08/02/2019 Iraq (International Christian Concern) – Iraq and the United Nations signed a memorandum on August 1^st which establishes a special Reconstruction and Recovery Trust Fund. This fund is intended to target areas previously held under the territorial control of the Islamic State (ISIS).

The fund is an outcome of the Kuwait conference held last February. The conference estimated that Iraq needed $88.2 billion to reconstruct the damage of ISIS. In the Nineveh Plains alone, the homeland of most of Iraq’s Christians, an estimated $42 billion was requested. Many countries and other groups made pledges of financial support at the time, but no method of delivery and implementation was discussed. This MOU signed yesterday by the UN and Iraq is intended to help bridge this gap.

While a positive step forward, corruption underscores Iraq’s political system. The governorate of Nineveh may require $42 billion to rebuild, but events earlier this year highlight just how much political corruption can impact efforts to reconstruct the region. A ferry disaster in Mosul revealed how local officials embezzled approximately $60 million from reconstruction funds (*some later estimates say $10 million) and delved out favors to special interest militias.

The corruption has a real impact on those victimized by ISIS. Many Christians have not returned home to the Nineveh Plains. Almost no reconstruction has started in Sinjar, although 2 years have passed since Iraq declared ISIS defeated. The ferry disaster resulted in the deaths of 103 men, women, and children.

For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: [email protected].