The United Nations Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) released a statement on the anniversary of the country’s early elections in 2021, which UNAMI called “Hard earned-elections” and said, “a year ago, the Iraqis went to the polls with the hope of charting a new future for their country.”

The country has seen multiple rounds of negotiations that not only failed to form a government but also brought the country to the brink of a clash. 

“It was a hard-earned election brought about by public pressure from nationwide protests in which several hundred of young Iraqi protests lost their lives and were injured,” UNAMI noted. 

The 2019–2021 Iraqi protests, also known as Tishreen Protests, were a series of protests and sit-ins in Iraq that resulted in thousands of casualties and close to 8000 people were killed. 

The United Nations mission in Iraq asked all parties to dialogue without “preconditions”. It said, “through compromise, they must collectively agree on key outcomes that reaffirm their publicly stated objective, which is to serve the needs of the Iraqi people and establish a fully empowered and effective government. The time to act is now.” 

The UNAMI and Special Representative of Secretary-General for UNAMI Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert have an obvious role in Iraqi politics. Plasschaert has cultivated close relations with all Iraqi leaders. She has organized summits and meetings to bring the Iraqi leaders together to the long overdue government.