Security Council unanimously renews UN mission in Iraq for another year

The Security Council today unanimously renewed for a further year the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, whose tasks include coordinating various humanitarian operations and helping the war-torn country to organize elections by the end of January and draft a new constitution.

The Security Council today unanimously renewed for a further year the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), whose tasks include coordinating various humanitarian operations and helping the war-torn country to organize elections by the end of January and draft a new constitution.

Reaffirming that the UN should play a leading role in assisting the Iraqi people and government in the formation of institutions for representative government, the 15-member body said in a resolution that it would review UNAMI’s mandate in 12 months or sooner if requested by the Iraqi Government.

The mission was initially established for a 12-month period by Security Council resolution 1500 of 14 August 2003, when Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for it to have a staff of over 300, both international and local.

Last month Mr. Annan named Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, as his Special Representative for Iraq. Mr. Qazi is expected to make his first visit to the country some time this month, but in his latest report on the situation Mr. Annan last week stressed that staff security remained the overriding constraint for all UN operations in Iraq.

With the risk to UN personnel in Iraq categorized as "high to critical," UNAMI and UN agencies will continue to limit their activities inside Iraq to essential tasks, the report said.