Guterres in Iraq: UN recommendations and government messages
UN recommendations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed to the Iraqi government, while the latter responded with messages both inside and outside the country.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on the sidelines of a first visit to Iraq in six years, affirmed “solidarity” with Iraqis, calling for “breaking the cycle of instability” and continuing to work on the path to “prosperity and freedom”.
Guterres’s visit coincides with the 20th anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime by an international coalition led by the United States in March 2003.
UN Recommendations
During a press conference alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani on Wednesday, Guterres said, “I am here on a visit of solidarity and to reaffirm the commitment of the United Nations to support Iraq in consolidating democratic institutions… and the human rights of all Iraqis.”
Touching on several “important” issues, particularly climate change, he welcomed the Iraqi prime minister’s efforts “to address the challenges facing the country, including combating corruption, improving public services, and economic diversification to reduce unemployment and create opportunities for young people.”
Guterres, whose last visit to Iraq dates back to summer 2017, said on Wednesday that he hoped Iraq would break the “cycle of instability and fragility” in order to move towards “more prosperity, freedom and peace.”
Regional stability
The UN Secretary-General also welcomed Iraq’s “pivotal” role in “regional stability” and “the government’s commitment to advance dialog and diplomacy,” referring to the unprecedented negotiations mediated by Baghdad between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani said his government’s priorities include “creating jobs, fighting poverty and fighting corruption.”
“We are proceeding with the establishment of the stability equation. “Our government has created a state of political and security stability, and today Iraq is the key to a solution in the region and not part of a security and political problem.”
“We are trying to bring together Iraqi factions and contradictory opinions, which we believe play a pioneering role among brothers and friends to create this stable regional system, which will definitely reflect on stability in the region and the world,” he said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein on Wednesday. He is also scheduled to meet with President Abdel Latif Rachid and Parliament Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi, according to a statement from the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.
Guterres is scheduled to meet later Wednesday with representatives of organizations that advocate for women’s and youth rights, a UN spokesman said in a statement.
Wealth and Crisis
Iraq has vast oil wealth and relies on oil for 90% of its revenues. Its foreign currency reserves have exceeded $100 billion. But after decades of war, it is still suffering from a dilapidated infrastructure and a lagging economy that is still floundering outside the oil sector.
The current prime minister, who was appointed in late 2022 to form a government, followed long-standing skirmishes and negotiations between the major Shia parties and deadly clashes in Baghdad in August 2022.
In 2019, the country also witnessed unprecedented protests against the dysfunction of the political system, youth unemployment, the domination of armed factions, chronic corruption and the deterioration of infrastructure after decades of conflict.
On Thursday, Guterres will visit a refugee camp in northern Iraq before heading to Erbil where he will meet representatives of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government.
