U.N. urges consensus in Iraq Constitution

BAGHDAD, May 14 (UPI) -- A day before the completion of the Iraqi constitutional review, the U.N. envoy in Iraq urges the committee to build consensus among political blocs.

"For a successful constitutional review process all groups will have to come to the table to make compromises and the process will need to be kept alive until it reaches a conclusion," Ashraf Qazi, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's special representative, said Monday in Baghdad.

"If this does not occur the review process has the potential to be an extremely divisive exercise," he added.

The Constitutional Review Committee was established by the Iraqi Parliament in September 2006 to determine whether the constitution should be amended.

Qazi said the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq was determined to help the committee create a balanced division of powers between the federal government and the regions, as well as a fair distribution of oil revenues around Iraq.

"UNAMI believes the constitutional review is an opportunity that should be seized to find an agreement that addresses the concerns and anxieties of all communities, and believes that such solutions exist and urges Iraqis to work together to find them," said a statement from the mission.

UNAMI said the constitutional review would allow the committee to address problems in the current constitutional text.

"In the final analysis, any amendments sponsored by the review process will have to win the endorsements of all groups, blocs and leaders," UNAMI said.