Tag: Unami

Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Anna Evstigneeva at a UNSC Briefing on Iraq

2 December 2025

Madam President,

We congratulate you on assuming the presidency of the Security Council in December and thank the delegation of Sierra Leone for its able stewardship of the Council during the past month.

We are grateful to Special Representative of the Secretary-General Mohamed Al-Hassan for his briefing on the situation in the Republic of Iraq. Given that this is your final report in this capacity, we would like to express our gratitude for your wise and responsible leadership of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), which has enabled the exemplary drawdown of the mission and the transfer of functions to the host country and United Nations entities operating on the ground.

The parliamentary election of 11 November has become a key event over the recent period, the vote was held with the assistance of UNAMI, was overseen by an impressive number of international observers and had a very high turnout of 56.11%, which is 12.57% higher than in 2021. The fact that the election took place in a calm and peaceful atmosphere, without any serious incidents that could compromise the results, attests to the maturity of Iraqi democracy and its state institutions.

We note the tireless efforts by Muhammad al-Sudani’s government on both the socio-economic and security tracks. The Iraqi authorities have managed to garner nearly $1 billion from the World Bank to modernize the railway infrastructure within the subsequent seven years. There is also an agreement reached between the federal government and Erbil to resume supplies via the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline. Owing to the efforts of the Iraqi security services, the threat from ISIL has been minimized, as has the number of civilian…

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Post-war Iraq will lead its own future after the United Nations closes its mission there at year’s end, the UN envoy to the Middle Eastern country said Tuesday.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) will be shutting down its operations after 22 years of helping the country transition from instability in the wake of the 2003 US-led invasion and occupation as well as the ouster of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship.

UNAMI’s departure “represents the start of a new chapter rooted in Iraq’s leadership of its own future,” Mohamed Al Hassan, the head of the mission, told the UN Security Council during a meeting devoted to the situation in Iraq.

He assured the council that the international community was witnessing “an honorable and dignified closure of a UN mission.”

But “the road to peace, security and stability was long and difficult,” he added.

With the international community’s support, “Iraq came out victorious, but with untold sacrifices,” Al Hassan said.

Last year, the mission established in 2003 was extended one last time until December 31, 2025.

Baghdad said the closing of the UN mission marked “the completion of the political building process initiated in 2003 after the fall of the dictatorial regime.”

UNAMI’s tasks included advising the government on political dialogue and reconciliation, as well as helping with elections and security sector reform.

On Tuesday, Al Hassan addressed the council after Iraq held its sixth parliamentary election in November.

The envoy expressed the hope that a new Iraqi government would be formed without delay.

“Iraq has overcome successive conflicts on a hard-won path to stability,” he said.

“Nevertheless, the lasting effects of conflict have given rise to dire and persisting humanitarian needs, with about 1 million Iraqis remaining internally displaced.”

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The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

**Guest Tomorrow

All right, good afternoon.  We have no guests today, so you will have to deal with me.  Tomorrow, our guest will be Giles Duley, the UN Global Advocate for Persons with Disabilities in Conflict and Peacebuilding Situations.  He will be here to brief you on the International Day for Persons with Disabilities.

**Floods in Asia

I have a statement regarding the floods in Asia, and I can tell you that the Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life caused by severe flooding and landslides across Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.  More than 1,000 people have reportedly lost their lives, with many missing and millions affected as heavy rains continue to inundate large areas.

The Secretary-General conveys his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and expresses his solidarity with all those affected by these devastating floods.  The United Nations is in close contact with authorities in all of these countries and of course stands ready to support relief and response efforts.  UN country teams remain at the disposal of Governments to provide necessary assistance, and some are already doing so.

**Iraq

This morning, the Security Council heard, for the last time, from the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) in a briefing on the situation in that country.  As you know, the mission will conclude its mandate on 31 December this year.  Mohamed al Hassan, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq and Head of UNAMI, opened by expressing profound appreciation to the Government and people of Iraq who have stood as partners to the UN through some of the nation’s most challenging chapters.

He recalled that when the Council established UNAMI 22 years ago, Iraq was confronting a legacy of dictatorship, regional wars, internal conflict,…

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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The United Nations Secretary-General condemns the recent attack on Sulaimani’s Khor Mor gas field, a spokesperson told The New Region on Saturday, adding that they continue engagement with Erbil and Baghdad to stress the importance of safeguarding critical infrastructure.

