Ukraine Gate – Kiev, February 26, 2022 – The United Nations heard on Thursday that the patience of the 40 million people living in Iraq is running out from their leaders as the process of forming a new government continues.
They could least expect a greater sense of urgency on the part of elected representatives in efforts to overcome internal divisions, and the resulting political impasse, and to focus on people’s aspirations for safety, security, economic stability and the protection of their human rights,” said Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, envoy of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Iraq.
The Security Council was briefed on the latest developments in the ongoing efforts to form a government since the parliamentary elections in the country in October last year. The movement led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr won 73 seats in the 329-member parliament, the highest number for any single bloc.
The election results were ratified by the Iraqi Supreme Court in December, but progress on the next step, the election of a president, faltered amid a deep schism between Sadr and the pro-Iran Shiite parties.
Al-Sadr is seeking to form a majority coalition government that includes the Progress Party, led by the Sunni House of Representatives Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which won 37 and 31 seats, respectively.
Shiite parties prefer to form a consensus government and filed a series of lawsuits to object to the election results amid public allegations of electoral fraud.
“Many Iraqis are increasingly wondering whether the national interest is in fact at the fore and center of the ongoing negotiations, rather than access to resources and power, or how political appointments and ministries will be sliced this time,” Hennis-Plasschaert said.
Patience over the prolonged government formation phase could have been expected if negotiations had been revitalized through “active exchanges on policy directions, development paths, and economic reform plans.” She added.
She again warned the envoy that the “weak home front” in terms of security and political vacuum exposes the country to external interference and makes it vulnerable to terrorism, with ISIS ready to take advantage of it.
According to a United Nations report published this month, ISIS has carried out more than 120 attacks on Iraqi security forces in the past three months alone, and continues to target community leaders, security personnel and civilians the terrorist group accuses of collaborating with Iraqi authorities.
Hennis-Plasschaert also raised the issue of repatriating Iraqi nationals from camps in northeastern Syria where foreign terrorist fighters, their wives and children are being held. United Nations officials have condemned the dangerous and dangerous living conditions in these camps as a time bomb that fuels resentment and stimulates terrorist recruitment.
The United Nations said Iraqi authorities have repatriated 450 families, a total of about 1,800 people, since May 2021 and praised Baghdad for “showing courage” in doing so.
Hennis-Plasschaert also praised the Iraqi government, not only for accepting the return of Iraqi families but also for the repatriation of ISIS fighters.