During an official visit to the State of Kuwait on 23 – 25 November, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Iraq, Mr. Martin Kobler, was received by the Amir of the State of Kuwait, H.H. Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, in the country’s capital, Kuwait City.

SRSG Kobler also met with the Prime Minister, Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Hamad Al-Sabah, and the Ambassador of Iraq in Kuwait, Mr. Mohammed Hussein Bahr al-Ulum. He held fruitful meetings with a number of interlocutors, including the Speaker of the Kuwait National Assembly, Mr. Jassem Al-Kharafi, and the Deputy Chairman of the Kuwaiti Compensation Commission, Ms. Sabikah K. Al-Abdul-Razzaq.

“I had the opportunity to discuss a range of vital issues that are of concern to both Kuwait and Iraq. I felt there is a lot of goodwill on both sides to move forward and to assure good neighborly relations between the countries. And this is exactly what the UN is hoping to achieve. I look forward to working with both governments to this end,” SRSG Kobler said.

The visit to Kuwait marked Mr. Kobler’s first in his official capacity as the Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq.

(Source: UNAMI)

In the following video interview, former UNAMI chief Ad Melkert (2009-2011) recounts how the United Nations supported dialogue over boundary issues and assisted Iraqi politicians to find a compromise on the electoral law that laid the ground for peaceful elections in 2009.

(Source: United Nations)

The United Nations Security Council welcomed the Iraqi Government’s assumption of full autonomy, with effect from 1st July, over the proceeds of a development fund set up after the 2003 United States-led invasion to meet the country’s humanitarian needs, economic reconstruction and infrastructure repairs.

In a press statement, the Council welcomed the Government’s establishment of a successor arrangement for the transition of the Development Fund for Iraq, in line with the United Nations body’s resolution 1956, adopted last year.

“The members of the Security Council noted that, in this regard, oversight of the full proceeds from the Development Fund for Iraq has been transferred from the International Advisory and Monitoring Board to the Government of Iraq’s Committee of Financial Experts, which will exercise authority in accordance with its terms of reference approved by Iraq’s Council of Ministers,” according to the statement, read out by Ambassador Alfred Moungara Moussotsi of Gabon, which holds the Council’s presidency in June.

The Council reiterated its appreciation of the ongoing efforts and commitment of the Iraqi Government to ensure that oil revenues are used in the interest of the country’s people, and to ensure that transition arrangements remain consistent with the constitution and with international best practices with regard to transparency, accountability and integrity.

“The members of the Security Council underscored the importance of Iraq’s continued compliance with relevant [Security Council] resolutions,” the statement added.

The Council set up the trust fund in May 2003 so that oil and other revenues could be paid into it, to be disbursed at the discretion of the then US-led Provisional Authority for humanitarian and economic reconstruction, replacing the previous oil-for-food programme that allowed the sanctions-bound government of Saddam Hussein to use some oil revenues for the monitored purchase of humanitarian supplies.

(Source: United Nations)

A UN working group said on Thursday that Iraq should tightly regulate private security firms to prevent abuses by their employees when they stay on in the country after a scheduled U.S. military withdrawal.

While the number of incidents involving private military and security companies in Iraq has decreased in recent years, the Government should continue to regulate and monitor their activities, a group of independent United Nations human rights experts said today.

“Providing security to its people is a fundamental responsibility of the State,” noted Faiza Patel, a member of the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries, which just concluded a visit to the country.

“Outsourcing security creates risks for human rights and the Iraqi Government must remain vigilant and devote the necessary resources to ensure that security companies – whether international or Iraqi – are stringently regulated and that they respect the human rights of the Iraqi people.”

The recent decline in the number of incidents is attributed to several factors, including the decrease in the military-related activities of such companies in Iraq, stricter regulation by the Iraqi authorities, and United States efforts to tighten oversight of its private security contractors operating in Iraq.

“Despite this decrease in incidents, Iraq continues to grapple with the grant of legal immunity extended to private security contractors,” states a news release issued by the Group. This immunity prevented prosecutions in Iraqi courts. In addition, prosecutions in the home countries of such companies have not been successful.

The Group welcomed the fact that the 2009 Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Iraq and the US contains a provision removing the immunity of some private foreign security contractors in Iraq.

“It is not clear, however, whether this removal of immunity covers all contractors employed by the United States Government and whether it is fully applied in Iraqi courts,” they said.

Among its recommendations, the experts urged the Iraqi Government to prioritize the adoption of legislation regulating security companies that has been pending since 2008.

The Working Group, which reports to the UN Human Rights Council, is composed of five independent experts serving in their personal capacities: José Luis Gómez del Prado (Chair-Rapporteur, Spain), Faiza Patel (Pakistan), Alexander Nikitin (Russia), Amada Benavides de Pérez (Colombia) and Najat al-Hajjaji (Libya).

