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STORY: UN / IRAQ
TRT: 3:02
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 16 FEBRUARY 2021, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
RECENT – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
16 FEBRUARY 2021, NEW YORK CITY
2. Multiscreen
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI):
“For credible elections to take place, it is imperative that parties and candidates operate in a free and safe environment. The same goes for members of the media. In this regard, recent incidents are highly troubling – to say the least. And with this in mind, I call on all parties, stakeholders and authorities to come together, to agree on a ‘code of conduct’ and to allow all Iraqi candidates to operate freely – irrespective of ethnicity, gender, language, religion, belief or background.”
4. Multiscreen
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI):
“Although Iraqis marked the third anniversary of the territorial defeat of ISIL this past December, the heinous suicide attacks on a market in Baghdad, which killed at least thirty people and injured over one hundred, painfully demonstrated that violent extremism has not been vanquished. A callous act of cowardice, and a stark reminder that Iraq cannot rest on its laurels. And of course, strengthening safety and security is as much about addressing the root causes of extremism, as it is about the immediate ability to respond to threats on the ground.”
6. Multiscreen
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI):
“Closing camps cannot be an objective in and of itself – instead, the focus must be on safe and dignified measures to solve displacement. We accordingly urge the Iraqi authorities to rapidly adopt and roll out their national plan for durable solutions.”
8. Multiscreen
9.SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammed Hussein Bahr Al-Uloom, Permanent Representative of Iraq United Nation:
“Iraq values the press statement by the Security Council that reaffirms international support for Iraq in its war against terrorism and its continued solidarity with the people and the government of Iraq in this war against terrorism and condemning the attacks against Baghdad and Erbil. And Iraq requires continuous support as we need capacity building to continue to fight terrorism, also we need logistic support at the implementation of special progress to combat violence extremism and to identify the linkage between organized crime and terrorism. We also need help in the reconstruction of the liberated areas so that the returning of those displaced and former terrorist fighters need to be repatriated with their families, in addition to the need to receive help in establishing a national centre to fight terrorism.”
10.Multiscreen
The head of the United Nations mission in Iraq (UNAMI) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said, “for credible elections to take place, it is imperative that parties and candidates operate in a free and safe environment,” calling on “all parties, stakeholders and authorities to come together, to agree on a ‘code of conduct’ and to allow all Iraqi candidates to operate freely.”
Addressing the Security Council today (16 Feb) via a video link, Hennis-Plasschaert noted that the Council of Ministers, in consultation with the Independent High Electoral Commission, or IHEC, decided on a new date for Iraq’s elections: 10 October 2021 – 4 months later than originally planned. Meanwhile, parliament has passed the legislation necessary to finance the elections, and countrywide registration of candidates and alliances, as well as voter registration updates, are underway.
On security in the country, the UNAMI chief said, “although Iraqis marked the third anniversary of the territorial defeat of ISIL this past December, the heinous suicide attacks on a market in Baghdad, which killed at least thirty people and injured over one hundred, painfully demonstrated that violent extremism has not been vanquished.”
She stated, “a callous act of cowardice, and a stark reminder that Iraq cannot rest on its laurels.”
Hennis-Plasschaert also said, “strengthening safety and security is as much about addressing the root causes of extremism, as it is about the immediate ability to respond to threats on the ground.”
When the mission’s chief last briefed the Council, the Iraqi government had recently renewed its efforts to close camps for internally displaced Iraqis – many of them women and children. Camp closures have been ongoing for the past three months, and the possibility of further closures is imminent.
She reiterated, “closing camps cannot be an objective in and of itself – instead, the focus must be on safe and dignified measures to solve displacement. We accordingly urge the Iraqi authorities to rapidly adopt and roll out their national plan for durable solutions.”
Iraqi Ambassador Mohammed Hussein Bahr Al-Uloom also briefed the Council. He stated that his country “values the press statement by the Security Council that reaffirms international support for Iraq in its war against terrorism and its continued solidarity with the people and the government of Iraq in this war against terrorism and condemning the attacks against Baghdad and Erbil.”
Ambassador Al-Uloom continued, “Iraq requires continuous support as we need capacity building to continue to fight terrorism, also we need logistic support at the implementation of special progress to combat violence extremism and to identify the linkage between organized crime and terrorism.”
He also said that Iraq needs help in “the reconstruction of the liberated areas so that the returning of those displaced and former terrorist fighters need to be repatriated with their families, in addition to the need to receive help in establishing a national centre to fight terrorism.”
