Tag: Middle East

Presenting the Mission’s latest report, UN Special Representative Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert updated ambassadors on key developments since her last briefing in May.

She highlighted initiatives carried out under the leadership of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, including the recently adopted federal budget, the launch of long-awaited reforms in the banking and finance sectors, and a new law on social security.

No easy feat

“To cut a long story short: with last year’s gains in political stability and an ambitious federal budget in hand, Iraq is well positioned to seize the many opportunities in front of it,” she said, speaking via videoconference.

However, she cautioned that “this is not an easy feat, let alone a given.”

Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert said corruption is still pervasive. Although highlighting admirable commitments made by the Government, “at the same time, it is clear that the intricate web of graft and vested interests, built up in Iraq over decades, will not be dismantled overnight.”

Furthermore, Iraq’s economic structure is heavily reliant on oil, while the public sector is “so big that it is simply unsustainable.”

Rapidly growing population

“All of this must be understood alongside Iraq’s rapidly growing population – with predictions that it could double over the next three to four decades,” she said.

She warned that without structural reforms to guarantee job opportunities or advances in quality of life, “the embers of discontent could flare up easily, again and again.”

The UN official pointed to other “threat multipliers” including climate change and water scarcity. She recalled that temperatures in Iraq again exceeded 50 degrees Celsius this past summer. Additionally, nearly 14,000 families were displaced by drought conditions across 10 governorates last June, according to the UN migration agency, IOM.

“Needless to say, if left unaddressed, this is only the beginning of a rather nightmarish situation. Hence, it is for good reasons that the Government has made the issue of water security one of its top priorities,” she said.

Kurdistan election delays

Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert also underscored the need to address exclusion, marginalization and stigmatization, saying that further progress on enabling people to return to their areas of origin, including Jurf al-Sakhr and Sinjar, remains critical.

“A further topic that cannot be overlooked is the influence of non-state armed actors in certain areas, which not only undermines confidence in the state but also creates an environment of fear and anger,” she said.

Ms. also addressed the situation in the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, where parliamentary elections have been repeatedly postponed. The vote was originally scheduled for October 2022, then moved to November of this year, and now further delayed to next February.

“To state the obvious, we expect all parties to ensure that this new election date will not again fall victim to internal political strife. With the current administration in a caretaker capacity, the Region’s democratic process must prevail. There is so much at stake,” she said.

As the 15-member Council prepared to meet, UN agencies were reporting that hundreds of people have been killed and thousands injured following the early Saturday morning rocket fire into Israel by Palestinian militants.

The ensuing Israeli response to the Hamas attacks included airstrikes in Gaza, where the UN agency operating there, UNRWA, had reported massive damages alongside rising death tolls.

The UN agency is currently sheltering 73,538 internally displaced people in 64 of its schools in all areas in the Gaza Strip. An UNRWA school sheltering 225 people was “directly hit” and severely damaged, but no casualties were recorded, the agency said.

New reports emerged of alarming food scarcity and clashes across the Israel-Lebanon border.

Israel-Lebanon border: Rocket, artillery fire

Early Sunday, the UN peacekeeping operation in Lebanon, UNIFIL, “detected several rockets fired from southeast Lebanon toward Israeli-occupied territory in the general area of Kafr Chouba and artillery fire from Israel to Lebanon in response”, according to the mission.

The UN Security Council-mandated mission, operating along an area known as the “Blue Line”, was deployed in 1978 to restore peace between Israel and Lebanon.

“We are in contact with authorities on both sides of the Blue Line, at all levels, to contain the situation and avoid a more serious escalation,” UNIFIL said in a statement. “Our peacekeepers remain in their positions and on task.”

UNIFIL said peacekeepers continued to work, “some from shelters, for their safety”.

“We urge everyone to exercise restraint and make use of UNIFIL’s liaison and coordination mechanisms to de-escalate to prevent a fast deterioration of the security situation,” the mission said.

In ‘close contact’ with key actors

At the same time, the UN chief of the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, “is in close contact” with the United States, European Union, Qatar, Egypt, and Lebanon “to discuss the ongoing war” in Israel and Gaza, according to a social media post by his office, UNSCO.

“Priority now is to avoid further loss of civilian life and deliver much needed humanitarian aid to the Strip,” the UNSCO post said, adding that the “UN remains actively engaged to advance these efforts”.

