UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...

public sector who was a full member of the Ba’ath Party (irrespective of the rank), 491 were
dismissed from their jobs, whether or not they had been accused of wrongdoing. It is
estimated that this affected some 30,000 persons, including thousands of teachers and other
lower-level bureaucrats who had to join the party to survive under the former regime’s rule.
According to former CPA Administrator Paul Bremer, the order was meant to screen out no
more than one percent of the Ba’ath Party members, targeting only its most senior
members. He accused Iraqi officials of having gone too far with cleaning the Iraqi
Government of Ba’ath Party members. 492 By Order No. 4, all property and assets of the
Iraqi Ba’ath Party were seized by the CPA. 493 In November 2003, the CPA established the
Iraqi De-Ba’athification Council to root out senior Ba’athists from Iraq’s administration
and to hear appeals from Ba’athists who were in the lowest ranks of the party’s senior
leadership. 494 The Party’s foremost leaders were not permitted to appeal their dismissals.
Some 15,000 people were eventually permitted to return to work after they won their
appeals, according to Nibras Kazimi, a former adviser to the re-named De-Ba’athification
Commission. 495
By Order No. 2 of the CPA, Iraq’s Army, paramilitary forces and security/intelligence
services were dissolved. In addition, any person of the rank of Colonel or above was
considered a “senior Party Member” and barred from returning to work. 496 While there was
great consensus that Iraq’s security and intelligence agencies and paramilitary forces had to
be dismantled given their role in the suppression of the Iraqi people, the dissolution of the
Iraqi Army was more controversial. 497 With the deterioration of the security situation and
the need for experienced persons both in the security forces and the administration, the
490 Udw Qutriyya (Regional Command Member), Udw Far (Branch Member), Udw Shu’bah (Section
Member) and Udw Firaq (Group Member) were considered “senior Party Members” ranks. See: CPA Order
No. 1, Section 1 (2), see above footnote 82.
491 Including Udw (Member) and Udw Amil (Active Member). See: CPA Order No. 1, Section 1 (3), see
above footnote 82.
492 Matt Kelley, Bremer admits errors in rebuilding Iraq, USA Today, 6 February 2007,
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-02-05-iraq-contracts_x.htm.
493 CPA Order No, 4, Management of Property and Assets of the Iraqi Baath Party, 25 May 2003, available
in UNHCR’s Refworld at http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=469cd8282. This
Order was subsequently rescinded; see: CPA Order No. 100, Transition of Laws, Regulations, Orders, and
Directives Issued by the CPA, Section 4, 28 June 2004, available in UNHCR’s Refworld at
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=46a609512.
494 See: CPA Order No. 5, Establishment of the Iraqi De-Ba’athification Council, 25 May 2003, available in
UNHCR’s Refworld at http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=469cd94f2. By CPA
Memorandum No. 7, the CPA delegated the authority to carry out the De-Ba’athification of the Iraqi society
to the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) and rescinded Order No. 5; the Council was renamed Supreme National
Commission For De-Baathification. See: CPA Memorandum No. 7, Delegation of Authority Under the De-
Ba’athification Order No. 1, 4 November 2003, available in UNHCR’s Refworld at http://www.unhcr.org/
cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=469cd698b. The Commission’s existence and authority was
reaffirmed in Article 135 of the Constitution.
495 CFR, Iraq: Debaathification, 7 April 2005, http://www.cfr.org/publication.html?id=7853; Struck, see
above footnote 488.
496 CPA Order No. 2, Dissolution of Entities, see above footnote 82.
497 ICG, After Baker-Hamilton, p. 19, see above footnote 111. See also: The Library of Congress, p. 3, see
above footnote 72.
98