Iraq


SC/15578

Restraint is required to create the environment Iraq needs to consolidate hard-won stability and realize sustainable progress, the senior United Nations official in the country told the Security Council today, amidst United States air strikes in Iraqi territory on 2 February and the ongoing conflict in nearby Gaza.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) notes with concern that exchanges of fire across the Blue Line continued throughout the weekend, with reports that people were injured on both sides of the border. This follows the reported deaths of three people there following exchanges of fire on 1 December.

In Afghanistan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that aftershocks continue three days after the earthquake which struck Herat Province and affected over 12,000 people. The UN and its partners are on the ground providing emergency food, shelter, health care and household aid.

SC/15435

With long-overdue financial reforms and an ambitious federal budget, Iraq’s Government continues to forge progress in tackling the challenges it faces, the senior United Nations official in the country told the Security Council today, adding that more efforts are required to address its rapidly growing population’s needs.

SC/15312

Substantial investigative progress has been made into international crimes committed by Da’esh — including through digitization of physical evidence — the head of the United Nations team investigating that group’s crimes told the Security Council today, as speakers highlighted that accountability for Da’esh’s heinous crimes remains an important element of reconciliation in Iraq’s transition from conflict to stability.