BAGHDADA / ISTANBUL 

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres affirmed Saturday the strength of their partnership despite ending the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

Guterres arrived in Baghdad earlier in the day from Saudi Arabia to take part in a ceremony marking the end of UNAMI’s mission, after 22 years of operations in the country.

“Iraq values the positions of the UN secretary-general,” Sudani said during a joint news conference in Baghdad.

He stressed that Iraq “has defeated terrorism through the sacrifices of its people.”

“The end of UNAMI’s mission does not mark the end of Iraq’s partnership with the UN,” Sudani said, noting that relations with the mission have been central.

UNAMI was established by a UN Security Council resolution shortly after the US-led invasion in 2003 to support Iraq’s efforts to restore sovereignty and build democratic institutions.

In May 2024, the Security Council unanimously voted, at the request of the Iraqi government, to end UNAMI’s mandate on Dec. 31, 2025.

In a symbolic move, the Iraqi premier announced that a street in Baghdad would be named “the United Nations.”

He also welcomed the UN proposal to nominate former Iraqi President Barham Salih as the next UN high commissioner for refugees, the state news agency INA reported.

The UN announced Friday that Guterres had proposed Salih for the five-year post, succeeding Italy’s Filippo Grandi, whose term is ending.

For his part, Guterres praised Iraq’s “positive transformation,” saying the country is now safer and different from the past. He congratulated Iraq on the successful conduct of last month’s parliamentary elections.

“We have seen Iraq’s courage, resilience and determination in overcoming terrorism,” Guterres said, adding that the UN is proud of its role in Iraq.

He said Iraq is now a normal and stable state and that the world should recognize that, the INA reported.

Guterres also expressed appreciation for Iraq’s commitment to repatriating its citizens from al-Hol camp, located in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province.

Al-Hol camp was originally set up to receive people fleeing conflicts that followed the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It is controlled by the PKK/YPG terrorist group, where civilians displaced by fighting against ISIS (Daesh), as well as surrendered members of the terrorist group and their families, are held.

International organizations, including the UN, have repeatedly raised concerns about poor living conditions in the camp, citing insecurity, violence and abuses against women and girls.

The al-Hol camp has drawn renewed attention following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime last year and stepped-up efforts to reassert state authority.

The camp’s significance lies in the leverage it has provided to the PKK/YPG terrorists, and that losing control over the site - or seeing its role diminished - would weaken the group’s influence in dealings with Washington.