Security – Page 14 – Cursor international

15 March, 2018

“Iraq’s Energy Future Lies to the North”

By John Lee.

A new report from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy says that Iraqi hydrocarbons “will either be exploited by Iran and its allies or used for Iraq’s own benefit, transforming the country into an energy export hub between the Gulf states, Turkey, and Europe. The United States has a strong strategic interest in promoting the latter outcome.”

Authors James F. Jeffrey, a former US ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, and Michael Knights, who has worked extensively on energy projects inside Iraq, suggest that the US should put its weight behind a north-south energy corridor in which Iraq serves as an energy hub between ever-friendlier Gulf states and Turkey, ultimately forming an export bridge to Europe.

They add that Washington should also support the Basra-Haditha-Aqaba pipeline project to bring Iraqi oil and gas to Jordan.

The full paper can be read here.

(Source: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy)

7 March, 2018

2018 Humanitarian Plans for Iraq Launched

On 6 March, the Government of Iraq as well as the United Nations and its partners launched their 2018 plans for Iraq – the Plan for Relief, Shelter and Stabilization of Displaced People, and the Humanitarian Response Plan.

With the end of large-scale military offensives in late 2017, many families have been returning and are trying to rebuild their lives and homes. As many as two million displaced Iraqis are expected to return in 2018; hence, all efforts must be made to support them in this transition.

This year, approximately, 8.7 million people, nearly half of them children, will require some form of humanitarian assistance.

The Minister of Migration and Displacement said:

“The Government’s Plan for Relief, Shelter and Stabilization of Displaced People aims at strengthening the provision of legal protection to internally displaced persons as well as supporting safe returns.

“The plan focuses on supporting returning families with one-off emergency cash assistance to provide the necessities of life, in addition to supporting some basic projects, and continuing to support displaced families with relief items and maintaining the provision of services in camps.”

Dr. Mahdi Al-Alaq, the Secretary-General of the Iraqi Council of Ministers, referred to Prime Minister Dr. Haider Al-Abadi’s directive on providing an appropriate environment for the return of displaced people through the implementation of stabilization projects in the liberated areas.

This affirmed the government’s keenness to return the displaced people voluntarily while ensuring the provision of basic services to people in the areas liberated by Iraq’s Armed Forces from ISIL terrorism.

In 2018, the Humanitarian Community, comprised of UN agencies, national and international NGOs and other partners, is requesting US$569 million through the Humanitarian Response Plan to respond to the needs of 3.4 million of the most vulnerable people in Iraq.

The provision of protection support is paramount. Without such services, families may be unable to return home, or will do so in unsustainable conditions.

Mr. Ramanathan Balakrishnan, the Acting UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, said:

“As people return to their areas of origin with a large number of camps in Iraq becoming consolidated or decommissioned during the course of this year, many will need assistance including those who are returning as well as those who are unable to.

“Continued advocacy by the humanitarian community against involuntary or premature returns and strengthening mechanisms with the government authorities for supporting voluntary and safe returns is a key component of the 2018 humanitarian response plan.”

The Government of Iraq and the humanitarian community in Iraq will continue to coordinate humanitarian assistance to better respond to the needs and challenges faced by displaced people and returnees across the country. The humanitarian operations will be conducted in close collaboration with the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Overviews of the Humanitarian Response Plan, in Arabic and English, can be found in our Reports Section.

(Source: UN)

4 February, 2018

From Tears to Joy — Run for Children like Noor

The Iraqi Children Foundation (ICF) has announced the roster of Honorary Co-Chairs for the May 5, 2018, IN THEIR SHOES 5K to benefit Iraq’s most vulnerable children:

His Excellency Fareed Yasseen, Ambassador of Iraq to the United States
Ambassador Ryan Crocker (Ret.), Former US Ambassador to Iraq and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Lt. General Jeffrey S. Buchanan, Commander, US Army North (Fifth Army), Served four tours in Iraq
Cynthia Ozbat and Elijah Ozbat, Gold Star Mother and brother of Cpt. Jesse Ozbat, served in Iraq, killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan
Zainab Salbi, Award winning humanitarian, media host, and author

And ICF welcomes back our 5K stars: the three “Young Ambassadors” who are true testaments to the strength and resilience of Iraqi children. Teeba was severely burned in a car bombing in Baghdad as a little girl. Ala’a was abandoned in Iraq as a little boy with cerebral palsy. And Humoody was shot in the face by terrorists and blinded. Who better to represent the children of Iraq at this event?

