As of the summer of 2016, Iraq is gradually winning its war against the Islamic State (IS). Major urban centres such as Ramadi and Fallujah have been liberated and the Iraqi security forces are slowly encircling Mosul, IS’ regional capital and the last major urban centre still in their grasp in Iraq. It is estimated that the city will fall before the end of 2016, spelling the end of its two-year occupation and the end of the group’s ambitions of statehood within Iraqi territory. However, even as the military challenge is resolved, Iraq still faces significant challenges in socio-economic and developmental sectors.
The war has displaced thousands and devastated what little infrastructure there was. Iraq will need urgent reconstruction and development in order to alleviate the humanitarian suffering, rebuild support among the populace, treat those who have been traumatised and prevent another round of instability. With the Iraqi economy suffering from the effects of the war and the low oil prices, it will be difficult to afford the costs of all these measures. As such, Iraq is in need to support for its reconstruction and development. This report analyses whether the Iraqi Government can leverage such support through the mechanisms of the United Nations (UN) and whether any single state has been successful on putting pressure on the organisation to gain support relating to humanitarian and developmental concerns.
The report looks at the Resolutions based on humanitarian or developmental concerns that were voted in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), analysing how they were voted in and whether they led to any instructional changes and then provides guidelines on how Iraq can create a similar Resolution. The report identifies numerous precedents of a single (or small groups of) Member-States sponsoring a Resolution that is voted in resulted in institutional change. It finds that frequently, even non-security issues were framed in security concerns to increase support and this is symptomatic of the UN’s growing focus on the development-security nexus. The report argues that a prospective Resolution on Iraqi Reconstruction and Development can easily be framed in a similar manner and the UNGA provides the best avenue of approach for such a Resolution.
