Time for Iraqis to make political progress, UN political chief says

Iraqis must focus on political dialogue, reconciliation and bread-and-butter economic issues now that they are seeing improved security, the top United Nations political official told the Security Council today.

Briefing the Council on the latest report on the work of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), B. Lynn Pascoe, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, warned that the security situation remains fragile and any recent gains could be lost unless they are consolidated with political progress.

“Efforts must now focus on achieving the political gains necessary to build trust and confidence across community lines, and to improve the quality of life for all Iraqis, including the delivery of basic services and generating employment,” he said.

Mr. Pascoe said the UN believed the best way to build trust was to tackle the issues “at the heart of each community’s competing visions for the future of Iraq,” such as the federal framework of the country, the handling of the status of the northern city of Kirkuk and other disputed areas and revenue-sharing agreements.

“The potential is there, and it is ultimately up to the Iraqi people to make sound choices that will allow them to build a sustainable and lasting peace.”

The Under-Secretary-General noted that discussions within the Iraqi parliament about the adoption of new electoral laws remains unresolved, although the UN was doing all it could to promote practical compromises.

“A failure to come to agreement on a law at this time would be a major setback – not only for the prospects of elections this year but for the larger process of national reconciliation in Iraq.”

The situation in Kirkuk has also become more tense and violent in the past week, in part because of the discord over the proposed electoral laws, and Mr. Pascoe stressed that the bloodshed illustrated “how the lack of dialogue and compromise could easily lead to renewed violence.”

Strengthening the Iraqi economy must also be a top priority, the Under-Secretary-General added, observing that the spike in oil prices this year has not yet translated into improvements in the lives of ordinary citizens.

“Unemployment rates remain stubbornly high, and the same governorates rate consistently low on key socio-economic indicators, such as unemployment, malnutrition and illiteracy. It is estimated that 60 per cent of Iraqis do not have access to one or more essential social services and 15 per cent lack food security.”

Ambassador Alejandro Wolff of the United States, speaking on behalf of the Multinational Force (MNF) operating in Iraq, informed the Council that for the past three months the total number of security incidents had reached their lowest level in four years.

Since June last year, overall attacks had decreased by 84 per cent and the number of civilian deaths from violence had dropped by 65 per cent. He attributed the gains to the work of both Iraqi and coalition security forces.