KTFA:

Samson:  Iraq Signs Two Arab Agreements On Piracy And Human Cloning

27th January, 2022

Iraq has signed, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, the Arab Protocol to Prevent and Combat Maritime Piracy and Armed Robbery, supplementary and supplementary to the Arab Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and the Arab Convention to Prevent and Combat Human Cloning.

The Minister of Justice, the representative of Iraq to sign the agreement, Salar Abdul Sattar, said in a statement reported by “Al-Sabah” newspaper, which was seen by / the information, that “Iraq’s signing of these agreements is very important because Iraq is a founding member of the Arab League, and it is important to sign these agreements that prevent a number of crimes that are being committed.” across the border.”

Abdul Sattar added, “Iraq is returning strongly to the joint Arab action and that these agreements that have been concluded will be important to deter organized crimes between Arab countries and regional countries and to prevent and combat terrorism among Arab countries, especially those that signed these agreements, which are 15 Arab countries.”

He explained that “the Arab protocol aims to prevent and combat maritime piracy and armed robbery, supplementary and supplementary to the Arab Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and to strengthen cooperation, support and strengthen ties between state parties in this field.”

Abdul Sattar added, “The agreement aims to prevent and combat human cloning and to detect it in all its forms and types, and all crimes related to it, to prosecute its perpetrators, and to strengthen Arab cooperation in this field.”   LINK

*************

Samson:  Oil prices rise, Brent records $89.83 a barrel

28th January, 2022

Oil prices resumed, on Friday, the rise, achieving its sixth weekly gain, amid fears of tight supplies as major producers continued their policy of increasing limited production amid high demand for fuel.

Brent crude futures rose 49 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $89.83 a barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 62 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $87.23 a barrel.  LINK

************

Samson:  The Arab Monetary Fund issues a study entitled “Attitudes of Arab Central Banks towards issuing Digital Currencies”

28th January, 2022

76% of Arab central banks are studying opportunities to issue digital currencies, and three of them are currently participating in experiments to issue such currencies.

Two Arab banks are expected to complete the issuance of a digital currency in the next three years, while  60 percent of Arab central banks expect to be able to issue a digital currency within a time horizon of six years.

69% of Arab central banks are in the process of determining the type of currency to be issued, while  25 % of them are involved in projects/studies to issue more than one type of digital currency.

Considerations of increasing levels of financial inclusion come at the top of the priorities of Arab central banks from issuing digital currencies in the field of retail payments, while considerations of combating money laundering and terrorist financing come at the top of their priorities from issuing digital currencies in the field of wholesale payments.

The nature of the existing legal and regulatory frameworks, and considerations of governance of digital currency issuance represent the most important challenges facing Arab countries in terms of issuing digital currencies.

The importance of strengthening the capabilities of Arab central banks in terms of issuing digital currencies by entering into regional and international partnerships with the aim of exchanging experiences and implementing experiments  to prove the concept

In the context of its keenness to develop its research activities to serve decision-makers in Arab countries on priority issues, the Arab Monetary Fund issued a study entitled “Attitudes of Arab Central Banks towards issuing digital currencies.” 

The importance of the study lies in the fact that it deals with the trends of issuing digital currencies for central banks in the Arab countries based on a questionnaire conducted by the Arab Monetary Fund in this regard and it touched on many aspects related to these currencies and it was completed by 17 Arab central banks.

The study also provides a basis for periodic monitoring of the level of progress in the issuance of such currencies in Arab countries, the motives of Arab central banks to issue them, and the most prominent challenges they face. developed or developing ones.

The study indicated that Arab central banks, like other international central banks, are interested in exploring opportunities to benefit from their issuance of digital currencies, as 76 percent of Arab central banks are currently studying opportunities to issue digital currencies. Among these banks, three of them are participating in existing experiments to issue these currencies, while the majority of Arab central banks are still in the stage of research and development and proof of concept for opportunities to issue such currencies.

In terms of time, it is expected that two Arab banks will complete the issuance of such currency within the next three years, while 60 percent of Arab central banks are expected to be able, within a period ranging between four to six years, to issue a digital currency, while the expected time period for issuing a digital currency extends. Such currencies in 29 percent of these banks to a period ranging from seven to ten years. As for the types of digital currencies that Arab central banks are interested in issuing, 69 percent of Arab central banks are still in the process of determining the type of currency to be issued, while 25 percent are involved in projects/studies to issue more than one type of digital currency.

