UN chief welcomes reduction in Iraq attacks

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the reduction in attacks across Iraq and called for similar improvements in the political arena.

His report to the UN Security Council echoed the message that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave to Iraq’s leader during a visit to Baghdad this week.

She warned that the recent reduction of violence could prove fleeting if the country’s main groups did not reach an agreement on the future of the country.

While praising progress towards ending the nation’s sectarian rifts, she urged Prime Minister Nouri Maliki not to squander the momentum after many false starts on reconciliation.

In his report, written before Ms Rice’s visit, Mr Ban said: “The reduction in the overall number of attacks reported across Iraq is a welcome development.”

He said continued improvement in the security situation will depend on engagement by Iraqi security forces and the US-led multinational force, an extension of the six-month ceasefire announced last August by radical Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia, and developments related to the Awakening Councils, Sunni Arab groups that switched sides to join US forces against al-Qaida in Iraq.

The secretary-general cautioned, however, that attacks causing mass casualties like the December 12 triple car bombing in the oil-rich southern Shiite city of Amarah “are a sobering reminder that those using terrorism in pursuit of their political aims have no regard for human rights or human life.”

At least 25 people were killed and scores wounded in the Amarah attack, one of the worst against Iraqi civilians in recent months.

“In order to sustain recent improvements in the security situation, similar improvements in the political arena are needed,” Mr Ban said.

He lamented that “to date, the political process has not shown the degree of progress that many had hoped for”.

The secretary-general said the continuing stalemate over the filling of vacant Cabinet posts “is symptomatic of an ongoing uncertainty about the political process”.

The secretary-general said his new special representative in Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, will continue trying to encourage “genuine engagement by the leaders of Iraq on the core political disagreements”.

Six Sunni Arab ministers quit al-Maliki’s government in August to protest his perceived Shiite bias.

Kurds remain in the government, but differences have emerged over a draft legislation to share Iraq's oil revenue and settle control of Kirkuk, the oil-rich city claimed by the Kurds. The city’s Arab and Turkomen communities object to the Kurdish claim.

The Iraqi parliament did take an important step last week to open the way for low-ranking members of Saddam’s Baath party to reclaim government posts and pensions.

Ms Rice congratulated Mr Maliki for the “quite remarkable” progress on national reconciliation, but she pressed for more.

Mr Ban said he has instructed Mr de Mistura to review every aspect of the UN’s work in Iraq to see how progress can be made in implementing the expanded role authorised by the Security Council in August.

The resolution approved unanimously by the council authorises the UN to promote political talks among Iraqis and a regional dialogue on issues including border security, energy and refugees, at the request of the Iraqi government.

It also authorised the UN to help tackle the country’s worsening humanitarian crisis which has spilled into neighbouring countries.

The United States and Britain, co-sponsors of the resolution, said the world body, which is viewed by many as a more neutral party, should be doing more to help Iraq, especially in facilitating talks.