Continued commitment to the democratic process of Iraq

Mr President and many thanks to the Special Representative and to Ms Kabashi for their excellent briefings. The UK offers full support to the continued work of UNAMI and of the SRSG. I’d like to make four quick points supporting what others have said. First, I would like to reiterate the UK’s condemnation of the 7 November assassination attempt against Prime Minister al-Kadhimi. The UK deplores the use of violence to settle election-related grievances. I echo what the SRSG has said on this. We also condemn the repeated and coordinated efforts to discredit both the election results and the efforts of UNAMI, as well as threats of violence against the Mission and the SRSG. Such threats are unacceptable. We stand with the Iraqi government, security forces and people in their rejection of political violence and strongly support the Prime Minister’s call for calm and restraint.

Second, we remain strongly committed to the democratic process of Iraq. The UK welcomes the positive assessment of the international UNAMI election monitors and congratulates the Government of Iraq and IHEC for the notable improvements in transparency, electoral process and procedure. Early, credible elections were a key demand of the protest movement in 2019 and we welcome that the Government of Iraq has been able to deliver a technically well managed election. We also welcome and strongly support the focus of the SRSG and Ms Kabashi and of the Iraqi Women’s Network on progressing women’s participation in the political process.

Third, we welcome the continued work to ensure that electoral appeals are fairly heard. We urge respect for the legally defined processes and the rule of law after the Federal Supreme Court has ratified the electoral results. The Security Council will continue to monitor any attempts to undermine the election process and we call on all political parties, candidates and others to exercise patience and understanding in the post-electoral environment.

Finally, we would like to thank the SRSG for her update on missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals and missing Kuwaiti property. We welcome the commitment of Iraq and Kuwait to making progress on this important file.

The UK stands alongside the people of Iraq and looks forward to the peaceful formation of a government that will deliver meaningful reforms to address the needs and concerns of all Iraqis.

Thank you.