Iraq
Expected Council Action
In December, the Security Council will hold an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on the situation in Iraq. Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Mohamed Al Hassan will brief the Council on recent developments in the country and the Secretary-General’s most recent reports on UNAMI and the issue of missing Kuwaiti and third-party nationals and missing Kuwaiti property.
Key Recent Developments
The security situation in Iraq remains tense amidst regional fallout from the Israel-Hamas war. Following the outbreak of the conflict, Iraqi militia groups—considered Iranian proxies forming part of the country’s “axis of resistance” across the Middle East—have launched repeated drone and missile strikes against Israel as well as US military assets in the region. The frequency of attacks against Israel has increased in recent months, including a 3 October drone strike on an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) base in the Golan that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded 24 others. In addition, Iran has reportedly considered using the Iraqi militia groups to retaliate against Israel for its 25 October airstrike against Iran.
The militias belong to an informal coalition known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which has ties to Iraq’s formal security forces, straining the country’s relations with Israel. In identical letters dated 18 November addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, Israeli Minister for Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar expressed concern about the increase in attacks conducted by the Iran-backed militias, which he described as a “blatant violation” of international law that “have the potential to further drag the region into a very dangerous escalation”. The letter emphasised Iraq’s obligation to prevent the use of its territory for attacks, invoked Israel’s right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter, and called on the Security Council to take “immediate action” to address the situation. In response, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’a al-Sudani called Israel’s allegations a “pretext for aggression against Iraq” that would “expand the war in the region”.
The regional situation has also raised tensions between Iraq and the US. After the US retaliated in February for previous Iraqi militia strikes against US military bases in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria, some Iraqi officials called for the withdrawal of the 2,500 US troops stationed in the country as part of the international coalition combatting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh). In a 25 January statement, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced that the US-Iraq Higher Military Commission—which had been established in August 2023 to begin phasing down the US-led military coalition—would start discussions on the “transition to an enduring bilateral security partnership” between the two countries. Subsequently, in a 27 September joint statement, the countries announced a transition plan under which the majority of US coalition forces would withdraw from Iraq by September 2025. In a briefing call with reporters, senior US officials emphasised that the agreement did not constitute a US “withdrawal” from Iraq but rather a transition to a bilateral security relationship in which the US will “continue to advise and assist and enable [Iraq] in conducting necessary counter-[ISIL] operations”.
On the political track, parliamentary elections were held in Iraq’s Kurdistan region on 20 October. Of the 100 seats up for election, the region’s two main rival parties—the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)—won 39 seats and 23 seats, respectively. The elections were originally scheduled to be held in 2022 but were repeatedly delayed because of disagreements about election modalities between Kurdish and federal Iraqi officials and between the KDP and PUK. In a 23 October statement, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq congratulated the region for successfully holding the elections “in a calm and peaceful manner” and commended the efforts of Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission in conducting them.
On 31 May, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2732, renewing UNAMI’s mandate for a final 19-month period. The renewal followed the completion of the independent strategic review of the mission requested by resolution 2682 of 30 May 2023—which had previously renewed UNAMI’s mandate—and a subsequent letter dated 8 May from al-Sudani addressed to the Secretary-General that requested UNAMI’s mandate to be “terminated definitively” by the end of 2025. Acceding to this request, resolution 2732 renewed UNAMI’s mandate for one non-extendable term until 31 December 2025 and directed the Secretary-General to streamline the mission’s tasks to focus on select priority areas during the transition period, including technical electoral assistance to Iraqi authorities; facilitating progress on outstanding issues between Iraq and Kuwait; and supporting a range of humanitarian and development activities.
The resolution also requested the Secretary-General to prepare a transition and liquidation plan by 31 December 2024 for the transfer of UNAMI’s tasks and the mission’s “orderly and safe” drawdown. According to the Secretary-General’s most recent report on UNAMI, which was circulated to Council members on 26 November, an integrated working group at the UN headquarters was established in June to provide strategic direction for the transition planning process. UNAMI has also undertaken a mapping exercise of its activities to plan for their transfer to other UN entities and partners, while the UN country team has taken steps to integrate relevant UNAMI tasks into the forthcoming 2025-2029 UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Iraq.
