{"id":246952,"date":"2020-03-04T00:31:40","date_gmt":"2020-03-04T05:31:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=246952"},"modified":"2020-03-04T00:31:40","modified_gmt":"2020-03-04T05:31:40","slug":"un-envoy-warns-iraq-is-being-pushed-into-the-unknown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/03\/04\/un-envoy-warns-iraq-is-being-pushed-into-the-unknown\/","title":{"rendered":"UN envoy warns Iraq is being ‘pushed into the unknown’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On Sunday, Iraq also marked five months since a popular uprising against the country’s political class erupted in Baghdad and southern provinces to decry rampant government corruption, unemployment and poor services. (Pixabay Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TANZANIA, Tanzania \u2014 The U.N. envoy for Iraq warned Tuesday that the country and its people are being \u201cpushed into the unknown\u201d by political indecisiveness and dissent that is continuing to paralyze government decision-making.<\/p>\n

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert told the Security Council she wanted to be hopeful, but unfortunately sees no cause \u201cfor immediate optimism.\u201d<\/p>\n

She spoke two days after Iraq’s prime minister-designate announced his withdrawal from the post after failing to get parliamentary support for his Cabinet selection, prolonging the political deadlock in the country.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Iraq also marked five months since a popular uprising against the country’s political class erupted in Baghdad and southern provinces to decry rampant government corruption, unemployment and poor services.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Allawi blamed political parties he did not name for his departure, saying they \u201cwere not serious about implementing reforms that they promised to the people\u201d and accusing them of placing obstacles in the way of a new and independent government. He also accused some parties of negotiating \u201cpurely for narrow interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allawi’s withdrawal plunged the country into greater uncertainty as it faces ongoing anti-government protests and the constant threat of being ensnared by festering U.S.-Iran tensions, which soared after a U.S. drone strike killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani outside Baghdad airport in January.<\/p>\n

Hennis-Plasschaert said repeated parliamentary sessions that don’t reach a quorum so they can’t take any action \u201cis exactly the opposite of what the country needs, especially during a period of acute crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe road ahead remains fraught with difficulties,\u201d she said, citing the pressing need for accountability and justice and for tackling corruption which is \u201cperhaps the greatest source of dysfunction in Iraq.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corruption is also \u201ca core feature of Iraq’s current political economy,\u201d which among other things has resulted in a ballooning and inefficient public service \u201cthat functions more as an instrument of political favour than as a servant of the people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Hennis-Plasschaert said political leaders will have to act fast and put the country’s interests above all else in order for the country to emerge from the crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cIraq must move from constant crisis management to sustainable and stable politics, building resilience through deep and broad systemic reform,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Hennis-Plasschaert said reducing bureaucracy, making it easier to do business, strengthening the rule of law and adopting anti-corruption measures \u201ccan all incentivize the domestic private sector while attracting foreign investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.N. envoy also stressed the need for free and fair elections with an independent electoral commission.<\/p>\n

Acting U.S. deputy ambassador Cherith Norman Chalet called on Iraq’s next leaders to urgently deliver reforms that will combat corruption and promote free elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also call on them to protect demonstrators and hold their killers to account,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Iraqi-US relations have become more tense since the killing of Iran’s top general. Tehran retaliated with a missile barrage on two Iraqi bases hosting American troops, and there have been subsequent attacks targeting the U.S. Embassy and military facilities.<\/p>\n

Chalet urged the Iraqi government to protect U.S. diplomatic premises as required under the Vienna Convention.<\/p>\n

Iraq’s U.N. Ambassador Mohammed Bahr AlUloom said the voices of Iraqi protesters are being heard, and without naming the United States said the \u201cbreach of our sovereignty\u201d in January had its \u201ctoll on the stability in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he predicted that, despite the critical situation, Iraq is \u201con the cusp of a new era of stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TANZANIA, Tanzania \u2014 The U.N. envoy for Iraq warned Tuesday that the country and its people are being \u201cpushed into …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":153334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-246952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-w","mauthors-edith-m-lederer","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246952"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246954,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246952\/revisions\/246954"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}