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United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI)
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) was created following the 2003 war in Iraq. The mission reports to the UN Department of Political Affairs, which in turn reports to the UN Secretary-General. In August 2007 and with the support of the United States, the UN Security Council unanimously voted to update and broaden the mandate of UNAMI. Security Council Resolution 1770 (2007) provides the UN with a mandate to act in the following key areas:
• National Reconciliation: The UN works to facilitate dialogue between Iraqis to resolve the fundamental issues that divide them. To this end, UNAMI’s mandate calls on it to support a review of the Iraqi Constitution, assist in the resolution of internal boundary disputes, negotiate the sharing of natural resources, strengthen the rule of law, ensure the protection of human rights, and assist in the organization of censuses and elections.
• Regional and International Support: UNAMI also helps facilitate dialogue between Iraq and its neighbors, particularly on issues of border security, energy, and refugees, and continues to seek increased international assistance for Iraq.
• Humanitarian Assistance: The UN has led the process of assisting Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons and has coordinated the delivery of humanitarian aid in the country.
Security conditions continue to put constraints on the UN’s ability to operate in Iraq. However, following the passage of Security Council Resolution 1770, UNAMI has been able to increase its staff presence in Iraq under a new ceiling for UN international staff in Iraq. Since August 2007, the UN has increased its staff in Iraq from 85 international staff to 140 in Baghdad, and 335 throughout the country, a 30% increase overall since last year. In addition, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expanded its staff and moved its headquarters from Jordan into Baghdad.
Developing an Effective Political System
In accordance with UNAMI’s mandate, the UN’s Special Representative for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, is focusing on ways of promoting national dialogue, particularly with respect to resolving disputed internal boundaries. UNAMI is also largely responsible for the important decision to delay the referendum over the disputed city of Kirkuk, which, had it been pursued precipitously, would have caused unnecessary bloodshed and dangerously exacerbated ethnic and sectarian tensions. The UN has developed a methodology of how to deal with such disputed regions, and an analysis commissioned by the UN will be presented in a report this fall.
UNAMI has provided valuable advice and assistance to Iraq’s Constitutional Review Process, and, in January 2005, UNAMI was crucial in organizing Iraq’s landmark free elections. The mission is currently planning for upcoming governorate elections, tentatively scheduled for early next year. UN political officers are particularly active in advising Iraqi leaders in the selection process for regional electoral officials—a key confidence-building measure to ensure safe and legitimate elections. In June, UNAMI helped conduct a voter registration update throughout Iraq.
Building Support for Human Rights and Rule of Law
UNAMI continues to promote human rights in Iraq and to ensure that the country’s most vulnerable people can enjoy their fundamental rights. The mission has played an important role in providing technical advice to the Government of Iraq on how to strengthen Iraqi institutions to ensure the respect for human rights and the rule of law, particularly as they relate to detainees. The UN is also co-chairing the International Compact with Iraq, a five-year national plan that includes mutual commitments from both Iraq and the international community to help put Iraq on the path toward peace, good governance, and economic reconstruction.
Assisting Refugees and Providing Humanitarian Relief
UN agencies have provided life-saving humanitarian assistance to those affected by the conflict. UNHCR has almost singlehandedly taken on Iraq’s refugee crisis, caring for and resettling the over two million Iraqis who have been forced into other countries—principally Syria and Jordan—and the estimated 2.7 million who have been displaced within Iraq. As conditions in certain areas improve, UNHCR organizes the planning for the possible return of some of these displaced persons.
UNHCR has provided health assistance to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and have helped over 100,000 refugee children in Syria and Jordan attend school, a number that UNHCR plans to double by the end of 2008. 16 UN agencies and funds are active in responding to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq: providing food assistance to 1.1 million malnourished children and family members, 350,000 pregnant and new mothers, and 6,400 tuberculosis patients; providing medical supplies to help ensure that mothers give birth in a safe environment; providing basic school materials for 4.7 million children; and providing critical health care interventions, like vaccinations for measles, mumps, and rubella.
Engaging Iraq’s Neighbors and Garnering International Aid
Ambassador Khalilzad has noted that the UN is uniquely suited to work out a regional framework to help stabilize Iraq and has asked the UN to broker talks in Baghdad between the U.S. and Iraq’s neighbors. Toward this end, Secretary-General Ban held a meeting of permanent Security Council members, Iraq's neighbors, G-8 countries and regional organizations during the annual UN General Assembly session in September 2007 to promote a stronger partnership between the international community and Iraq. Through technical assistance to the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and regional working groups on key topics such as energy, border security and refugees and IDPs, the UN continues to facilitate regional processes in Iraq.
The UN also launched the International Compact for Iraq in July 2006 at the request of President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to strengthen peace in Iraq by committing Baghdad to a series of political, social, security, and economic reforms in exchange for international aid. The UN has widened support for the initiative and elicited commitments of over $30 billion from world leaders. At a meeting of foreign ministers, co-chaired by Secretary General Ban and Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki, in May 2008 in Stockholm, delegates assessed progress on the goals of the Compact thus far and discussed priorities for the coming year.
The Future of UNAMI
UNAMI’s expanded mandate was extended for another year on 10 August 2008. Pending the conclusion of a Status of Forces Agreement between the United States and Iraq, the UN will continue to rely on the MNF-I, whose mandate expires on 31 December 2008, for security and operational support. UNAMI remains committed to supporting efforts to promote political dialogue and national reconciliation and helping to build a peaceful and prosperous Iraq.
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