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Iraq has requested that a United Nations assistance mission set up after the 2003 US-led invasion of the country ceases its operations by the end of 2025, saying it is no longer needed because Iraq has made significant progress towards stability, Reuters reported.

The mission, known as UNAMI and headquartered in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, was set up with a wide mandate to help develop Iraqi institutions, support political dialogue and elections and promote human rights.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, who met with UNAMI chief Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Sunday, said Iraq wanted to deepen cooperation with other UN organisations but there was no longer a need for the political work of the UN assistance mission.

The mission’s head in Iraq often shuttles between top political, judicial and security officials in work that supporters see as important to preventing and resolving conflicts but critics have often described as interference.

In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Al-Sudani said: “Iraq has managed to take important steps in many fields, especially those that fall under UNAMI’s mandate.”

For her part, Plasschaert praised the important steps and promising initiatives taken by Iraq during the last 18 months, especially in the areas of service provision, infrastructure reconstruction, investment, plans to mitigate environmental impacts and reducing dependence on imported fuel.

Iraqi officials say the country has come a long way from the sectarian war after the US-led invasion and Daesh’s attempt to establish a caliphate, and that it no longer needs so much international help.

Some critics worry about the stability of the young democracy, given recurring conflict and the presence of many heavily armed military-political groups that have often battled on the streets, most recently in 2022.

READ: Iraq government officially requests end of UN mission in Baghdad

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2024-05-27T11:52:09+00:00

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Shafaq News / On Monday, a meeting of major Kurdish parties in Iraqi Kurdistan affirmed the importance of the presence of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) in the country.

Independent Kurdish politician Serdar Abdullah stated, “A special meeting was convened today in al-Sulaymaniya with representatives from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Change (Gorran) Movement, the Kurdistan Islamic Justice Group, and the Kurdistan Islamic Union to deliberate on the continuation of UNAMI’s presence.”

Abdullah emphasized that “all Kurdish parties present at the meeting affirmed the necessity of UNAMI’s presence in Iraq due to its significant role in supporting the Iraqi government and its positive impact on the country.”

He further noted that “the parties agreed to send two letters: one to the UN Security Council and the other to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani. They stressed the importance of UNAMI’s continued presence and plan to dispatch these letters before the Security Council’s meeting next Thursday to discuss the Mission’s withdrawal from Iraq.”

Abdullah added, “At the end of May each year, Iraq submits a memorandum to the UN Security Council outlining its position on whether to retain the Mission. A specialized committee from the Security Council visited Iraq a month ago, holding over 250 meetings with various Iraqi stakeholders and drafting a report. All Kurdish parties concurred on the necessity of UNAMI’s continued presence for the upcoming phase.”

Notably, Prime Minister Al-Sudani had officially requested on May 21, in a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, that the UNAMI mandate be terminated by December 31, 2025. 

He stipulated that the Mission’s remaining efforts for this year should focus solely on completing its work in economic reform, service…

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In a formal letter, dated 8 May 2024 and addressed to the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani called for “ending the mandate of the United Nation’s Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) on 31 December 2025″, emphasizing that “after more than 20 years of democratic transition and overcoming great and diverse challenges, the justifications for a political mission in Iraq are no longer present”.

This letter was delivered in time, by the Iraqi Charge d’Affaires at the United Nations, before the Security Council (SC)’s scheduled meeting on 30 May 2024, to vote on UNAMI’s fate. Iraq is not a member of the Council, however, it will be difficult for the existing SC members to ignore the wishes of an elected Government of Iraq.

The strategic review

In May 2023, Iraq made a formal request to the SC to reduce the UNAMI mandate. In response, the Council set up a three-man committee, headed by Volker Perthes of Germany, to carry out a “Strategic Review” of UNAMI’s mandate, based on the SC resolution 2682 (2023). The committee visited Iraq in Nov 2023 and conducted 250 interviews with various stakeholders, including the Federal Government, the Kurdistan Regional Government, political parties, civil society organizations, think tanks and the UNAMI staff all over Iraq. They also reviewed the papers and work of UNAMI both in Iraq and New York, before submitting their report to the Secretary General in Feb 2024.

The ‘Perthes’ report unequivocally acknowledged the progress made in Iraq, and that: “the Iraqi political system has, at least over the past eighteen months, increasingly demonstrated its ability to manage crises”. It further adds “no UN political mission should stay in a country forever. Prolonged third-party presence may discourage local solutions and national ownership”. Perthes therefore recommend that “the…

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