(Sources: Reuters, United Nations)

Statement by the Special Representative of the Secretary General, Ad Melkert, at the National Conference of Economic, Social and Government Stakeholders:

Your Excellency the Speaker of the Council of Representatives, Usama al-Najaifi; Ministers, Ambassadors, Distinguished Visitors.

It is my honour to have the opportunity to address such a diverse cross-section of Iraqi citizens: from government, parliament, business and labour, all willing to address the serious and fundamental challenges of true socio-economic reform and growth in Iraq.

Central to the strengthening of Iraq’s hard won gains in the areas of security and democratic transition are some basic socio-economic considerations which can only be determined and answered by the Government and people of Iraq:

• How will Iraq generate the type of meaningful employment opportunities that allow current residents to stay and re-build the country, and moreover attract those Iraqi citizens living abroad back to the country?
• Outside of the oil and energy sector, in what sectors can Iraq be competitive and positively differentiate itself from other destinations for investment?
• How can workers become recognized as true stakeholders in the success of companies, institutions and the economy generally?
• How can Iraq’s economic growth be used as a tool for improving quality of life and living standards for all citizens, reducing existing inequalities that are unsustainable?
• In what ways can women’s participation be more be more integrated into Iraq’s efforts towards economic growth?

Fifty percent of water resources are wasted in Iraq, where six million people have no access to clean water, the United Nations said on Monday, the eve of World Water Day, reports AFP.

“Iraq faces difficulties in meeting the target of 91 percent of households using a safe drinking water supply by 2015,” due to decades of conflict, sanctions and neglect, the UNICEF children’s fund said in a statement.

“Iraq’s average water production level per person, at 327 litres (86 gallons)/capita/day, is considered high by international standards but around 50 percent of the water produced is lost to seepage, leakage and wastage due to system inefficiencies … One in five or around six million Iraqis do not have access to safe water, of which the vast majority are in rural areas.”

It said more than 500,000 Iraqi children access their water from a river or stream and that over 200,000 access their water from an open well.

In rural areas, one in four children access their water from rivers and streams and nearly one in 10 use tanker trucks and open wells respectively.

Water-borne diseases are widespread due to polluted drinking water supplies, said the statement.

In the first six months of 2010, there were over 360,000 diarrhea cases as a result of polluted drinking water and a lack of hygiene awareness among local communities, particularly vulnerable groups such as women and children.

“Every day at least 250,000 tonnes of raw sewage is pumped into the Tigris river threatening unprotected water sources and the entire water distribution system,” it added.

UNICEF said it had supported a variety of projects to improve Iraq’s water situation, including awareness and training campaigns.

UNICEF and the European Union are celebrating Water Day in Iraq with a number of events, including celebrations in 23 schools.

Eleven thousand primary school children will join UNICEF in calling for more investments in water infrastructure, the conservation of water resources and keeping these resources free from pollution.

(Source: AFP)

The European Union is contributing 17 million euro [$24 million] to improve access to quality basic education in Iraq.  The EU is partnering with UNICEF and the Government of Iraq to develop new education policies, build the capacity of the government, and mobilize communities to increase enrolment of girls and boys in schools and help them complete their education. This programme is in line with the ongoing work to support the Government of Iraq to develop the National Education Strategy and to meet its education targets.

“UNICEF is deeply grateful to the people of the European Union as this major programme will be instrumental in providing all Iraqi children in the years ahead with their fundamental right to a quality primary school education” said Sikander Khan, UNICEF’s Representative to Iraq. “By improving the overall quality of primary education as well as integrating hundreds of thousands of children and adolescents currently outside of the system back into it, millions of children in Iraq will benefit with the skills they need to escape poverty, become prosperous and act as a force for building a stable and peaceful Iraq in the future.”

Around $34 million is “missing” from a post-Gulf War fund that Iraq maintains to protect the money from foreign claims, its parliamentary speaker said on Monday as authorities scrambled to head off further protests on cutting politicians’ pay and ramping up support for the needy.

“There is missing money, we do not know where it has gone,” Osama al-Nujaifi (pictured) said at a news conference in Baghdad. “The money is around [$34 million] in total.”

“It may have been spent somewhere, but it does not appear in our accounts, so parliament will investigate where this money has gone.”

Nujaifi did not say when or how the discovery had been made regarding the missing money. He said two investigative committees had been formed to track down the cash.

The Development Fund for Iraq (DFI), which was set up after the 2003 war to handle oil and other revenues, has been protected against claims by a U.N. resolution that expires on June 30.

On December 15, the U.N. Security Council ended key international Chapter VII sanctions imposed on Iraq following now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait in a major move toward bringing closure on the Saddam era.

Among the decisions taken on that day was the closure of the DFI.

(Sources: Al Arabiya, AKnews)