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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.

In an interview with UN Radio, Nickolay Mladenov, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), said that there is “general agreement,” not just in the UN but in Iraq as well, that the security element of dealing with ISIL is one part of the solution, but is not the comprehensive solution to the problems facing the country.

“What also needs to happen is a political process, and a political process that allows for the various communities of Iraq to come back together,” Mr. Mladenov stressed.

“The last decade has seen a lot of violence that has been driven by divisive politics, that [in turn] has been driven by the communities looking more inwardly rather than working together, and it is time now to address that,” he added.

Indeed, he said, the new Government in Iraq is inclusive of all the political parties, and is embarking on an agenda of addressing some of the long-standing grievances that exist within Iraqi society, including those related to poverty, security, participation in decision-making and revenue-sharing.

As such, the UN is working “intensely” with the Government of Iraq, as well as with Kurdish authorities and with various groups on the ground to find where agreement can be reached on security, political and social solutions, and, ultimately, pushing for those agreements to be implemented, Mr. Mladenov said.

“Our role really in this process – what I think is fundamentally the role of the United Nations around the world – is to bring people together, to facilitate dialogue, and to come up with proposals for solutions that could work on the ground, and to help implement them,” he said.

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.

Briefing the UN Security Council this morning, UN envoy for Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, and UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos, delivered an ominous assessment of the on-the-ground situation in Iraq, amid an ongoing offensive perpetrated by ISIL militants and a growing number of internally displaced persons (IPDs) fleeing the brutal violence.

“ISIL’s strategy is obvious – to insert themselves in the ethnic and religious fault lines of Iraq, to undermine legitimate authorities and to spread fear among all communities,” said Nickolay Mladenov in his address to the Council. “Their goals are also clear – to destroy the Iraqi State and replace it with a ‘State of Terror’ built on genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Such a “State of Terror” governed by ISIL and spanning the territory of Iraq and neighbouring Syria would then ultimately seek to advance on the rest of the region, warned Mr. Mladenov, destabilize bordering States and “threaten global peace and security.”

The emergence of ISIL as a cogent threat to the democratic and humanitarian stability of Iraq has been steady yet devastating. Adopting a Takfiri belief system used by many extremely radical religious groups, including Nigeria’s Boko Haram, ISIL militants automatically assume the authority to declare anybody to be kafir, or apostate, condemning thousands of ethnic and religious minorities and women and girls to gross human rights violations and, in many cases, death.

Wheat seeds, fertilizer and animal feed are starting to roll out to nearly 28,000 farming families in Iraq whose livelihoods have been left in tatters as a result of hostilities -- part of an effort from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) aimed at reinforcing food production and helping people recover.

But the Organization is warning that an additional $38.5 million in support is urgently needed to prevent the country's agricultural sector from collapsing and an already-worrisome food security situation from further degenerating.

Thousands of Iraqi farmers have been forced to flee their lands or have had their assets destroyed or seized. Others have seen markets for their crops disappear, or have sold off livestock, supplies and equipment to make ends meet.

As a result of these disruptions, June's harvest was severely compromised, reducing food availability across the country – currently an estimated 2.8 million people in Iraq are in need of food assistance. This situation could worsen as families continue to lose productive assets and income opportunities, or find themselves forced to unload livestock for quick cash.

“If not addressed in time, this will translate into longer-term reliance on food aid and other forms of aid," said Abdessalam Ould Ahmed, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa. “Millions of vulnerable Iraqis are in dire need of help to restore their self-sufficiency and build resilience,” he added.

By John Lee.

Foreign Minister, Dr. Ibrahim Al Jaafari, stressed that the strategic priorities of the Iraqi diplomacy is to restore Iraqi-Arab relations to normal, calling for intensifying efforts and cooperation to eradicate terrorism, which today constitutes a threat to all countries in the region.

These statements came during the official visit carried out by President of the Republic of Iraq, Dr. Fuad Masum, to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia heading an official delegation comprising Dr. Ibrahim Al Jaafari and a number of Ministers upon an invitation from the K.S.A.

The Minister said in a press statement that the purpose of this visit is to restore relations to normal in line with the interests of the Iraqi and Saudi peoples, stressing that the terrorist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) threatens Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia and all the countries in the region, a thing which requires restoring relations between the two countries rapidly.

The Minister praised the Saudi position regarding the Iraq war against ISIL, saying that the Saudi side revealed excellent understanding and frank and clear stance expressed by His Majesty the King of K.S.A. by denouncing ISIL, pointing to the importance of cooperation against the common threat; the international terrorism.

(Source: MoFA)

The United Nations has launched a US$2.2 billion appeal to address the protection and humanitarian needs of 5.2 million people in conflict-affected Iraq.

“The needs of the Iraqi people are immense,” Neill Wright, acting Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, said in Baghdad. “It’s imperative we step up our efforts.”

The third revision of the Strategic Response Plan (SRP) of the UN and NGO humanitarian community aims to continue its support of the Government of Iraq in effectively addressing the humanitarian and protection needs of 5.2 million Iraqis across the country through 2015.

Included in this are 1.8 million displaced since January 2014, 1.5 million within communities hosting many of the displaced, and 1.7 million living in conflict areas outside Government control.

An estimated 2.8 million people are in need of food assistance and approximately 800,000 people are in urgent need of emergency shelter assistance.

Throughout Iraq, 1.26 million people are in need of some form of winterisation assistance. The provision of winterisation packages, warm clothes, shoes, health services and food are all critical requirements.

