UN Chief Urges Iraq To Break Cycles of Instability, Fragility

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on Iraq to break its cycles of instability and fragility. During a visit to the country on Wednesday, Guterres met with senior officials, including Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani, following a drawn-out political crisis.

Despite Iraq’s significant oil and gas reserves, the country has been battered by war, conflict, and corruption. According to the UN, about one-third of Iraq’s population lives in poverty, while 35% of young people are unemployed. The country also ranks near the bottom of Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index.

Guterres visited a camp for displaced people in the north of the country and held talks with Kurdish officials in the Kurdistan regional capital, Erbil. He praised the prime minister, who has pledged to combat corruption, and called on the government to push ahead with reforms. Guterres also discussed the challenges facing Iraq, which he said were the products of “decades of oppression, war, terrorism, sectarianism, and foreign interference.”

Guterres last visited Iraq in 2017. Iraq’s parliament approved Al Sudani’s government in October, ending more than a year of political gridlock and deadly violence since the country last went to the polls.