Newly-elected officials must work constructively for Iraqis, Ban says

Calling recent polls in Iraq “an important turning point” for the strife-torn country, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urges the newly-elected provincial officials to work together to improve the lives of Iraqis, in a report released today.

“I was delighted that millions of Iraqi people exercised their right to vote in an environment largely free of violence,” Mr. Ban says in a report to the Security Council that outlines developments since 6 November 2008 and activities of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), and which follows his 6 February visit to the country.

“The onus is now on those who will take their seats in the governorate councils to engage in constructive political dialogue so that the benefits of the improved security situation can be turned into actions designed to deliver tangible benefits and essential services to the people of Iraq,” he adds.

There was a 51 per cent turnout rate for the 31 January polls which took place in 6,471 polling centres across the country, and in which some 14,467 candidates vied for posts in 14 of 19 provincial, or governorate, councils.

During his visit to Baghdad, Mr. Ban writes, everyone he encountered strongly praised the role of UNAMI in providing logistic, strategic, and organizational support for what he called “well prepared elections.”

In the coming months, he says, political attention is likely to shift towards disputed internal boundaries and the status of the city of Kirkuk, and he expects UNAMI to play a key role in helping the parties reach consensus on those as-yet unresolved issues.

The UN is also committed to supporting the Government to meet social and economic challenges as Iraqis increasingly look to both national and provincial institutions to provide the rewards of recovery, including jobs, clean water and streets, reliable electricity, better schools and adequate health care.

For those reasons, the Secretary-General welcomes the expansion of the UN presence since 2007, adding offices in Basrah, Kirkuk, Najaf, Ramada and Mosul, and he calls on Member States to continue supporting its efforts.

The Government decided to allocate $25 million towards the construction of a UNAMI integrated headquarters in Baghdad, he says, noting that a number of Iraqi leaders requested the mission and UN organizations to continue to increase their activities throughout the country.

However, Mr. Ban stresses that the November rocket attack which killed two staff members and injured 15 underscores the continuing threats to the Organization, asserting that: “It is for this reason that staff security must remain a priority.”

The fact that threats of violence during most key political events were not realized can be interpreted as a sign that militia and insurgent leaders are losing influence, or that their capability and resources are being depleted, he says.

The discovery of new, large weapons caches demonstrates, however, that they intend to maintain some degree of military capability that could be unleashed in some point in time, the report adds.

In addition, Mr. Ban warns the new security agreement between the Governments of Iraq and the United States is being put in place and the gradual reduction of the multinational forces could begin to have an impact on the logistical and security resources available to support UN operations over the next six months.

For that reason, meetings were held with the Minister of Defence and US military officials to discuss UNAMI security in the Green Zone and the possibility of security provided by Iraqi defence forces.