A strike targeted the key Khor Mor gas field in Sulaimani province late Wednesday. The UAE-based Dana Gas, the field’s operator, said the following day that the liquified petroleum gas (LPG) section was “struck by a rocket attack,” causing no injuries but shutting down production.

“The Secretary-General condemns these attacks on essential infrastructure. Such attacks carry the risk of impacting energy supplies, livelihoods, and essential services, which could worsen humanitarian conditions for vulnerable communities,” Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for UNSG Antonio Guterres, told The New Region on Saturday.

The attack on Khor Mor slashed the Kurdistan Region’s power production by nearly 80 percent, causing partial blackouts across the Region’s provinces which are still ongoing. The strike also disrupted power delivery to the provinces of Nineveh, Kirkuk, and Salahaddin.

Haq said that the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) maintains close and continuous engagement with both the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), through which it consistently underscores “the importance of safeguarding critical infrastructure – such as energy facilities that are essential for electricity generation, economic stability, and the well-being of civilians.”

The Khor Mor field is the main producer of the Kurdistan Region’s electricity, with natural gas reserves of around 1.8 trillion cubic feet. It is operated by Dana Gas, which, alongside affiliate Crescent Petroleum, agreed to a deal with the KRG in 2007 to develop the Region’s gas capacities.

A high-level investigative committee has been formed to probe the incident. The attack was…

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Shafaq News – Dhi Qar

A severe water shortage has left more than 100,000 residents in Dhi Qar province without drinking water for five days, officials told Shafaq News on Wednesday.

Provincial Council member Abdul Baqi Kadhim described the situation as catastrophic, saying residents are crying out for help “like people on the verge of death.”

Al-Islah and Sayyid Dakhil—the two hardest-hit districts—sit on an alluvial plain where wells produce only saline water, he explained, urging the deployment of emergency tankers and engineering teams from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a coalition of Iran-aligned, Shia-majority armed groups. Dhi Qar itself is a Shia-dominant province.

Al-Islah district chief Haider Jamal told Shafaq News that the water complex supplying both districts is receiving inadequate flows. He appealed to caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to secure sufficient allocations, warning of an “environmental and humanitarian catastrophe.”

The crisis stems from climate-driven drops in water reaching the province, particularly in the Gharraf basin, according to Dhi Qar Water Authority Director Ahmed Aziz, who said that low river levels have severely affected tail-end areas, although the authority has extended intake pipes to draw water from “more stable sources.”

“People, animals, and plants alike are dying today in Al-Islah,” residents told our agency.

Dhi Qar’s buffalos, a key livestock in southern Iraq, collapsed in population from 21,000 to 10,000 between 2023 and 2025 due to water scarcity. Nearly 85 percent of marshland fish stocks have also been wiped out, an official told Shafaq News earlier.

Iraq remains among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, a 2024 United Nations (UN) assessment noted, with 90 percent of surface water contaminated and about 37,000 people displaced by climate-related shortages.

Read more: Iraq’s water crisis deepens: Reserves collapse, mismanagement continues

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BAGHDAD — The Shiite Coordination Framework held its regular meeting on Monday in Baghdad to address constitutional and political requirements following the November 11 parliamentary elections.

According to a statement, the meeting took place at the office of Hadi al-Amiri, head of the Badr Organization, and included discussion of the criteria for selecting the next prime minister. Attendees examined qualifications such as competence, integrity, and the ability to manage the state and address upcoming challenges.

Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission last week released the final results of the Nov. 11 vote, confirming turnout above 56 percent and publishing the full distribution of all 329 seats.

“The mechanism for selection within the Framework will be based on clear national standards,” the statement said.

Participants also reviewed a report from two leadership committees formed in a previous meeting. The committees will continue assessing candidates and discussing national entitlements.

The Islamic Dawa Party on Saturday named its secretary-general, Nouri al-Maliki, as its candidate for Iraq’s next prime minister, moving formally into the post-election contest for the premiership. Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has also declared his intention to seek a second term. Speaking at the Middle East Peace and Security Forum in Duhok, he said the bid “is not a personal ambition” and framed it as a commitment to complete the agenda of his current government, while confirming that the Coordination Framework will begin negotiations to form the next administration.

The statement reaffirmed the Framework’s “full commitment to constitutional obligations and the deadlines for forming the next government, in a way that preserves political stability and respects the will of the voters.”

Once the results are certified, the president of the republic must convene the new parliament, which then elects a speaker before choosing a president. The president tasks the nominee of the largest bloc with forming a cabinet, and the…

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