Activities of Secretary-General in Iraq, 30 March

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid a previously unannounced visit to Iraq on Monday, 30 March.  He arrived from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, early in the day, and was greeted at Baghdad International Airport by Muhammad Jawad Al-Doraky, Undersecretary for Legal Affairs and Multilateral Relations of Iraq.

At Al-Salam Presidential Palace he held a meeting with Mohammed Fuad Masum, President of Iraq.  He then met with Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Iraq’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, and at the Council of Representatives, he held discussions with Salim Al Jabouri, Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament.

At Government Palace, he met with Haider al-Abadi, Prime Minister of Iraq, after which they held a joint press conference.  The Secretary-General recognized and appreciated the commitment of the Iraqi leadership in maintaining the momentum for national reconciliation and unity.  However, he remained extremely concerned about the security crisis in Iraq and its impact on civilians.  He was also concerned by allegations of summary killings, abductions and destruction of property perpetrated by forces and militias fighting alongside Iraqi armed forces.  The Secretary-General said that civilians freed from the brutality of Da’esh should not have to then fear their liberators.  One form of violence cannot replace another, he said.  And, he commended the Government and people of Iraq for providing sanctuary and support to so many Syrians fleeing the fighting in their country.

After a luncheon hosted by the Prime Minister, the Secretary-General spoke by phone with Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

He then departed Baghdad for Kuwait, where he arrived in the late afternoon.