2024-05-11 17:29:43
Iraq has asked the United Nations assistance mission, set up after the US-led invasion of the country in 2003, to end its work by 2025, saying it no longer needs it because it has made significant progress towards stability.
The mission, based in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, was formed to help develop Iraqi institutions, support political dialogue and elections, and promote human rights.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani said that Iraq wants to deepen cooperation with other United Nations organizations, but there is no longer a need for the political work undertaken by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).
The head of mission frequently visits senior officials in political, judicial and security institutions, an act that supporters consider necessary to prevent or resolve conflicts while critics see as interference.
Al-Sudani wrote in a letter to Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, that “Iraq was able to take important steps in many areas, especially in the work undertaken by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq.”
Since 2023, the Government of Iraq has begun taking steps to end the work of several international missions, including the US-led coalition, which was established in 2014 to confront ISIS, as well as the United Nations mission that was formed to help promote accountability for the extremist group’s crimes.
Iraqi officials say that the country has made significant progress after the period of sectarian violence that followed the US-led invasion and the attempt of the Islamic State to establish a caliphate in Iraq, and that it no longer needs this amount of international assistance.
Some critics worry about the stability of Iraq’s nascent democracy due to recurring conflicts in the country and the presence of several heavily armed political groups that have frequently clashed in the streets, most recently in 2022.
Some diplomats and UN officials are also concerned about human rights and accountability in a country that is often ranked among the most corrupt in the world. Activists say freedom of expression has diminished in the past few years.
The Iraqi government says it is working to combat corruption and denies suppressing freedom of expression. The Somali government also requested the end of the work of a United Nations political mission this week.
In a letter to the Security Council, the Foreign Minister requested the departure of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia, which has advised the government on peacebuilding, security and democratic reforms for more than a decade, without stating the reason behind this request.
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2024-05-11 17:29:43