The multi-sectorial plan was produced by more than 45 humanitarian organizations, including UN agencies, international and national NGOs operating in Iraq, and covers the provision of assistance in non-food items/shelter, protection, health, food, water sanitation and hygiene (WASH), education, and logistics until the end of December 2015.

To date, more than $600 million has been contributed to the 2014 -2015 Iraq SRP, including a major contribution by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in July. The remaining $1.6 billion needed is required for activities over the next 15 months, but early contributions are essential with the onset of winter.

“Although much has been done, much more is needed in the coming weeks to prevent additional, unnecessary suffering for many Iraqis,” Wright said. “This effort requires all of us – the UN, non-governmental organisations, civil society and the private sector – to work together. All of us have a role to play.”

(Source: UN)

By Ali Mamouri for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

The Shiite community has much more religious coherence than its Sunni counterpart.

This raises several questions for Sunni authorities, including the ones raised by prominent Iraqi Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmad al-Qabisi in response to Ali al-Sistani’s fatwa regarding the need to defend Iraq against extremist Sunni attacks. “Shiites have a strong authority that orders and is obeyed. However, Sunnis do not and will not have a similar leadership or authority,” he said.

The religious Shiite institution has never had a clerical system such as the Catholic Church in the Vatican. However, it does have a strong bond with its popular base and can mobilize millions by issuing a single fatwa. The Shiite authority has a prominent historical role within Sunni communities through the social and spiritual power that the religious leadership has over its followers.

One can find several examples of Shiite clerics having prominent social roles in the region’s modern history. Sayyid Hassan al-Shirazi’s fatwa (1814-1896) led the dissolution of one of the greatest trade contracts between the Kingdom of Iran and Great Britain in 1891.

Shiite authorities played a decisive role in the constitutional revolution in Iran between 1905 and 1907. The entire Iraqi public rose up against the British when they occupied Iraq after World War I, in the Great Iraqi Revolution of 1920. There are plenty of other examples that can be seen throughout Sistani’s leadership in modern-day Iraq.

Despite all the social transformations of the modern era, Shiite authorities still have a broad social power over their followers in the various Shiites communities around the world, which gives great power and cohesion to Shiites compared with other denominations of Islam. Where does this power come from, how is it implemented, and how do the religious authorities communicate with their followers in Shiite communities?

From CNN. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

VP Joe Biden wasn't wrong, Turkey, UAE, Saudi Arabia need to do more to fight ISIS, says Christopher Hill:

By John Lee.

Newly-appointed prime minister Haidar al-Abadi has called for an end to the boycott by a number of governorates of products from neighbouring countries, including Saudi Arabia.

He urged those provinces to instead develop their economies through regional cooperation, particularly with neighbouring states.

A number of provincial councils, including Baghdad, Basra and Najaf, had taken a decision to boycott products from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar and gave merchants a month to get rid of the products without affecting the sale of basic commodities.

Meanwhile, a number of other governorates called for boycotting Iranian products, in protest of Tehran’s meddling in Iraqi affairs.

(Source: Al Arabiya)

(Flag image via Shutterstock)

By John Lee.

Hellfire Systems LLC, of Orlando, Florida, has been awarded a $68,721,521 [80 billion Iraqi dinar] modification (P00104) to firm-fixed-price, foreign military sales contract W31P4Q-11-C-0242 to acquire 1,361 Hellfire II tactical missiles in containers and air-to ground missiles: model AGM-114R, AGM-114R-3, AGM-114P-4A, TGM M36E7, and ATM-114Q-6.

The countries involved in this foreign military sales contract are Iraq, Jordan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Fiscal 2012, fiscal 2013 and fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $68,721,521 [] were obligated at the time of the award.

Estimated completion date is Nov. 30, 2016. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

(Source: US Dept of Defense)

After concluding a three-day visit to Iraq, UN Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos (pictured) said today that additional support is needed ahead of the long winter months for people who have been displaced by fighting, and for the communities supporting them.

Iraq is facing an escalating emergency with up to 1.8 million Iraqis displaced since January. The crisis has affected over 20 million people across the country.

Speaking about her visit to Khanke camp and other sites in Dohuk in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator Amos said people told her they urgently need shelter and protection.

“There is a serious humanitarian crisis in Iraq. Brought on by the violence and brutality meted out by terrorist organizations,” said Ms. Amos.

“I met families who are living camps, schools and unfinished buildings. They have had to flee their homes and are terrified. I was introduced to a girl who asked to meet me. She had one request: to return to school. She insisted that was all she wanted. The humanitarian community will do all it can to help those in need of protection, shelter and basic assistance, including education and healthcare,” she added.

There are half a million displaced Iraqis in the Dohuk area. The number in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as a whole has increased to over 850,000 displaced since January.

During her visit Valerie Amos held talks with Iraq President Masum and with Dr. Mutlaq, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the High Level Committee for IDPs, and Prime Minister Barzani of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

“The newly formed Government is facing significant challenges in making sure that the displaced get the assistance needed. UN agencies and their partners in Iraq will continue to work to ensure that all Iraqis, regardless of their ethnicity or religious beliefs, are being given the best support,” she added.

“Thanks to the generosity of donors, especially from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we’ve been able to build camps, deliver food and water as well as care for the sick. But further funding will be needed as people are refusing to return home. They don't feel safe. This will take time and requires a concerted effort by all,” concluded USG Amos.

(Source: UN)