Characteristics

Colours and Symbols as Signs of Solidarity

The political situation in the Middle East has undergone fundamental change. For many people this has brought a free-fall into poverty on a scale which no one could have imagined. However, new opportunities have now arisen, a development, which, as yet, has not been recognised by many people. Although the markets for industry, services and trade in these countries have not yet recovered, and this is the case too in Iraq, they do have potential (as does Iraq), something which we must not ignore. Realisation of this potential will require a learning process, one which, the IAU is convinced, is very likely to kick in soon in Iraq too.

For this reason, the IAU wants to become active in influencing developments within politics, the economy and society and not wait for some future moment – now is the time to grasp the initiative.

The IAU does not want to face this future unprepared, but rather actively gear up as though Iraq were a country on the brink of a new era, just about to make its breakthrough. The idea behind this is that the IAU should become a conduit to help convey the needs and expectations of Iraq, and these, put simply, are that the country’s citizens have a right to peace, freedom and prosperity.

The IAU symbolises these expectations in its role as moderator and mediator both internally and externally, by striving to resolve conflict situations, trying with all the resources at its disposal to return the situation to one where positive, orderly, unproblematic normality may prevail. The symbolism of the flag and logo gives these expectations graphic form.

 Development of the Symbolism

Green
The green in the IAU flag symbolises the economic well being of the Iraqi people both in the immediate future and in the longer term.

The IAU believes economic well-being should be defined as a situation wherein the basic needs of the Iraqi people are being met and a certain standard of living has become possible. In this context there are two causes that have sparked off this need amongst the Iraqi people to see social, political and economic action.

The first of these is objective and cannot, therefore, be influenced, namely Iraq itself, with all of its natural and potential prospects. The other, the boundless needs of the Iraqi people. The current state of things means that these needs are presently out of step with any realistic chance of their fulfilment. Consequently this creates a tension which demands that we, together with the international community, move now to take the necessary social, political and economic action.

The social, political and economic action itself remains in this context, though, primarily the responsibility of the Iraqi people. Today, tomorrow and in the future the efforts of the people of Iraq must be directed most urgently towards the procurement and utilisation of those commodities which can best and most urgently satisfy their immediate needs.

It is the task of the IAU to help the people of Iraq to overcome scarcity and to supply as many people as possible with as many commodities as possible so that the Iraqi people’s need for foodstuffs is no longer frustrated by a lack of supply. In achieving this we can attain the objective of eliminating, once and for all, for all of the people of the country, the experience of shortages and the feeling of what it is like to go hungry and thirsty. The new daily lives of the people of Iraq will then, today and in the future, not permit any return to times of economic isolation or international exclusion for the country.

White:
No human being’s daily routine has any point in time where they are completely free of economic processes and the daily lives of the people of each country consist of a chain of economic activities. It is the sum of these activities that the IAU believes represents the road to peace, to life and to prosperity.

For the IAU, to think about peace, life and prosperity is to also to think about the conditions which the Iraqi people are exposed to. It believes that the interconnectedness of society, state and economy, can fundamentally contribute to the preservation of peace and freedom as well as advancing society in terms of its economy, politics culture and science, and making it more democratic. It can also increase the service to citizens and by tapping into the energies of a dynamic, peace-loving and free people help effect their integration into the international community on a permanent basis.

The white in the IAU flag represents the ability of a country and its leaders to contribute to the constructive and voluntary settlement or avoidance of conflict both within and outside the region.

Logo:
The key to understanding the IAU’s role as moderator and mediator in conflict resolution is to be found in the “IAU ballot paper”. If the parties concerned accept the decision to “listen to one another, talk to one another, act together” then the conflict parties and others, with the support of the IAU as moderator and mediator, or of another third impartial party, a state, the international community or any other community or group, will always succeed in reaching an amicable agreement which corresponds to both their needs and to their interests.