ROBERT BARRY
Internationalize the Iraq prisons nowIT SHOULD BE apparent to the Bush administration that the US-led coalition will have to hand over the Iraqi prisons to someone else before the Coalition Provisional Authority goes out of existence on June 30. For once, the United States should anticipate the inevitable and propose a solution before being told by allies, NATO, and the United Nations Security Council that this is a requirement if we are to gain more international support for the effort in Iraq. To accomplish this, the United States should jump start a proposal which has been gathering support on both sides of the Atlantic -- the creation of a multinational stability corps or conflict prevention force. Such a corps would consist of constabulary forces, civilian police, judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and correction officers. These forces could be deployed in future post-conflict situations to establish order as combat operations wind down.
Establishing such a multi-faceted force will take time and resources. But it is feasible to start with one aspect, an international civilian corrections team and to deploy it immediately in Iraq. Trained personnel could be recruited from NATO and countries which have contributed forces to the coalition. As they become available they could be phased into the prisons and detention facilities in Iraq. Not later than June 30, the command authority over detention facilities would be transferred to the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, assisted by a civilian advisor representing the countries contributing to the corrections mission. The goal of course would be to turn over control of the prison system to Iraqis who have been trained to respect prisoners' human rights, and that training would be part of the task of the international civilian corrections team. As trainees are certified, they would replace internationals. Coalition military would of course continue to detain suspected insurgents and criminals and would interrogate them under international monitoring for a brief period before releasing them or transferring them to civilian corrections facilities. While internationalizing the detention system is the top priority, other aspects of the "stabilization corps" ought to be introduced as quickly as possible to replace the Coalition Provisional Authority. International judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers ought to be deployed alongside corrections personnel to work with Iraqi judges and Ministry of Justice personnel to reform the justice system and move towards prompt, fair, open trials of those detained. An international civilian police mission should gear up to assist in training Iraqi police. Internationals with experience in training local government in Bosnia or Kosovo could begin to replace those who now staff regional offices of the coalition provisional authority. Such an international civilian presence requires its own chain of command. The best solution to this problem is to follow the Bosnia precedent and appoint a civilian "high commissioner," reporting to a steering board made up of nations which support the effort, including neighboring states. Senator John Kerry and others have suggested this approach, as quicker, more flexible and more selective than using the UN, NATO, or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. But these international organizations can and should participate in the mission as their specialties dictate. This approach would create a precedent to be used in future nation-building missions, as the kind of "stability team" created for this purpose could be used in other situations as they develop. There is no doubt that such a resource will be needed in the future.
Robert Barry, a retired US ambassador, headed the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe mission to Bosnia 1998-2001. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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