Amid protests, UN highlights humanitarian concerns of Kurdistan salary crisis

Shafaq News

05-02-2025

Shafaq News/ The United Nations confirmed, on wednesday, it is closely monitoring the humanitarian situation of protesters demanding the payment of their overdue salaries.
However, the UN emphasized it does not interfere in financial and administrative matters, as these are governmental affairs. The organization stated that it would convey the protesters' demands to the relevant authorities in both Erbil and Baghdad.
A source told Shafaq News, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq, Mohamed Al-Hassan, met with Delshad Mirani, one of the protesters. The source explained, the UN shows respecting the sovereignty of governments and does not have the authority to intervene in their financial decisions, but it is concerned with following up on the humanitarian situation of the protests and the protesters themselves.
Al-Hassan expressed understanding of the suffering faced by the protesters due to the delayed salaries, noting that the UN is monitoring the humanitarian consequences of the financial crisis.
For her part, the head of the Independent High Commission for Human Rights, Mona Yuhanna, called on the federal government in Baghdad to listen to the voices of the protesters and the citizens affected in the Kurdistan Region. She emphasized that salaries are a legitimate right that cannot be compromised.
During a press conference held at the protest tents in Al-Sulaymaniyah, Yuhanna stressed that salaries constitute the primary source of income for citizens, and it is the responsibility of the federal government to respond to the demands of the protesters and citizens who are demanding their legitimate rights.
She expressed hope 2025 would mark the end of the suffering of the region's citizens, who have faced repeated delays in receiving their monthly salaries, the reasons for which have not yet been clearly identified.
Yuhanna emphasized the Iraqi government must take urgent measures to ensure that financial entitlements are delivered on time, considering this an "essential commitment to citizens."
The head of the Independent High Commission for Human Rights concluded her statements by calling for serious attention to the issue of salaries for Kurdistan Region employees, underscoring that providing salaries on time is both a legal and humanitarian right that should be a top priority for the Iraqi government.
Al-Al-Sulaymaniyah has witnessed ongoing protests by employees demanding the payment of their overdue salaries, with protesters setting up tents as a symbol of their dissatisfaction with the financial crisis.
These protests come amid economic and political challenges that have strained the relationship between the regional government and the federal government, affecting the regular payment of employees' financial entitlements.