On the other hand, the study was also interested in identifying the motives of Arab central banks to issue digital currencies, as the motives differ between countries of the world according to many factors, especially between developed and developing countries, as well as according to the level of efficiency of payment systems, monetary policy management and levels of financial inclusion, as well as in terms of its priorities with regard to compliance with international regulatory requirements. In this context, considerations of increasing the levels of financial inclusion came at the top of the priorities of Arab countries from issuing digital currencies in the field of retail payments (Retail CBDC) by 69 percent, followed by considerations of increasing the efficiency of local payment systems (63 percent), which is in line with Similar drivers registered in a number of other developing countries according to trends monitored by the Bank for International Settlements in 2021.

On the other hand, considerations of facilitating anti-money laundering and terrorist financing operations came at the top of the priorities of the majority of Arab central banks from issuing digital currencies in the field of wholesale payments (Wholesale CBDC) by 56 percent. The motivation to improve the efficiency of monetary policy management (50 percent of central banks) comes later, especially in light of the expected role of digital currencies issued by central banks around the world in increasing the efficiency of interbank market payments systems based on technologies, the most important of which is the distributed ledger technology.

The road towards issuing digital currencies is still long for the majority of Arab central banks, as they face many challenges in this framework, foremost of which is the nature of the existing legal and regulatory frameworks, governance considerations for issuing digital currencies, the availability of qualified human resources, in addition to some technical challenges, and the nature of The participatory infrastructure needed to issue such currencies, as well as considerations of the ability to enhance interoperability between existing payment systems, and define the roles of central banks and the private sector across the entire chain of digital currency issuance and distribution.

In light of the foregoing, the study concluded with some recommendations, perhaps the most prominent of which is the importance of strengthening the capabilities of Arab central banks in terms of exploring the possibility of issuing digital currencies by entering into regional and international partnerships with the aim of exchanging expertise and experiences and implementing a number of pilot projects in this framework. 

In addition to providing the basic requirements for the success of the issuance of such currencies, including the legal and regulatory framework supporting their issuance, strengthening data protection and cyber security, and the existence of frameworks for the governance of digital currency issuance by central banks, in addition to forming successful partnerships with technology companies, and supporting the capabilities of workers In Arab central banks in all areas related to the issuance of digital currencies.

The full version of the study is available at the link

Samson:  Observers : Anti-corruption measures contributed to Iraq’s progress in global indicators

28th January, 2022

Observers and stakeholders praised the government’s measures in the field of anti-corruption, stressing that it contributed to Iraq’s progression two degrees in global indicators, while calling for the application of the Financial Management Law and the adoption of the electronic governance approach to reduce corruption.

The former head of the Integrity Commission, Musa Faraj, said, in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that “there are two important aspects related to Transparency International’s report for the year 2021 on Iraq’s progress in two degrees in the fight against corruption. The first is that the organization is concerned with examining the environment of corruption and not the extent of corruption, If asked about the extent of corruption in each country, this needs agencies such as the Financial Oversight and Integrity Commission, and all countries of the world do not have this possibility, so the reports are not concerned with the extent of corruption, but with the environment to combat it.

He added, “The anti-corruption environment is achieved by political stability, rule of law, independence of the judiciary, as well as the presence of anti-corruption agencies such as an independent and effective integrity commission, civil society participation and transparency, as any citizen or party has the right to obtain information from state agencies, in addition to To other factors such as the integrity of the judiciary and freedom of the media.

He explained, “The second aspect is Transparency International’s data, which is called an impressionistic estimate, not a sensory one that depends on the documents and data contained therein,” noting that “the organization does not have the right or the ability to access documents related to corruption in every country in the world.”

He pointed out, “The organization adopts impressionistic information such as the issue of poverty, as it measures poverty rates in Iraq, through the announced data, as well as the estimates of international bodies such as the World Bank, in addition to the issue of electricity and its status in Iraq is measured through local data and international bodies.” The same applies to the education, health and other sectors. He continued, “It also depends on public opinion polls inside and outside the country concerned, by sending survey data to companies that implement projects in the country, in order to reach the near reality and the situation of corruption in that country.”

Governmental steps

In turn, a member of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption coalition, Muhammad Rahim Al-Rubaie, said that “during the past two days, an annual report for the year 2021 was issued to Transparency International, where this indicator showed Iraq’s progress.”

He added, “This progress was positively reflected on the hierarchical evaluation, as Iraq advanced to the 157th place after it was 159,” noting that “the steps taken by the current regulatory and governmental authorities in combating corruption contributed to Iraq’s progress by two points.”

He explained, “Iraq has ratified the adoption of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy for the years 2021-2024, and it also needs to implement the Financial Management Law No. 6 of 2016, especially the tenth chapter called Transparency for Articles 51 to 54, which stipulates the need to publish the financial statements of all state institutions on their websites.

