assisting Iraq to promote the rule of law and human rights in Iraq through training for Iraqi human rights workers and police. Such local capacity-building measures, taken in partnership with the Iraqi government, can address past crimes and prevent further violence. This, rather than a fact-finding mission from outside Iraq, offers the best prospects for improving the human rights situation in Iraq. The government therefore does not support the motion.