Iraq calls for withdrawal of UN mission by 2025

According to AFP, the Iraqi government has asked the United Nations to end the decades-long political mission in the country by 2025. Iraq has said it no longer needs UN forces.

In a document sent to the Security Council, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Siya Al-Sudani said that successive Iraqi governments had “positive developments and achievements” as well as the fulfillment of the mandate of the UN mission.
He said that the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), which has been in existence since 2003, has overcome various challenges and that there are no longer any grounds for a political mission in Iraq. Calling for a deadline of December 31, 2025, Al-Sudani said in the meantime, the mission should focus only on issues related to “economic reform, service provision, sustainable development, climate change and other development areas”.
UNAMI was established in 2003 by a resolution of the United Nations Security Council at the request of the Iraqi government. It was extended four years later. It is renewed every year.
The mission also advises the government to support political dialogue and reconciliation as well as electoral and security sector reforms. The Security Council will debate the renewal of the mission next week as the current mandate expires at the end of this month.
During the mission’s last renewal in May 2023, the Security Council requested the Secretary-General to initiate a strategic review. It was inspected by German diplomat Volker Perthes.
In a report released in March, Perthes indicated that the end of the mandate might be justified. He concluded that the two-year period identified by the government for the completion of the mission would be a sufficient time frame to make further progress.
He said that this period would provide enough time to convince the reluctant Iraqis and thus preserve peace and security with democratic benefits.