UN to help Iraq fight corruption, spokesman says

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Iraq signed an agreement in Baghdad on Thursday to help the Iraqi government to detect, investigate and prosecute corruption, a UN spokesman said.

Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, quoted the UN agency as saying that "... with Da'esh nearly defeated, strengthening governance is a top priority."

"The Development Programme said it will recruit international investigators to help train Iraqi investigators," Haq added.

The agreement was designed to help Iraq tackle endemic graft that is eroding the Iraqi economy and institutions as Baghdad struggles to defeat Islamic State (IS) militants, also known as Da'esh fighters.

Thirteen years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, the Middle East country still suffers a shortage of electricity, water, schools and hospitals, while existing facilities and infrastructure suffer widespread neglect.

The UN Security Council has maintained that the IS, also known as ISIL, poses a threat to international peace and security, calling upon all UN member states to fight the terrorist group, including making the joint efforts to cut off funds for it.

In June, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that more than 14,000 Iraqis have been displaced from their homes and registered in camps following a renewed offensive by the Iraqi Security Forces against the Islamic State in southeastern Mosul since late March this year.

Iraq has witnessed intense violence since the IS took control of parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups such as the IS group on the United States, which invaded Iraq in March 2003 under the pretext of seeking to destroy weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the country.

The war led to the ouster and eventual execution of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, but no WMD was found. Enditem