UN extends Iraq mission, will monitor parliamentary elections

UNAMI will remain in Iraq until at least May 27, 2022 and will monitor the Oct. 10 election
UN Secretary-General for Iraq and Head of UNAMI, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, at the open video-teleconference of the UN Security Council, February 16, 2021 (Photo: UN)
UN Secretary-General for Iraq and Head of UNAMI, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, at the open video-teleconference of the UN Security Council, February 16, 2021 (Photo: UN)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The United Nations Security Council on Thursday voted to extend the mandate of the Iraq Assistance Mission (UNAMI) for another year, deciding to strengthen the UN team in advance of the upcoming parliamentary elections.

UNAMI will remain in Iraq until at least May 27, 2022 and will monitor the Oct. 10 election.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the head of the mission, said during a conference in Erbil last week that a trusted electoral process “with free and wide-ranging participation, can help steer the country towards a safer and more prosperous future.”

She added that the “outcome of these elections is also of great importance for the vital Baghdad-Erbil relationship.”

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Thursday welcomed the extension and the UN’s call for the implementation of the Erbil-Baghdad budget deal.

“We are encouraged by expanding UNAMI’s mission to include monitoring the upcoming elections in Iraq, and urging Iraqi government and KRG to implement 2021 budget agreement,” he said.

The UN resolution calls on “both the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to implement fully their 2021 budget agreement and to negotiate agreements on other outstanding issues.”

The Kurdistan Region has still not received financial disbursements it is owed by the federal government in Baghdad despite the conclusion of the budget deal.

 Editing by Joanne Stocker-Kelly