Iraq

This child was among thousands of Iraqis who fled to the high-altitude region of northern Kurdistan during the winter of 2014 with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and found themselves entirely dependent on humanitarian agencies.
OCHA/Iason Athanasiadis

As winter hits displaced Iraqis, UN appeals for boost in humanitarian funding

23 December 2014
The United Nations today called for a surge in humanitarian funding to help cover the basic needs of close to one million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq’s Kurdistan region amid plummeting temperatures and wintry conditions.
A displaced young Iraqi boy in the north of the country uses a blanket to protect himself from the cold as a storm rages outside the half-built structure where he and his family have found shelter in Iraq's Kurdistan region.
UNHCR/D. Nahr

Ban welcomes decision to postpone Iraqi payments into fund set up after invasion of Kuwait

18 December 2014
Iraq will not be obligated to deposit 5 percent of its oil proceeds into a fund set up by the United Nations to pay compensation for the 1990-91 invasion and occupation of Kuwait, a decision Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed in light of the “severe security and humanitarian crisis” confronting the Iraqi people.
Protecting cultural heritage of Iraq and Syria.
UNESCO

UNESCO chief calls for ‘protected cultural zones’ in war-torn Iraq, Syria

3 December 2014
Denouncing the persecution of minorities, attacks on cultural heritage and illicit trafficking in cultural properties in Iraq and Syria as “part of a strategy of deliberate cultural cleansing of exceptional violence,” the head of the United Nations cultural agency today urged the creation of “protected cultural zones” around heritage sites in the two crisis-riven countries.
Special Representative for Iraq Nickolay Mladenov.
UN Photo/Amanda Voisard

UN envoy welcomes deal between Iraqi, Kurdish region on oil, finances

2 December 2014
The head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) welcomed today an agreement reached between the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to resolve issues related to oil exports and the budget.
Refugees in the Bahirka Camp near Erbil in Northern Iraq.
UNAMI

Violence in Iraq kills at least 1,232 people in November – UN

1 December 2014
Some 1,232 people – mostly civilians – were killed by violence in Iraq in November, the top United Nations official there said today as he called on Iraq’s political, religious and social leaders to rise above their differences and work to consolidate the democratic process.
In Zakho, Iraq, men carry insulating items from a UNHCR distribution centre in the Warga Dalal camp.
OCHA/Iason Athanasiadis

‘Time is growing short,’ UN warns as it boosts delivery of winter kits to displaced in Iraq

21 November 2014
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is stepping up its efforts in Iraq to deliver winter aid to people displaced by this year’s conflict including Thursday with the landing in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region the first in a series of flights carrying supplies aimed at mitigating the impact of the harsh months ahead.
Nickolay Mladenov.
UN Photo/Yubi Hoffmann

“Close to impossible” to reach communities in terrorist-controlled areas in Iraq

21 November 2014
General News

It’s becoming “close to impossible” to reach communities in areas of Iraq which are controlled by terrorists, according to Nickolay Mladenov the Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

Audio -
A young Syrian refugee wraps himself up in a thick blanket, part of aid to help his family weather the winter in northern Iraq.
UNHCR

Up to 1mn in Syria, Iraq may be “left out in cold” this winter

21 November 2014
General News

Up to one million Syrians and Iraqis may be “left out in the cold” as winter approaches, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is warning.

Audio -
Special Representative for Iraq Nickolay Mladenov.
UNAMI

Iraq: UN envoy sees inclusive political process as critical to resolving crisis

20 November 2014
As Iraq struggles to deal with the increasing security threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as well as with dire financial and humanitarian conditions, the United Nations envoy to the country has cited an inclusive political process as vital to finding comprehensive solutions.
Security Council meets on the situation in Iraq.
UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Amid ‘monstrous’ violence, ISIL aims to tear Iraq apart, build ‘state of terror,’ warn UN officials

18 November 2014
The atrocious crimes perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) risk plunging Iraq into catastrophe as the country reels from bitter sectarian tensions and a growing humanitarian crisis affecting over 5 million people, top United Nations officials warned today, as they called on the international community to increase efforts in aiding Iraq’s full transition towards a stable democracy.