UN extends Iraq mission to end of 2025

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday unanimously voted to renew the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) through December 2025, as requested by Iraq. This will be the final extension of the more than two-decade long mission.

“Security Council UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTS resolution renewing the mandate of UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) for a final 19-month period until 31 December 2025; all 15 members voted in favour,” the UN said in a post on X. 

Bassem al-Awadi, spokesperson for the Iraqi government said in a statement that Baghdad welcomes the UNSC's decision.

"This resolution further enhances Iraq's regional and international role as a pivotal country in the region, supporting stability, peace, and sustainable development. We are committed to providing the necessary support to ensure the smooth conclusion of UNAMI's mission's activities, in alignment with Iraq's sovereignty and will, while adhering to the completion of matters outlined in the resolution within the mission's mandate, and providing the necessary support in this regard," read the statement. 

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani had requested UNAMI wrap up its mission on December 31, 2025. He made the request through a letter submitted to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on May 8 by the temporary Charge d'Affaires of Iraq’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, Abbas Kazem Obaid.

“Based on the sovereign rights of the Republic of Iraq, as the host state, and taking into account the size of the UNAMI mission … we call for permanently ending the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) on December 31, 2025," read the letter, which was seen by Rudaw.

The Iraqi premier said that the United Nations mission "represents a form of bilateral cooperation between Iraq and the United Nations that must be based on bilateral consultation and respect for Iraq's will and sovereignty, and is dependent on the mission's achievement of its objectives and the need for its continuation."

UNAMI was established in August 2003 at the request of Iraq under the Security Council Resolution 1500 to support Baghdad’s developmental efforts. Its mandate was extended annually.

The Iraqi government cited greater security and stability for why it wants UNAMI’s mission brought to a close.

Although UNAMI does not directly implement developmental and humanitarian programs, it plays a significant role in facilitating partnership and technical cooperation between the Iraqi government and the 20 United Nations agencies, funds, and programs operating in the country.

"Iraq is now poised to play the pivotal role it is destined to play in the region, and regaining its sovereignty is the first step. Ending international missions such as UNAMI will strengthen Iraq further by relying on its own institutional capacities to tackle the various challenges it continues to face," Farhad Alaaldin, advisor on foreign affairs for the prime minister and  chairman of the Iraq Advisory Council, said in an op-ed published on May 26.