Author: jeff

Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis
Acting Deputy Representative to the United Nations
New York, New York
May 18, 2023

AS DELIVERED

Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Special Representative Hennis-Plasschaert, for your comprehensive briefing. And thanks to Ms. Latif for your briefing on the situation of women and girls.

The United States welcomed Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani’s participation in the March Summit for Democracy, where he declared that the Government of Iraq strives to meet the demands and aspirations of the Iraqi people, and that combatting corruption was at the top of the government’s list of priorities.

We also took positive note of the Prime Minister’s focus on promoting and safeguarding democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and sustainable development, and were particularly encouraged by his emphasis on empowering women politically and socially. We encourage the Government of Iraq to maintain its commitment to those essential reforms.

Since the formation of the government, we have witnessed great strides in stability and prosperity. But the appetite for change is immense among Iraq’s dynamic youth – men and women who deserve economic opportunity and effective governance as a foundation for achieving their aspirations.

We encourage Iraq to work with UNAMI in securing these reforms. UNAMI is well positioned to provide assistance across the spectrum of social and economic challenges, including on elections, promoting and safeguarding human rights, combatting climate change, and governance reform. We also encourage Iraq and UNAMI to continue collective efforts to support the members of Iraq’s religious and ethnic minority communities.

We are pleased to see Iraq take steps to implement the Yezidi Survivor’s Law, and we encourage UNAMI and Iraq to support full implementation of the Sinjar Agreement as well as ensure that victims of ISIS’s brutality can access the compensation they deserve without burdensome evidentiary standards. We…

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Note: A complete summary of today’s Security Council meeting on Iraq will be made available after its conclusion.

Briefings

JEANINE HENNIS-PLASSCHAERT, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), addressing the Security Council ahead of the Mission’s imminent mandate renewal, observed that, over the past few months, there had been numerous analyses of the events that shook Iraq 20 years ago and the developments since. It has been “a very rough road”, she said, attributing this to the compounding of existing fragilities, inherited from the previous decades, and the exposure of new weaknesses. Despite the dark times, she underscored that the drivers of instability remained the same, for the most part: corruption, weak governance, the presence of armed non-State actors, impunity, factional politics, poor service-delivery, inequality, unemployment and an overreliance on oil.

Against that backdrop, she reiterated the observation made during her last briefing to the Council in February that the Government has shown its resolve to tackle a number of the pressing issues, adding that, however, “it is early days”. However, she underscored that, given that there is “low or no tolerance for a return to the status quo, which existed before October 2022, the harsh reality is that there is no time to lose”. Therefore, she emphasized the need for relentless commitment from actors; placing national interest over that of any individual or party; the critical role of independent State institutions, and the need for an active, empowered and protected civic space. While the Government programme has been signed off on by all coalition parties united in the State Administration Alliance, constant compromise is needed to balance differing interests. “The fact is that Iraq has a full ‘to-do’ list,” she said, adding: “And narrow or partisan actions will not help in checking it…

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