UN envoy meets with Grand Ayatollah Sayed Ali Al-Sistani
Photo by sistani.org
By Ali Al-Rumaih, The-14
September 13, 2020
Jeanine Hennis Plasschaert, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, arrived in Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf city, Iraq on Muharram 24, 1442/ September 13, 2020 to meet with The Supreme Religious Authority, Grand Ayatollah Sayed Ali Al-Hussaini Al-Sistani.
During the meeting, his Eminence indicated his positions on a number of important issues.
First, the parliamentary elections scheduled to take place next year are very important and must be held with the necessary conditions that give the results a high level of credibility so that citizens are encouraged to participate widely. Thus, the elections should be conducted according to a fair and equitable laws away from the interests of political blocs and parties. Integrity and transparency must be observed during the various stages of the elections, including their supervision and this should be in coordination with the relevant departments within UN Assistance Mission for Iraq.
Secondly, the government is requested to continue to proceed firmly and take firm steps to implement social justice, control the border crossings, and improve the performance of the security forces. The government should also continue to withdraw unauthorized weapons and not allowing certain areas in the country from dividing away into sections, controlled by certain groups through force and under different names, far from the application of the law. The government is also called upon to take serious and exceptional steps to combat corruption and to open up all major corruption files, according to legal procedures, while not selecting targeted cases. The government is also required to work seriously to uncover all those who have carried out criminal acts against protesters, security forces, or innocent citizens, or those who have transgressed on public or private property since the start of the popular movement demanding reform last year.
Thirdly, preserving national sovereignty and preventing its breach and violation, and standing against foreign interference in the country’s affairs and protecting Iraq from the dangers of fragmentation and division is the responsibility of everyone.