In 2008, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted a resolution to protect Iraq’s assets from any international threats stemming from Saddam Hussein’s era (MacFarquhar, 1). Such assets included oil, Iraq’s main asset, and other revenues from the country’s international trade. Given the precarious state that the country was in at the moment, it was necessary for the country to receive such protection or else it could be hit by a humanitarian crisis. It is estimated that Iraq has 144 billion barrels of oil hence making oil account for approximately 90% of revenues (MacFarquhar, 1). With threats to these oil reserves, the Iraqi government would have severely affected the functioning of the government and hence put the country in danger. The United Nations mandate to protect Iraq’s assets had been in force since 2003 and was nearing its end. Extension of the mandate meant that the country will enjoy stability for another year. Iraq had sought for an extension of the mandate so as to maintain immunity from all those countries that demanded compensation from the country. Extension of the resolution was deemed as a necessary tool for Iraq’s development. Iraq was not only seeking an extension of the mandate but also a cancellation of the UNSC’s resolutions that were passed when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990 (MacFarquhar, 1). This was in a bid to restore Iraq’s sovereignty. Most members of the UNSC were sympathetic with Iraq and agreed to extend the mandate for more than a year to allow the country get back to its fee (MacFarquhar, 1). However, with the mandate having expired and the UNSC halting its efforts in protecting Iraq’s assets, the country has encountered huge economic losses, humanitarian crisis and threats from terrorist organizations such as ISIS that have mainly targeted Iraq’s core assets.
Oil is the major asset of Iraq and it accounts for 90% of its revenues (Shroder, 1). Basra province boasts of having the world’s largest oil reserves and hence it is a very key area for the Iraqi economy. For a fact if the Iraq’s oil reserves are negatively affected, there would be a major oil shortage in the world. A huge amount of oil is exported from Basra province and is licensed to major international oil companies (IOC) such as Exxon, Shell and BP (Shroder, 1). The Iraqi economy is highly susceptible as a result of its heavy dependence on the outside markets for both imports and exports. A huge portion of Iraq’s exports is oil while the country depends on a number of foreign products (imports) such as food and medical products (Browne, 5). With sanctions imposed to the country due to non-compliance with the resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council, the country is usually negatively affected (Chitakar & Malone, 3). With sanctions, the country loses a majority of the market for its oil and also will be unable to acquire some of the imports. This will eventually lead to a severe humanitarian crisis. As a result of the deprived oil revenues and a lack of imports due to sanctions, inflation levels in the country will sky-rocket. As it can be seen, oil plays a very important role in Iraq as it provides revenues that may be used to run the government and also acquire imports such as medicine and imports.
In recent years, with UNSC no longer protecting Iraq’s assets, the country has encountered massive threats to its assets especially the oil reserves (Chitakar & Malone, 3). The greatest threat to Iraqi’s assets has been the ISIS militants. ISIS is the Islamic State in Iraq that has vowed to commit atrocities in Iraq in order to advance their agenda. Many of the atrocities that the militant organization has committed in the country have mainly targeted the Iraqi army soldiers and the volunteers in the country. The group’s activities have not only been limited to Iraq but have extended to Iraq and now to the entire world. The membership of the organization is slowly growing with new members from the former members of the Al-Qaeda. Some supporters are even drawn from the wider Sunni community who lost power when Saddam Hussein’s regime was toppled over. ISIS gets a huge amount of its finances from oil fields in both Iraq and Syria. By attacking these oil reserves and seizing their control, they are able to finance their operations in Iraq, Iran and the world over. Consequently, their attacks have become a major threat to the assets of Iraq and the government of Iraq as a whole (Chitakar & Malone, 3).
In April 2015, Iraq suffered a major blow in its quest of protecting its vital resources when the ISIS militants launched suicide on the Baiji Oil refinery, Iraq’s largest oil refinery (AFP, 1). At one time, the refinery was able to produce 300,000 barrels petroleum products (refined) on a single day hence enabling the country to meet half of its needs (AFP, 1). This was an attempt by the militant organization to destabilize the Iraqi’s government operations by seizing the refinery. It was also a bid by ISIS to secure more funds by controlling the refinery. The attacks were termed as the “fiercest” ever seen. The Iraqi army tried their level best to protect the refinery and was able to regain control of the refinery. Although, the organization (ISIS) was not able to take control of the refinery, the attacks proved how susceptible the oil refineries and reserves in Iraq are. In June, ISIS launched a series of attacks on north-western Iraq which was aimed at winning over the country’s Sunni Arabs. ISIS was able to take control of the city for months but counter-terrorism efforts by the Iraqi government with the aid of US airstrikes was able to regain the city from the control of the militants (Shroder, 1).
Iraq is struggling to contain the threat of ISIS on its assets. In 2015, the government of Iraq assembled a strong force of 27, 000 army men who were tasked with protecting Iraqi’s energy assets from ISIS (Shroder, 1). This was arrived at after ISIS launched a number of attacks on the country’s oil reserves and refineries. The strong force had the mission of securing all oil and electricity facilities, which are the main targets of the terrorist organization. The government aimed at effectively training and equipping the force with the adequate equipment to effectively deal with the ISIS threat. Over the recent few years, ISIS has been targeting Iraqi’s major infrastructure including dams and oil pipelines as a way of destabilizing the government and advancing their agenda (Shroder, 1). ISIS managed to capture Ramadi, Anbar province’s capital city and hence able to close down the city dam hence affecting water flow to the government-controlled areas. The capturing of the city dam meant that the government’s mission to diffuse the threat of ISIS was going to be hampered and water scarcity would lead to a massive humanitarian crisis, especially in the areas that are mainly dependent on the dam for water. It should be noted that Iraq’s major energy assets are situated in the southern region of the country, such as the Basra oil hub. With ISIS taking control of these regions, the country was undergoing massive economic losses and humanitarian crises. As of October 2015, it was reported that ISIS was raking in approximately $1 million on a single day as a result of the oil regions it had captured in the northern and western regions of Iraq. For example, by capturing the oil-rich areas of south and north of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and the Ceyhan/Kirkuk oil pipeline, in northern Iraq meant that ISIS was making millions of dollars to finance its objectives and in turn hurting the Iraqi economy (Shroder, 1).
