ReliefWeb

Key Takeaways:

• No progress on government formation in Baghdad; PUK, KDP and Gorran meet to discuss cooperation and government formation in KRG – On December 7, Alsumaria News reported that the negotiations to finalize the identity of the remaining eight members of Iraq’s Cabinet was halted without any clear restart date. On December 12, Rudaw News reported that a political rift between Sunni blocs in parliament widened over the nomination for the minister of defense. On December 11, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) held a joint-meeting to improve relations and cooperation between the two majority parties in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). On December 12, the KDP met with a delegation from the Gorran Movement to discuss Gorran’s role in the formation of the next Kurdistan Regional Government. more…

• Iraqi politicians discuss Iranian involvement in Iraq politics – On December 9, Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the Fatah Alliance, admitted that Iran interferes with Iraq’s political affairs. On December 10, former Iraqi Prime Minister and head of the Victory Alliance, Haider al-Abadi, blamed Iranian meddling in Iraq for his failure to secure a second term. more…

• Rick Perry, U.S. Secretary of Energy visits Iraq; Trump signs into law measure targeting ISIS genocide perpetrators – On December 11, U.S. Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry, met with Iraqi Prime Minister (PM) Adel Abdul Mahdi, Iraqi President, Barham Salih, Iraqi Speaker of Parliament, Mohammed al-Halbousi, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader, Masoud Barzani and current PM of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Nechirvan Barzani, during an official visit to Baghdad and Erbil. On December 11, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce held a conference in Baghdad to discuss the investment of U.S. companies in Iraq. On December 11, U.S. President, Donald Trump, signed into law the Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act. The same day U.S. Vice President, Mike Pence, spoke with Iraqi PM Adel Abdul Mahdi on the phone. more…

• Nadia Murad meets Iraq’s leadership, blasts inaction during Yazidi genocide at Nobel Prize acceptance speech; Iraqi PM affirms commitment to aiding IDPs – On December 10, Iraqi PM Adel Abdul Mahdi affirmed the federal government’s commitment to providing aid to internally displaced persons and ensuring the safe return to their homes. On December 10, Nadia Murad and Dr. Denis Mukwege officially received the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for their campaigns to end mass rape as a weapon of war in armed conflict. During Murad’s acceptance speech, she blasted Kurdish and Iraqi officials for failing to protect the Yazidi community and the international community that “stood idly by watching the annihilation of a complete community.” On December 12, Nadia Murad met with Iraqi President Barham Salih, Iraqi PM Mahdi, KRG PM Barzani and PMU leaders Hadi al-Amiri and Falih al-Fayyadh to discuss the ongoing plight of the Yazidi community. more…

• Iraq marks one year since announcing ISIS defeat; ISIS militants escape from prison in Iraqi Kurdistan – On December 10, Iraq held a national holiday to honor those killed in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) on the one year anniversary of the declaration of victory over ISIS. The same day, the Iraqi federal government officially opened parts of the ‘Green Zone’ in Baghdad to the public in a highly symbolic move. On December 11, the U.S. Special Envoy for Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, Brett McGurk, updated reporters that U.S.-backed forces in Syria were pushing further into the last major territory held by the Islamic State along the Syrian-Iraqi border in the town of Hajin, Syria. On December 13, 21 prisoners with ties to ISIS at the fortified jail of Sosa escaped from prison. Kurdish security officials were able to recapture 15 of the 21 escaped militants with the remaining six still at large. more…

• UN, Poland, EU and Germany pledge and provide support for humanitarian efforts, reconstruction, community policing, gender-based violence and reforms in Iraq – On December 5, the Human Right Office (HRO) of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) hosted a dialogue between lawyers and civil society activists to discuss criminal justice reform in Ninewa Province. During the meeting, UNAMI also announced the founding of the Ninewa Human Rights and Justice Network, which will be comprised of lawyers and activists. On December 9, the EU and the Government of Iraq signed a framework of financing agreement that will allocate USD $15.8 million to support increasing reliable energy supply for Iraq’s population. On December 10, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs allocated $24.9 million to the UNDP Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS) to help recovery efforts in areas liberated from ISIS. On December 11, the German Federal Foreign Office allocated an additional $1.9 million to enhance the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM’s) Community Policing (CP) program in Iraq. On December 12, the UN in Iraq and the European Union Mission to Iraq announced a deal signed by the EU and the UN Development Programme that will provide $54 million to help support recovery efforts in Mosul. more…

For more background on most of the institutions, key actors, political parties, and locations mentioned in our takeaways or in the stories that follow, see the ISHM Reference Guide.