A special mission established by the UN in 2003 at the request of the Iraq government has shut down a key office, in another step towards ceasing operations in the country by the end of this year.
The UN Assistance Mission in Iraq closed its offices Mosul this week. Unami, which has its headquarters in Baghdad, was set up after the US-led invasion that toppled the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.
It was given a broad mandate to help develop Iraqi institutions, support political dialogue and elections, and promote human rights. The agency’s heads have shuttled between Iraq’s political, security and judicial officials to help resolve conflicts.
Baghdad requested last year that the mission end by 2025, saying it was no longer needed because Iraq had made significant progress towards stability. “Iraq has managed to take important steps in many fields, especially those that fall under Unami’s mandate,” Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani said in a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
However, the mission will continue to deliver in its remaining mandate, “including providing technical electoral assistance, promoting human rights, supporting humanitarian and development tasks”, an Unami representative told The National.
In the final months of the year, the agency’s work will be “transferred to the UN Country Team operating in Iraq or to the national authorities”, the representative said.
“In short, while Unami is leaving Iraq, the United Nations is not. The United Nations will continue to engage in support of the Government and the people of Iraq.”
Unami closed its office in the northern city of Kirkuk at the end of April. Its remaining offices in Erbil, capital of the Kurdish region, and in the southern city of Basra will be closed along with its headquarters at the end…
The Arab League Summit in Baghdad. (Photo: via UNAMI X Page) 