E-governance 

He pointed out that “the application of these procedures, the adoption of the e-governance approach and the completion of the necessary transactions electronically needed by the citizen will reduce corruption and contribute to raising Iraq’s assessment on these indicators.” In addition, the expert in the field of anti-corruption, Saeed Moussa, indicated that “Iraq scored 23 points according to the Corruption Perceptions Index for the year 2021,” noting that “this leap forward is important because the Arab region is a stagnation area in anti-corruption measures.”

 In his speech to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), Moussa explained that “in order to work on Iraq’s progress in indicators, we need to reform the political system and assign competence, integrity and experience in the public service, whether leadership or lower grades, to consolidate the rule of law and law enforcement, and to create a rational administration in accordance with Standards in managing and referring contracts, tenders and procurement based on the principle of competition between companies. He pointed out that “Iraq launched a national strategy to combat corruption, which included mechanisms for analyzing the environment, knowing sectoral risks and developing solutions to them by adopting prevention, reform and deterrence.”

Tackling corruption

For his part, economic expert Hamza Al-Jawahiri told the Iraqi News Agency (INA), “Corruption is the basis of the intractable problems in Iraq, whether they are in the sectors of electricity, water, health, education, housing, etc., where all work sectors in Iraq suffer from crises and are very backward,” noting.

Tackling corruption lies in eliminating quotas and consensus, meaning that major jobs, from a minister or below, even to the prime minister, should not be from parties.” And he continued, “People must be chosen for jobs on professional bases, because the professional person will have better work than the emergency person,” adding: “The professional person also fears the pressures imposed on him by corrupt parties because he does not have a party to defend him, which makes him Create more and produce more.

On August 30, 2020, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi formed a higher investigation committee into major corruption and criminal crimes, headed by Lieutenant-General Ahmed Abu Ragheef, linked to the Office of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, to investigate major corruption and criminal crimes and Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi confirmed during the conference to recover the stolen funds last September, that the Anti Corruption Committee had disclosed files that had not been disclosed 17 years ago

The committee executed arrest warrants against former and current officials, including the director general of the State Iron and Steel General Establishment, Abbas Hayaal, as well as the director general of the Iraqi Cement Company, Ali Saleh Mahdi, while it directed to freeze the work of 8 general managers in the Ministry of Industry, and to prevent their travel until the investigation and scrutiny of the charges are completed. for them.

And it arrested Qassem Hammoud Mansour, general manager of the General Company for Food Stuff Trading, on corruption charges, and the former director of the Key Card Company, Bahaa Abdul-Hussein Abdul Hadi, and recovered more than 13 billion dinars from the value of Al-Rasheed Bank’s profit dues for the years 2014 upwards. 

The committee arrested the Director General of Investment in the Ministry of Electricity, Raad Muhammad, according to an arrest warrant issued in accordance with Article 310 of the Penal Code related to corruption and bribery. Based on the committee’s investigations, the former director of the National Pension Agency, the accused (Ahmed Abdel-Jalil Al-Saadi) was arrested in accordance with the provisions of Resolution 160 of 1983) on charges of corruption and taking bribes.  LINK

************

Samson:  Legal expert: Attacks on embassies and airports may expose Iraq to international sanctions

28th January, 2022

Legal expert Ali Al-Tamimi confirmed, on Friday, that attacks on embassies and airports may expose Iraq to international sanctions.

Al-Tamimi said in a statement received by Shafak News Agency, “On the domestic scale, hitting airports is considered an international terrorist act, punishable by Anti-Terrorism Law No. 13 of 2005 according to Article 4 of it, and the death penalty for these crimes, and here the security services must hunt down the perpetrators.”

He added, “Internationally, this act violates the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation 1944, which considered aircraft to be part of the soil of the state to which they belong. Therefore, the attack on these aircraft is considered an attack on that state that owns the aircraft and exposes the state in which the aircraft is located to international sanctions. as a threat to international peace and security in accordance with Articles 38 and 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.

Al-Tamimi pointed out that “Iraq can request assistance from the United States of America in accordance with the 2008 agreement, Article 27 of it, to detect these criminals.”

And he added, “The continuation of these crimes against embassies and airports is a threat to international peace and security that may expose Iraq, according to what we have mentioned, to international sanctions, airports and embassies are the front of the state, which must be inevitable protection.”

This morning, Friday, Baghdad International Airport was bombed with at least six missiles, according to an official security source in a statement to Shafaq News Agency. The Security Media Cell announced the details of the damage caused by the missile shelling that hit Baghdad International Airport, noting at the same time that it had found threads leading to the attackers.

The cell said in a statement today, “The terrorist gangs targeted Baghdad International Airport at dawn today, with six Katyusha rockets, in an attempt to target the country’s capabilities.” According to the statement, those missiles “landed on the waiting area for Iraqi Airways planes, which led to damage to two planes that were perched on the runway.”  LINK