Iraq Post-Election: "Exemplary Peaceful Transfer of Power" (UN Security Council Briefing)

Briefing by Mr. Ján Kubiš, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), on the situation concerning Iraq during the 8396th meeting of the Security Council.
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UN Special Representative for Iraq Ján Kubiš said that the new Iraqi Government “counts on the continued support of the international community” to start on “the delivery of services and jobs, on reforming and energizing the economy, fighting corruption and administrative red-tape.”
Briefing the Security Council on the situation in Iraq, the special representative Ján Kubiš commend the peaceful transfer of power between the outgoing Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, and incoming Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi.
He noted that on 30 October, the Electoral Judicial Panel of the Kurdistan Region Court of Cassation approved the results of the Kurdistan region parliamentary elections of 30 September.
Kubiš also said that “the new government intends to introduce robust measures to further improve and achieve sustainable security throughout the country, intensifying efforts to uproot Da’esh terrorist cells to counter this insurgency.”
He added “there are almost daily reports about arresting or eliminating Da’esh terrorists, their leaders, sleeper-cells and hide-outs.”
The special representative continued “most Da’esh movements in recent months have been reportedly through the desert joining central Iraq and its Anbar and Ninewa provinces to the western border with Syria,” adding that “in response, Iraq has deployed thousands of troops on its border with Syria to curb Da’esh, who remains in control of several areas across the borders in the Syrian Deir ez-Zor province. Also, Da’esh remains active in some other Iraqi provinces, notably in Kirkuk, Salah ad-Din and Diyala.”
On the humanitarian front, Kubiš noted that the need for concrete results in public projects beyond the current focus on liberated areas is perhaps most evident in the southern city and province of Basra.
He said “there, a combination of water scarcity and high levels of contamination in drinking supplies led to more than 100,000 people being admitted to the hospital with gastroenteritis symptoms between mid-August and mid-October.”
Also addressing the Council, the Iraqi Ambassador Mohammed Hussein Bahr Aluloom called upon the international community to “support Iraq and its government in its development of infrastructure in all Iraqi cities, this an important and crucial element in achieving economic prosperity.”
He also reiterated that the lack of medical and technical capacity to clear landmines and unexploded ordnance continue to be one of the main reasons that prevent the Internal Displaced Person (IDP) families to return to the liberated areas.
He said “we stress here the urgent need to enhance the work of UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS). We call on donor States to continue to support Iraq in clearing those mines.”
Today marks the last report from Ján Kubiš to the Security Council in his current capacity as the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq. He served the position for three years and nine months.