Buoyed by Political Stability Gains, Robust Federal Budget, Iraq Poised to Seize Opportunities on Multiple Fronts, Special Representative Tells Security Council
Structural Reforms Key to Meeting Rapidly Growing Population’s Needs
With long-overdue financial reforms and an ambitious federal budget, Iraq’s Government continues to forge progress in tackling the challenges it faces, the senior United Nations official in the country told the Security Council today, adding that more efforts are required to address its rapidly growing population’s needs.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), presented the Secretary-General’s latest report (document S/2023/700) on key political, security and operational developments in the country since May. Outlining initiatives of Iraq’s current Government, headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, in its year in power, including the recently adopted federal budget and the passage of a new law on social security, she said, “To cut a long story short: with last year’s gains in political stability and an ambitious federal budget in hand, Iraq is well-positioned to seize the many opportunities in front of it.”
Nonetheless, she cautioned that without structural reforms to guarantee job opportunities or advances in quality of life to Iraq’s growing population, which is poised to double over the next three to four decades, the embers of discontent could flare up easily “again and again”. As well, she stressed the need to tackle other obvious “threat multipliers”, such as water scarcity, citing figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which recorded almost 14,000 families as internally displaced because of drought conditions across 10 of Iraq’s governorates this June, adding: “Needless to say, if left unaddressed, this is only the beginning of a rather nightmarish situation.”
She also underscored the need to tackle feelings of exclusion and marginalization, calling for progress on enabling people to return to their areas of origin, including Jurf al-Sakhr and Sinjar, and for legislation to be enacted on enforced disappearances. On the Kurdistan region, whose parliamentary elections have been repeatedly postponed, most recently to 25 February 2024, she said: “With the current administration in a caretaker capacity, the region’s democratic process must prevail. There is so much at stake.”
Also briefing the Council was Dhefaf Al-Jarahi, Country Manager of the Iraq Foundation, who highlighted remarkable progress made in the last two decades in the political participation of women in Iraq, pointing to an increase in the percentage of women in the House of Representatives as well as in their membership in political parties and in decision-making positions. Nonetheless, gender-based discrimination still impeded women’s formal participation in decision-making and in investing materiel and political resources, she said.
Against this backdrop, she called on the Iraqi Government to complete the plans and policies aimed at integrating the National Strategy for Women 2023-2030 in cooperation with the United Nations, and to bolster the role of women as pivotal actors in formulating public policies and implementing relevant programmes. “Achieving equality and supporting women's participation in political life must be a joint and cooperative issue between the international community and Iraq,” especially as the country is about to engage in an electoral process, she said.
In the ensuing discussion, Council members welcomed the progress made by the Iraqi Government, in combating corruption and improving public services. Many delegates commended the support lent by UNAMI to Baghdad, ahead of its independent strategic review slated for 2024. Several speakers voiced concern over the acute water scarcity, calling for more efforts to tackle the adverse impacts of climate change.
Among them was the delegate of Ghana, also speaking for Mozambique and Gabon, who underlined the importance of addressing Iraq’s increasing vulnerability to climate change impacts, noting that they were an argument in favour of raising the Council’s profile on climate, peace, and security. On the electoral front, he welcomed that the number of registered women candidates in December’s provincial council elections represents 27 per cent, stressing: “An inclusive electoral process is essential for Iraq’s democracy.” He also commended the holding of parliamentary elections in February 2024 in the Kurdistan region.
On that, the representative of the United Kingdom urged the Kurdistan regional government to take all necessary steps to ensure that the planned elections take place on 25 February 2024 without further postponement. He also welcomed steps taken by the country to tackle climate change, including through ending gas flaring by 2030, noting that progress on this crucial priority will bolster its security.
The United States’ delegate encouraged the federal Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan regional government to find solutions to all outstanding issues. He commended considerable progress made by the Iraqi Government and UNAMI in recent years, including on female participation in politics, and looked forward to UNAMI’s independent strategic review and the team’s continued work, as the country transitions from conflict to peace to prosperity.
Meanwhile, the representative of the Russian Federation, noting Prime Minister Al-Sudani’s recent meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, commended the ongoing dialogue between Baghdad and Erbil to address existing disagreements, primarily in the oil and gas sector. While voicing support for UNAMI’s efforts, including to improve State functioning, he objected to any attempts to refocus its mandate onto issues not appropriate to a UN special political mission, such as climate change and transboundary environmental disputes.
Rounding out the discussion, the speaker for Iraq outlined his Government’s ambitious reforms over the past year — among them repairing infrastructure and tackling the scourges of drugs and corruption — as well as important developments over the past four months, including agreements on fundamental issues on Kurdistan, implementation of a federal budget allocation, protection for Constitutional rights, as well as a draft law on oil and gas. He spotlighted the country’s “Development Road Project”, a network of interconnected roads and railways intended to turn the country into a regional transport hub, pointing out that the initiative will generate jobs and help reduce oil dependence. Tackling water scarcity is a major Government priority, given that it affects 7 million Iraqis and has led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of others, he said, outlining steps to strengthen renewable energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and manage water.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15435.doc.htm
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий