Iraq’s new leaders must fight corruption, says UN envoy
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Raven Ruma
- . February 3, 2023
- . Update: February 3, 2023 6:14 pm
The United Nations (UN) special envoy for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, has urged the new Iraqi government to keep fighting corruption and improve public services in the country.
She told the UN Security Council that the government needs to give special attention to some areas and adopt economic, fiscal and financial reforms. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq urged the new government of Iraq to ensure human rights, resolve issues with the Kurdistan Regional Government, address environmental challenges and help Iraqis to return from camps and prisons in northeast Syria.
She expressed hope that the new Iraqi government can lift Iraq “out of recurring cycles of instability and fragility.” She also hoped that the new government would address various pressing issues of the country and its people.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) chief also briefed the United Nations Security Council about Erbil-Baghdad issues and Intra-Kurdish tensions. Special Representative Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert further said that the political parties “cannot afford to lose more time.”
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The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the largest party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Government, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a political party active in the Kurdistan Region, have been fighting in recent months over the Region’s parliamentary elections. They also have been at loggerheads following the assassination of a former PUK colonel in Erbil in October.
Tensions also erupted between the Iraqi federal government and the KRG over oil and gas issues, and rulings from Iraq’s top court against the Kurdistan Region. The top court ruled against the payment of the Kurdistan Region’s financial entitlements by Baghdad.
The UN envoy also lauded the efforts of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s cabinet for tackling various issues during its first three months in office.
