Mladenov: Most Pressing Goal Remains Defeating IS

“ISIL flourishes when Iraq is weak,” he said. “Iraq is weak when it is divided by sectarian politics, when political patronage overtakes national loyalty.”

He drew attention to recent roundtables convened by the UN Mission (UNAMI) in Baghdad, Karbala and Basra which aimed at strengthening social and religious cohesions, as well as rectifying divisions within Iraqi society, and he also noted the improvement of relations between the Federal Government and the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Mr. Mladenov said many risks remained despite positive steps taken. He pointed to the toll taken by armed conflict and acts of terrorism, with over 12,000 civilians killed in 2014 and another 23,000 injured.

“Almost daily terrorist attacks continue to deliberately target all Iraqis, most notably the Shi’ite community, as well as ethnic and religious minorities across the country,” he said, decrying ISIL’s violations and abuses as “gruesome” and stressing the “serious threat” they posed to the country’s cohesion, with increasing reports of revenge attacks, and the marring of recent military gains by claims that militias have killed unarmed civilians.

The country was challenged also by fiscal constraints and UNAMI was working actively with the authorities to set up a Recovery and Reconstruction fund, while the challenge posed by supporting internally displaced persons was also huge.