THIS IS WHY WE RUN…

for children like Noor

Ten-year old Noor lives in poverty with her mother and little brother in a house of mud and sheet metal. She enjoys going regularly to the Hope Bus for tutoring and a nutritious lunch, but she also works collecting empty cans from landfills to support her family.

Recently, Noor came to the bus, sobbing and saying her mother was about to die. Staff immediately went to check and discovered her mother had suffered a heart attack but didn’t have money to go to a doctor or buy medicine. They took her to a hospital, and Noor and her brother went to stay with a relative. After several days, the mother was ready to go home and today, Noor is back in class at the Hope Bus!

Incoming ICF Chairman Mohammed Khudairi Khudairi said:

“I am pleased and honored to have the opportunity to give back to the children of Iraq as the new Chairman of the Iraqi Children Foundation. As a young man spending summers in Iraq, I interacted with many underprivileged children who lived in dire conditions and those children became some of my best friends. I cherish those relationships to this day.

“As an American and businessman, this cause is dear to my heart and I call on all our friends in the Iraqi-American community, business community, veterans, and Gold Star families to join us May 5 to run/walk ‘in their shoes’ for these vulnerable children.“

(Source: ICF)

24 January, 2018

Children in Iraq Impacted by Conflict and Poverty

At least one in four children in Iraq impacted by conflict and poverty

At the upcoming Kuwait conference, UNICEF calls for immediate and massive additional investment in education; a key for lasting peace and progress in Iraq

Statement by UNICEF Regional Director, Geert Cappelaere, following his visit to Iraq:

“Iraq today hosts one of UNICEF’s largest operations in the world, responding with humanitarian and development assistance to the needs of the most vulnerable girls and boys across the country.

“More than 4 million children have been impacted by extreme violence in several areas including in Ninewa and al-Anbar. Last year alone, 270 children were killed. Many were robbed of their childhood, forced to fight on the frontlines. Some will bear the physical and psychological scars for life due to exposure to unprecedented brutality. Over 1 million children were forced to leave their homes.

“While the fighting has come to an end in several areas, spikes of violence continue in others. Just this week, three bombings went off in Baghdad. Violence is not only killing and maiming children; it is destroying schools, hospitals, homes and roads. It is tearing apart the diverse social fabric and the culture of tolerance that hold communities together.

“In the northern city of Mosul, a place that witnessed unspeakable destruction, I met children who were hit hard by three years of violence. In one of the schools that UNICEF recently rehabilitated in the western parts of Mosul, I joined 12-year-old Noor in class. She told me how her family stayed in the city even during the peak of the fighting. She spoke of her fear when she was taking shelter. She lost three years of schooling and is now working hard to catch up, learning English with other boys and girls.

“Mankind may have proven once again in Mosul and other parts of Iraq its massive power to destroy and destruct. But another much stronger power left a deeper impression: the determination to rebuild and get on with life. Children were so excited speaking of their aspirations, sharing their happiness of being able to play and study again.

18 January, 2018

Turkey’s Optimistic Plans in Iraq seem to be Faltering

By Mahmut Bozarslan for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

The partnership Turkey, Iran and Iraq formed against the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) independence referendum in September has left Tehran pleased but left Ankara severely disappointed.

Ankara had two basic expectations about the partnership. First, Turkish officials believed that a new pipeline would be built to carry oil from Kirkuk, Iraq, to Turkey’s Ceyhan oil terminal, replacing a damaged line and bypassing the KRG. And second, as an alternative to the border crossing from Habur, Turkey, into Iraq — which provides lucrative income to the KRG — a new border crossing to Iraq would open at Ovacik in Turkey.

Ankara calculated that a crossing at Ovacik, at the junction of Iraqi-Syrian-Turkish borders, would:

Deprive the KRG of income from customs taxes.
Provide a shorter road connection between Tal Afar and Mosul, which features in Turkey’s “New Ottoman” dreams.
Strengthen relations with Turkmens and sever the connection between the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) at the Yazidi town of Sinjar and the Kurdish Rojava region in northern Syria.
Be linked to the main highway to Mosul with a 120-kilometer (75-mile) road upgraded to international standards and a new bridge to be built over the Tigris River.

But the Ovacik project has been shelved and an alternative pipeline plan — involving Iran — has emerged, marginalizing the proposed new pipeline to move oil from Kirkuk to Ceyhan.

