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…