Calls to protect civilians

Top UN officials have called for an immediate cessation of violence.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned “in the strongest terms” the attack by Hamas against Israeli towns, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said, urging “maximum restraint” and that “all diplomatic efforts” are made “to avoid a wider conflagration”.

“Civilians must be respected and protected in accordance with international humanitarian law at all times,” the UN chief said in a statement.

UN agency raises alarm over food scarcity

As the conflict intensifies, civilians, including vulnerable children and families, face mounting challenges in accessing essential food supplies, with distribution networks disrupted and production severely hampered by hostilities, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).

“WFP urges safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to affected areas, calling on all parties to uphold the principles of humanitarian law, taking every necessary measure to safeguard the lives and well-being of civilians, including ensuring access to food,” the agency said.

From Gaza, UNRWA reported that food operations remain on hold until further notice, with 14 distribution centres now closed. Some 112,759 families, or 541,640 individuals, had not yet received food assistance, the agency said.

“I vehemently condemn this morning’s multi-front assault against Israeli towns and cities near the Gaza Strip and barrage of rockets reaching across central Israel by Hamas militants,” said Tor Wennesland, the UN’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

Reports of hostages

“These events have resulted in horrific scenes of violence and many Israeli fatalities and injuries, with many believed to be kidnapped inside the Strip,” he said. “These are heinous attacks targeting civilians and must stop immediately.”

Deeply concerned for the well-being of all civilians, he said he is “in close contact with all concerned to urge maximum restraint”.

“This is a dangerous precipice and I appeal to all to pull back from the brink,” he said, calling on all sides to protect civilians.

‘Possibly thousands of indiscriminate rockets’

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk echoed that concern.

“Civilians must never be the target of attack,” he said, pointing to reports that Israelis have been taken hostage.

“I am shocked and appalled at reports this morning that hundreds, possibly thousands, of indiscriminate rockets have been fired by Palestinian armed groups towards Israel, and that at least 22 Israelis have been killed and hundreds injured.”

Airstrikes in Gaza

Noting that Israeli forces have responded with air strikes into the densely populated Gaza Strip, he called on them to “take all precautions to avoid civilian casualties there”.

“I call for an immediate stop to the violence, and appeal to all sides and key countries in the region to de-escalate to avoid further bloodshed,” he said.

During the last three months, more than 10,000 housing units were advanced, Tor Wennesland told ambassadors at the UN Security Council in New York.

“Settlements further entrench the occupation, fuel violence, impede Palestinian access to their land and resources, and systematically erode the viability of a Palestinian State as part of a two-State solution”, the senior envoy said.

“I call on the Government of Israel to cease all settlement activity and dismantle outposts immediately, in line with its obligations under international law,” he added.

The regular briefings stem from Security Council resolution 2334, adopted in December 2016, which demanded that Israel stop building new settlements on Palestinian land.

Escalating violence

Mr. Wennesland also expressed concern over escalating violence in the occupied West Bank and Israel, at levels not seen in decades. He bemoaned the use of increasingly lethal weaponry, including in densely populated areas.

There have been casualties on both sides. Palestinians, including children, were killed or injured during demonstrations, clashes, security operations, and attacks, while Israelis, including members of the security forces, suffered casualties also.

Mr. Wennesland called for immediate steps to de-escalate tensions.

“I condemn all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror. Such acts can never be justified and must be condemned by all. Perpetrators must be held accountable and swiftly brought to justice,” he said.

Funding crunch

Additionally, Mr. Wennesland noted funding shortage affecting UN humanitarian agencies, including the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and World Food Programme (WFP), calling on Member States to provide more support.

UNRWA urgently needs $75 million to maintain food assistance through December for 1.2 million Palestinians in Gaza, while WFP requires $32 million for aid efforts across the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).

Political process

Concluding his briefing, the Special Coordinator said there was no substitute for a legitimate political process to resolve core of the issues driving the conflict.

He reiterated his commitment to supporting both Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the decades of conflict, “in pursuit of the vision of two States – Israel and an independent, democratic, contiguous, viable, and sovereign Palestinian State – living side by side in peace and security within secure and recognized borders, on the basis of the pre-1967 lines, with Jerusalem as the shared capital of both States.”