To ensure that livelihood programming continues to be responsive to the evolving needs of Iraqi communities, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) conducted 29 Labour Market Assessments (LMAs) – studies involving individual interviews and focus group discussions to help IOM Iraq teams better understand the realities of local markets; the hiring preferences of employers; and the skills, needs and goals of jobseekers, consumers and others. The results of these assessments have been published alongside LMA reports from 2020 and 2019 in a collection titled Labour Market Opportunities and Challenges. They highlight the considerable livelihood needs remaining as communities recover from the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and years of conflict. “As conditions evolve, so must our response. Together with our community consultation process, the LMA findings help us understand how we can adjust how we provide livelihoods programming to have the greatest impact, with an eye to inclusivity and sustainability,” said Clementine Favier, Head of IOM Iraq’s Returns and Recovery Unit. The LMA findings identified the types of vocational training, on-the-job training and business support packages that would be most beneficial in each surveyed district, information that is already being used to focus funding and plan interventions. The LMAs showed that 74 per cent of jobseekers preferred cash over voucher or in-kind livelihood assistance. The assessments also suggested a preference for entrepreneurship, with about 70 per cent of jobseekers preferring to run their own business over being employed in the private sector. These findings emphasize the instability of the private sector, where price hikes and informal working conditions are common. It is estimated that Iraq’s economy shrunk by 10.4 per cent in 2020, the largest contraction since 2003. This deterioration demands a robust, targeted response, particularly in areas previously occupied by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, which continue to suffer from a lack of services and extensive damage to infrastructure. Market assessments and thematic reports are also conducted for IOM’s Enterprise Development Fund to further analyse emerging opportunities and challenges facing the Iraqi economy. IOM Iraq carries out LMAs with support from the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID); KfW, the German Development Bank; and the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).

It is also important to recognize the significance of yesterday’s elections: the realization of a demand that Iraqis have consistently voiced for two years, and the fifth elections in the history of Iraq’s young democracy. The United Nations stood by all Iraqis, in advance of and on Election Day, and will continue to do so in the days ahead. The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) deserves credit for working hard to organize yesterday’s elections. We also commend the great efforts of Iraq’s security forces on polling day. As we have repeatedly emphasized, elections are not an objective in and of themselves. They are a means to an end, and that end is improved governance. The Iraqi people deserve nothing less. Time is of the essence.  

He notes the extensive efforts made by the relevant electoral and security bodies to ensure the largely peaceful conduct of the early parliamentary elections, called for by the people of Iraq in their quest for reform, accountability and a better future. The Secretary-General urges all stakeholders to show patience and respect for the electoral timeline while the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) tabulates the results, to resolve any electoral disputes that may arise through established legal channels, and to complete the electoral process by forming a government as soon as possible. The Secretary-General reaffirms that the United Nations remains fully committed to supporting the Government and people of Iraq. Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General New York, 11 October 2021

In parallel, the Iraqi authorities also concluded a campaign to enable the relatives of the victims to register their family members as missing and provide DNA samples to identify the human remains. Specialists from Iraq’s Mass Graves Directorate (MGD), Medico-Legal Directorate (MLD) and UNITAD, under the supervision and support of the National Coordinating Committee, with the help of the Ministry of Environment’s Directorate of Mine Action, all worked closely together to ensure the human remains, and evidence are collected in line with international standards. The joint endeavor between Iraqi authorities and UNITAD is critical to the success of excavation and investigation of mass graves left by ISIL. “The marriage of expertise, training and mentoring in the application of innovative techniques and equipment such as 3D laser scanning, deep rooted knowledge of ISIL crimes committed in the context of Iraq, understanding of the complexity of mass grave crime scenes and outreach and engagement with local communities, contribute to establishing the evidence-based narrative of the crimes committed and support the scientific effort to establish the identity of victims” said Caroline Barker, Head of UNITAD’s Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology Unit. The campaign to collect DNA samples from families of ISIL victims was conducted in tandem with excavation activities and organized by the MLD in cooperation with MGD. A general invite was sent out to the families of the victims of Al-Bu Nimr tribe from the District of Hit to attend the Anbar Health Directorate center, from the period of September 21 – 28. The Iraqi authorities are committed to receiving all information on family members missing as a result of ISIL crimes. The collection of evidentiary material, be it the forensic evidence excavated in the field at the mass grave site, or the DNA samples collected at the Anbar Health Directorate are indispensable to gathering concrete evidence and piecing together the narrative around the atrocities ISIL committed in Al-Bu Nimr. According to Mr. Dia’ Sa’idi, Director of MGD: “the excavations resulted in documenting all which is related to the crime scene, as well as all the evidence that will be transmitted according to the original records of seizure and disclosure to the relevant courts to enable the judiciary to identify and hold the perpetrators accountable and provide redress to the families of the victims”. The identification of the remains, and their return to their families is also important to bringing a sense of peace or closure to family members who lost their loved ones at the hands of ISIL members. Ultimately, the remains of these victims will be returned to their families where they would receive proper and dignified burial according to traditions and beliefs.