Iraq impasse: UN appeals to global community

With increasing sectarian violence in Iraq, negotiations on government formation has become more difficult; a top UN official has appealed to the global community for help.

Admitting that increasing sectarian violence in Iraq has made the negotiations on government formation more difficult, a top UN official has appealed to the international community to do everything possible to help complete the process.

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Given the rising sectarian violence in Iraq, particularly its explosion following the destruction of the Shia Shrine in Samarra, everything possible must now be done to help complete negotiations on a government responsive to the aspirations of all communities in the country, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, the Special Representative of Secretary General Kofi Annan for Iraq, said.

Recent developments have made negotiations on government formation more difficult, he told the Security Council in a public briefing.

This has created a dangerous and elongated political vacuum, he warned, asking for the Council's support for a stronger political momentum to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.

Introducing Secretary General Kofi Annan's report to the Council, he said, despite the enormous challenges Iraq has met, all the technical benchmarks of its political transition envisaged by Council resolutions after Saddam Hussein's regime was ousted by the United States-led invasion of 2003.

However, he said that sectarian fissures have come to dominate and almost define Iraqi politics and its future prospects, gravely threatening those accomplishments.

Qazi said that his office and the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq have stepped up their engagement with political, religious and civic leaders with a view to encouraging greater inter-communal understanding.