On May 16, the UN Security Council will convene for an open briefing in which the Head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Jeanine Antoinette Hennis-Plasschaert will give her final briefing prior to stepping down in late May, the UN said.

In her briefing she will update the UN Security Council on tensions between Erbil and Baghdad and on the delayed Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections.

According to a recent UN Secretary-General’s report, the parliamentary elections in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region were initially scheduled for October 2022 but have been postponed multiple times.

Most recently, the elections were delayed until an unknown date after the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq issued an administrative order on May 7 suspending the elections until it can decide on a lawsuit filed by Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.

In a February 21 ruling, the Federal Supreme Court struck down an election law that reserved 11 seats in the Kurdistan Region Parliament for ethnic and religious minorities.

The ruling also transferred authority to adjudicate regional election disputes from the Kurdistan Region’s electoral commission to Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission and divided the Kurdistan Region’s single-constituency system into four separate constituencies. In response, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) – one of the Kurdistan Region’s two dominant political parties – announced that it would boycott the upcoming elections.

At the May 16 briefing, UNAMI Head Hennis-Plasschaert is expected to update the UN Security Council on developments in the relationship between the Iraqi federal government and the KRG.

The Secretary-General’s report notes that “budget-sharing arrangements and hydrocarbon management remained key issues between Baghdad and Erbil, while delayed salary payments to Kurdistan Region civil servants led to recurrent strikes and protests during the reporting period.”

On February 21, the Federal Supreme Court issued a ruling stipulating that the federal government shall make monthly salary, pension, and welfare payments to Kurdistan Region civil servants.

“While the parties have since reached agreement on ad-hoc transfers of funds, they have continued to express divergent views on implementation of the February 21 ruling,” the UN Secretary-General’s report said. Additionally, it  called on both federal and KRG leaders to “redouble their efforts in search of mutually beneficial solutions on outstanding issues based on the Constitution of Iraq."

The UN Security Council Members may underscore the need to hold long-delayed parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan Region.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani recently formally requested the termination of UNAMI’s mission by the end of 2025 in a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

“This decision to end UNAMI’s operations in Iraq, apart from the reasons mentioned, is a natural outcome of the evolving relationship between Iraq and the UN, fostering cooperation on different levels,” Iraqi Government Spokesman Basim Alawadi said in a statement on May 12.

“The Iraqi government anticipates a UN Security Council resolution by the end of this month in response to Iraq’s request and the Independent Strategic Review Team’s recommendations. This resolution is expected to also outline a mechanism for continuing oversight of certain issues in coordination with international agencies active in Iraq.”

Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Vedant Patel told reporters on May 13 that the United States is working with the Iraqi government and fellow UN Security Council members to “ensure an orderly and responsible wind-down that meets not just the needs of the Iraqi people but also maintains progress towards the final resolution of outstanding issues between Iraq and Kuwait.”