Plasschaert: Kurdistan Region Must Receive Funding to Pay Its Civil Servants Their Salaries

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Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission (UNAMI) in Iraq, addressed the UN Security Council on salaries, parliament, and the attacks on the Kurdistan Region. 

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has rescheduled parliamentary elections twice, which she believes is detrimental to Iraqi and regional stability. 

Plasschaert, who has served as the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq for the past five years, announced her departure at the end of May in a speech to the Security Council on February 6, 2024, which was her final address. 

Plasschaert's report on Iraq identified three areas of concern in the Region. One of the issues is about the budget and salaries, which Plasschaert has brought up before the council twice. 

"If stability is to be maintained, the Kurdistan Region must receive funding to pay its civil servants' monthly salaries," she stated. 

In reference to the decision made by the Kurdistan Regional Government to double-postpone the parliamentary elections, she declared that doing so would not advance stability in either the Kurdistan Region or Iraq. 

"Continued postponements of elections do not help Iraq's already low trust levels, nor do they contribute to its stability," she said. 

The attacks on the Kurdistan Region were also mentioned by her, and said: "Turkish military operations in the north also continue; just because these attacks have become the new normal does not mean they do not seriously compound the risk of new arenas of violence being opened."



PUKMEDIA