BAGHDAD: Iraq has asked that the UN assistance mission set up after the US-led invasion of the country in 2003 end its operations by the end of 2025, saying it is no longer needed because Iraq has made significant progress towards stability.
Based in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, the mission was established with a broad mandate to assist in the development of Iraqi institutions, support political dialogue and elections, and promote human rights.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said Iraq wants to deepen cooperation with other UN organizations, but the political work of the UN assistance mission, known as UNAMI, is no longer needed.
The head of the mission in Iraq frequently shuttles between top political, judicial and security officials in a job that supporters see as important to conflict prevention and resolution but critics have often described as meddling.
Sudani in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the country has managed to take important steps in many areas, especially those under the mandate of UNAMI.
The Iraqi government has decided to end several international missions from 2023, including the US-led coalition formed in 2014 to fight Islamic State and the UN mission set up to help hold the jihadist group accountable for its crimes.
Iraqi officials say the country has come a long way since the sectarian bloodshed following the US-led invasion and Islamic State’s attempt to establish a caliphate, and that it no longer needs as much international help.
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Some critics worry about the stability of the young democracy given the recurring conflicts and the presence of many heavily armed military-political groups that have often fought in the streets, most recently in 2022.
Some diplomats and UN officials are also concerned about human rights and accountability in the country, which is often ranked among the most corrupt in the world and where activists say freedom of expression has been curtailed in recent years.
The Iraqi government says it is working to fight corruption and denies there is less room for freedom of expression.
The Somali government also this week requested the end of the UN political mission. In a letter to the Security Council, the country’s foreign minister called for the withdrawal of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), which has been advising the government on peacebuilding, security reforms and democracy for more than a decade.
