Iraq

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Ana Peyró Llopis of Spain as Acting Special Adviser and Head of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (UNITAD). UNITAD was established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2379 (2017) to support domestic efforts to hold ISIL (Da’esh) accountable by collecting, preserving, and storing evidence in Iraq of acts that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed by the terrorist group ISIL (Da’esh) in Iraq.

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.

In Ethiopia, the World Food Programme (WFP) today said that it is scaling up its operations to deliver food assistance to up to 3 million people in the country in the coming weeks; 2 million of those are in Tigray.

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.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Volker Perthes of Germany as the Head of the Independent Strategic Review of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) mandated by Security Council resolution 2682 (2023).

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.

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.

On 5 October 2023, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1518 (2003) removed the following entry from its Sanctions List of individuals and entities.

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.

The Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) today for another year until 31 May 2024, retaining its core tasks.