For three years, the KRG sold oil from the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline. But the central government in Baghdad took over the Kirkuk oil fields after the Kurds threatened in September to seek independence.

On Oct. 16, Baghdad implied that the Kirkuk oil would be sent out via Turkey as in the past. The pipeline had been used irregularly during the battle against the Islamic State (IS), and Baghdad cut off the flow completely after the September independence referendum. Turkey expected the flow to resume — but it hasn’t.

24 December, 2017

Iraq to use Drones to Protect Pipelines

By John Lee.

Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi [Allibi, Luiebi] has called on his Ministry draw up plans to build a new system to protect Iraq’s pipelines network using new technology including drones.

New monitoring systems and advanced cameras will also feature in the scheme, which is due start in the first quarter of 2018.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

17 December, 2017

Germany is Top Contributor to Stabilization in Iraq

The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany has contributed an additional US$ 94 million (€80 million) to two major UNDP programmes that are helping to stabilize newly liberated areas – the Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS), which finances fast-track initiatives in areas liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Iraq Crisis Response and Resilience Programme (ICRRP), which promotes recovery and resilience-building.

This latest instalment brings Germany’s total contribution to both programmes to $263.2 million, making it the top supporter of UNDP’s work in this area.

UNDP Resident Representative for Iraq, Ms. Lise Grande, said:

“Nothing is more important right now in Iraq than stabilizing the areas which have been liberated from ISIL.

“The task is huge. Electricity grids need to be rehabilitated, water systems repaired, rubble removed and schools and hospitals opened. Germany’s support comes at just the right time. Three million Iraqis are still displaced. Helping to improve conditions in their home towns is the first step in giving people confidence in their future.”

Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Iraq, H.E. Dr. Cyrill Nunn, lauded UNDP’s stabilization programmes in Iraq as one of the most effective and efficient mechanisms in Iraq to lay the ground for the safe return of internally displaced persons, giving hope to those who strive for a normal life again.

“I am happy to see Iraqi youth today taking the lead in shaping the future of their country. Germany is committed to support recovery in Iraq, but we firmly believe that it is the people of Iraq who will ultimately determine how successful and sustainable that recovery will be,” stressed Ambassador Nunn on his first visit to Mosul, on 12 December 2017, to review progress of stabilization work in Mosul, especially focusing on health and education projects.

17 December, 2017

Germany is Top Contributor to Stabilization in Iraq

This latest instalment brings Germany’s total contribution to both programmes to $263.2 million, making it the top supporter of UNDP’s work in this area.

UNDP Resident Representative for Iraq, Ms. Lise Grande, said:

“Nothing is more important right now in Iraq than stabilizing the areas which have been liberated from ISIL.

17 December, 2017

Germany is Top Contributor to Stabilization in Iraq

This latest instalment brings Germany’s total contribution to both programmes to $263.2 million, making it the top supporter of UNDP’s work in this area.

UNDP Resident Representative for Iraq, Ms. Lise Grande, said:

“Nothing is more important right now in Iraq than stabilizing the areas which have been liberated from ISIL.

16 December, 2017

IOM Assessment on Displacement and Returns in Iraq

As the Iraqi Government celebrated its final victory over ISIL this week, IOM, the UN Migration Agency, released a new study, which shows that 90 per cent of displaced Iraqis are determined to return home. This is similar to the long-term intentions recorded in 2016.

More than 1.3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned to their places of origin so far in 2017. In total since the start of the crisis in 2014, IOM estimates that more than 2.8 million displaced Iraqis have returned, while more than 2.9 million people remain displaced.

The IOM study, Integrated Location Assessment (ILA) analyzes both displacement and return movements of conflict-affected people across Iraq. Approximately 2.1 million displaced persons and more than 1.6 million returnees, based in 3,583 locations across Iraq, have been covered in the assessment, which was carried out between March and May 2017.

Only in Basrah and Najaf did families report that they consider integrating into the local community, where they are displaced.

According to the findings, Anbar was the single governorate where most returns took place in both 2016 and 2017, followed by Ninewa in 2017.

Among the main findings, this study identifies that residential and infrastructure damage is widespread. Nearly one third of returnees are reported to have returned to houses that have suffered significant damage, and 60 per cent to moderately damaged residences. Regarding infrastructure, most damage appears to affect roads, followed by the public power grid and water networks.