UN SHOULD PLAY LARGER ROLE RESOLVING ERBIL-BAGDAD DISPUTES: KURDISTAN REGION PRESIDENT BARZANI

SULAIMANI — Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Monday (April 19) called on the General Assembly of the United Nations to play a more active role in mediating disputes between Iraq’s federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

For years, Baghdad and Erbil have been at loggerheads over a number of issues, in particular those related to hydrocarbon resources and the implementation of Article 140 of the 2005 Constitution.

The latter governs the status of the so-called “disputed areas,” a multi-ethnic and resource rich belt of territory stretching from Nineveh governorate through Saladin and Kirkuk into Diyala that is claimed by both governments.

Barzani said that Kurdistan Region supports the Iraqi government’s demand for the UN Security Council to increase the role of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) in managing elections in the country, with an eye to ensuring that this year’s parliamentary polls in October are free and fair.

Barzani also called for additional humanitarian aid for the Kurdistan Region to support the nearly 1 million displaced people living in the Region, about a third of which live in camps.

(NRT Digital Media)