ISIS poses a major threat to the stability of Iraq as a sovereign state mainly by targeting its key assets. The ISIS troops have attacked a number of cities all over the country in a bid to seize its key assets (MacFarquhar, 1). In doing so, the terrorist organization has committed gross violations of human rights. Not only is the terrorist organization threatening the economic progress of Iraq but is also committing a number of atrocities against the Iraqi people. In June, 2015, ISIS launched a number of attacks on North-Western cities of Iraq and within days they were in control of much of the Sunni Arab lands. By taking control of these regions, the terrorist organization was able to hamper many government efforts and also concerns grew about multiplying their numbers with the recruitment of the Sunni Arabs. However, the Iraqi troops with the help of the United State troops, the Iraqi government has been able to recapture some of the cities that had been captured by the Islamic State (MacFarquhar, 1). ISIS fought back and was able to reclaim some of the cities and hence a major blow at efforts aimed at diffusing the threat they posed to the people of Iraq and the country’s assets. These attacks against the Islamic State have also been aimed at preventing humanitarian crises given the ISIS attacks on key infrastructure. The United Nations, in August 2015, adopted the Resolution 2170 which heavily condemned the ISIS attacks and the subsequent human right abuses (MacFarquhar, 1). Additionally, the UN called on member states to implement measures that would prevent fighters from joining the group, freeze assets of individuals linked to these terrorist groups and also implement measures such as travel restrictions among others to prevent the spread of the activities of Islamic State. Despite this move, the resolution seems to be insufficient in dealing with the threat of attacks from ISIS. Measures suggested in the resolution do not include the use of force to limit the ISIS attacks. At the moment, only the United States can use force to weed out the ISIS militants. So far, with the help of the US troops, Iraq has been able to recapture some of its key cities and assets such as the Mosul Dam.
Given the nature of the fight against ISIS, it is necessary that the United Nations Security Council establishes incisive and multilateral measures that would be able to stop the organization and also protect the assets of Iraq (Porcelluzzi, 1). It is clear that Iraq needs help from the world to protect its sovereignty and stability, and the UNSC has the ability to do just that. It is evident that with the attacks on Iraqi’s assets, the country will experience massive losses that would ultimately lead to a grave humanitarian crisis. To restore stability in Iraq and avert the crisis that is present today, the UNSC must resort to its earlier mandate of protecting Iraqi’s assets and also working with the member countries to prevent the activities of ISIS. During the 2003-2009 period when the UNSC protected Iraqi’s assets, the country achieved much progress and stability but the lack of renewal of the mandate and the growing ISIS threat have made things worse for the country. The UNSC should start by effectively protecting the assets of Iraq to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the country as it also works towards eliminating the threats ISIS poses to the country and the world at large (Porcelluzzi, 1).
As the highest United Nations body, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has political, moral and legal duty as well as the authority to protect the people of Iraq and their assets (Browne, 5). A United Nations Security Council resolution would not only protect and defend the rights of the people of Iraq but would also enhance their sovereignty over their natural resources (Porcelluzzi, 1). By protecting the sovereign rights of the people of Iraq, the UNSC would be binding the future of the people of Iraq as members of the same nation, who would benefit from the distribution of the country’s assets. A resolution to protect the assets of Iraq would go a long way in healing the wounds of Iraq that it has acquired over the years as a result of sanctions and attacks from terrorist organizations (ISIS). By drafting and adopting such a resolution, the United Nations Security Council would be rehabilitating its image of consistently failing to protect the people of Iraq and Iraq’s assets, uphold its legal charter and ensuring international stability and peace (Porcelluzzi, 1). Iraq has endured worse times and continues to face threats to its economy by the day. As such, the UN must cooperate to ensure the stability and progress of the country by ensuring protection of their assets and human rights.
Works Cited
AFP. “ISIS launches attacks at Iraq’s largest Oil Refinery”. Published 12, April, 2015. Accessed 7, Feb, 2016. Available at http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/04/12/ISIS-militants-attack-Iraq-s-largest-oil-refinery.html
Browne, M A. The United Nations Security Council: It’s Role in the Iraq Crisis. Congressional Research Service (2003). Print.
Chitakar, P & Malone, M D. The UN Security Council and Iraq. United Nations University (2013). Print.
MacFarquhar, Neil. Security Council Extends Protection of Iraq’s Assets. Published 22 Dec, 2008. Available at https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/168/37781.html
Porcelluzzi, Michele. “Iraq Needs Incisive Measures from the UN Security Council,” (OxHRH Blog, 30 August 2014) <http://humanrights.dev3.oneltd.eu/?p=13457>
Shroder, Landon. “Massive oil Fields are Iraq’s Biggest Asset and a Huge Liability in the Fight Against the Islamic State”. Vice News. June 25, 2015. Available at https://news.vice.com/article/massive-oil-fields-are-iraqs-biggest-asset-and-a-huge-liability-in-the-fight-against-the-islamic-state