On 5 June, the Council received the final biannual briefing from the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL in Iraq (UNITAD). The meeting followed the adoption of resolution 2697 of 15 September 2023, which renewed the team for a final one-year term at the Iraqi government’s request. At the June meeting, Acting Special Adviser and Head of UNITAD Ana Peyró Llopis briefed the Council on the team’s 12th and last biannual report, dated 24 May, which covered UNITAD’s accomplishments over the course of its mandate and gave an update on drawdown preparations. On 17 September, the team concluded its mandate and ceased operations.
On 15 July, Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Mohamed Al Hassan of Oman as Special Representative and Head of UNAMI, succeeding Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert of the Netherlands, who had served in the position since 2018. Al Hassan assumed his duties in Iraq on 10 October.
Human Rights-Related Developments
On 10 October, Amnesty International urged Iraqi lawmakers to reject proposed amendments to the country’s Personal Status Law, warning that they would “eliminate the current legal marriage age of 18 for both girls and boys, paving the way for child marriages, as well as stripping women and girls of protections regarding divorce and inheritance”. The proposed amendments would also grant religious councils of the Sunni and Shia sects of Islam the authority to create their own “code of Sharia rulings on personal status matters” within six months of the law’s passage, undermining the rights of women and girls and their equality before the law. Amnesty International stressed that the amendments violate international agreements that Iraq has ratified, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The organisation emphasised that “ensuring the safety, dignity and rights of women and girls is not only a state obligation under international human rights law but also a moral imperative that all Iraqi institutions must uphold”.
Key Issues and Options
The key issue for the Security Council is to oversee UNAMI’s orderly and safe drawdown, in accordance with resolution 2732. To this end, December’s briefing will provide Council members with an opportunity to review progress on implementing the mission’s streamlined mandate and transferring tasks to other UN entities and partners. The simultaneous withdrawal of the international anti-ISIL/Da’esh coalition, UNITAD’s recent termination, and the volatile regional situation are additional factors for Council members to consider as the transition proceeds.
In this context, the Council could invite a civil society representative to the December briefing to provide additional perspectives on the potential impact that UNAMI’s closure and the phasing out of other forms of international support may have on Iraq’s political and security situation, including protections for vulnerable groups.
The Council could also consider convening a separate closed discussion on UNAMI’s transition and liquidation plan that resolution 2732 requested the Secretary-General to prepare by 31 December. That discussion could include briefers from the UN entities that will be taking over some of the mission’s tasks.
Council and Wider Dynamics
Council members are broadly supportive of the Iraqi government and the assistance provided by the UN. In light of the relative stability that Iraq has enjoyed since al-Sudani assumed office in October 2022, members were also largely in agreement on accommodating Iraq’s request to draw down UNAMI, adopting resolution 2732 unanimously. During those negotiations, however, some members held diverging views about the extent to which the closure should be contingent on progress on indicators proposed by the independent strategic review. (For more information about the negotiations, see our What’s in Blue story of 30 May.)
More broadly, the current regional situation has exacerbated geopolitical tensions, which have also affected Iraq. US and Iranian military operations in the country have strained Baghdad’s relations with both Washington and Tehran while stoking concerns about a direct confrontation between the US and Iran in the Middle East. The escalating situation has also raised alarm about a possible retaliatory strike by Israel on Iran-backed militias in Iraq, which could open an additional front in the regional conflict. The Iraqi government routinely declares that it seeks a balanced relationship with regional and international security partners and does not wish to become a theatre for geopolitical competition.
The US is the penholder on Iraq issues in general, and the UK is the penholder on Iraqi-Kuwaiti issues.
| Security Council Resolutions | |
| 31 May 2024S/RES/2732 | This resolution renewed UNAMI’s mandate for a final 19-month period until 31 December 2025. |
| 15 September 2023S/RES/2697 | This resolution extended the mandate of the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD) for a final one-year non-extendable term, until 17 September 2024. |
| Secretary-General’s Report | |
| 7 May 2024S/2024/369 | This was the Secretary-General’s 120-day report on UNAMI, which covered developments from January to May 2024. |
| Security Council Letter | |
| 26 March 2024S/2024/270 | This letter transmitted to the Council the strategic independent review of UNAMI, prepared by Volker Perthes, pursuant to resolution 2682 of 30 May 2023. |
