Ms. Alice Walpole presented a UN report during the symposium on the current situation in Iraq, which gave a positive impression about the democratic process. Where Iraq and its people, according to the report, achieved lot of gains during the period after 2003, the most important success of the electoral process as scheduled in May, which reflected a good image because they were free of logos of sectarianism and incitement, and a good indicator of progress for the better.
She added that the challenges faced by Iraq are deeply rooted and can only be tackled by a strong and unified government. The political elites must correct their paths and turn to good governance in the country's leadership. The weak participation in the recent elections is a strong signal from the people that they reject the government's performance and its failure to achieve the aspirations of people and meet their needs.
She also stressed that the competition between the parties began to be exploited by political disagreements and competition, not by sectarian cover, citing the power-sharing ceremony between former and current prime ministers, which considered as a healthy and good condition for a country such as Iraq.
She concluded her report that Iraq should continue to marching towards democracy despite the obstacles and security threats represented by the remnants of cells of ISIS, despite the defeat of the Iraqi forces and PMF because it is impossible to achieve democracy in the absence of security stability.
At the end of the three-hour symposium, Mr. Zaid Al-Talaqani, Alice Walpole, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, and Mr. Mohammed Al-Najjar, Senior Political Advisor to the United Nations, attended a joint press conference to answer the questions of many journalists present from various television channels and news agencies.
After all, Ms. Alice thanked and appreciated RCD on its full cooperation in several joint programs with the UNAMI, most notably the project of reconciliation and historic settlements, which previously established by UN, where RCD is their executive partner in that project. The mission also thanked RCD for naming it the first hall in its headquarters in the name of the late Sergio Vieira de Mello, who was killed along with 21 others by a terrorist bombing at the UN headquarters in Baghdad in 2003.