ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) chief on Tuesday raised a series of recent developments in Iraq to the UN Security Council in New York, including the internal politics of the Kurdistan Region, relations between Erbil and Baghdad, and the security situation of the country including Iran’s recent missile attack on Erbil.
Special Representative Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert briefed the council on a range of concerns beginning with the increasingly frequent dust storms in the country - in recent days, causing thousands to seek medical assistance - which she prefaced by calling “not the only concern for the people in Iraq,” in what she added were “notorious aspects of Iraqi political life… repeating themselves in an seemingly incessant loop of zero sum politics.”
Kurdistan Region politics
Discussing the Kurdistan Region, Hennis-Plasschaert noted that "divisions have deepened - with adverse effects on the people of the Kurdistan Region," and that little had changed in what she had previously called “the toxicity of political infighting and factionalism.”
The official called on equalising the Region's electoral playing field ahead of elections scheduled for October 1, focusing on solutions that represent the interests of all residents of the Kurdistan Region - be it Erbil, Duhok or Sulaimani.
“The Kurdistan Region has a choice,” she told the council. “With the Kurdistan Region elections scheduled for the 1st of October later this year, it is of utmost importance to level the electoral playing field - with all political actors, big or small, enjoying equal opportunities [and] promoting a conducive electoral environment.”
Erbil-Baghdad relations
Regarding relations between Baghdad and Erbil, the official said “the sorry pattern of ad-hoc negotiations continues to prevail instead of what is critically needed: an institutionalized, predictable mechanism for the comprehensive, holistic and durable resolution of all outstanding issues.”
Erbil and Baghdad continue to disagree on the constitutionality of the Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas law, which was ruled “unconstitutional” by the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court in February, although Hennis-Plasschaert told the floor that, “having engaged with both sides on this matter, I am convinced that there is a way out.” On Tuesday, the Kurdistan Region’s judicial council said that the oil and gas law is not a violation of the Iraqi constitution.
Earlier on Tuesday, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Erbil and Baghdad to engage in “structured and regular” dialogue to resolve issues over oil and gas, a UN spokesperson told Rudaw. “It will prove essential to build confidence, including by pledging to refrain from politically motivated, unilateral actions in the future,” the UNAMI chief added.
Iran, Iraq militias
Twelve missiles attacked Erbil in the early hours of March 13, in what the UNAMI chief called "disturbing, disruptive, and dangerous."
"While the IRGC described the targeted location in Erbil as “the strategic centre for conspiracy and evil acts of the Zionists”, no evidence for such claims was found," she said.
In addition, “Moving to Iraq’s very own armed actors operating outside state control: the reckless firing of rockets, including at an oil refinery in Erbil some two weeks ago, remains alarming and unjustifiable,” Hennis-Plasschaert warned. “These attacks seek to undermine Iraq’s security and stability within an already extremely volatile, politically-charged post-electoral environment… and let me emphasize, Iraq does not need self-proclaimed armed arbiters.”
Shingal agreement between Baghdad and Erbil
Hennis-Plasschaert also touched on the significant issues facing those in Shingal, impacted by recent clashes between Iraqi troops and the Shingal Resistance Units (YBS). The official took Tuesday’s opportunity to call on both Baghdad and Erbil to reach out to the people of Shingal, and for the speedy implementation of the October 2020 agreement between Iraq and the KRG.
“But for that to happen, stable governance and security structures are - of course - prerequisites… to date, there is no agreement on the selection of a new independent mayor, and funds for a new local security force remain blocked, possibly due to interference into unclear recruitment procedures,” she noted.
Government formation
Updating the council on the protracted government formation process in Iraq, which remains deadlocked in the aftermath of the October 2021 parliamentary election, Hennis-Plasschaert lamented that “the neglect of the population’s most basic needs has gone on for far too long.”
“Iraqi political inaction comes at a huge price. Not (in the short term) for those in power, but for those desperately trying to make ends meet on a daily basis,” she said, warning that "the streets are about to boil over".
