UN to continue talks with Iraqi parties to achieve reform

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, special representative of the UN secretary-general for Iraq, said on Tuesday that the United Nations will continue to reach out to all Iraqi parties to achieve the reform demanded by protesters.

"The United Nations continues to reach out to all parties, including demonstrators, syndicates and the Iraqi government, to achieve the real reform that people are demanding," Hennis-Plasschaert said at a news conference in the capital Baghdad after his meeting with heads of syndicates and unions of different local activities, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Our role is to help, advise and support achieving a change," she told reporters.

Hennis-Plasschaert, also head of the UN Assistant Mission for Iraq, admitted that "the crisis of confidence between the citizens and the government ... requires a lot of hard work" to solve.

She said the UN mission in Iraq had issued a document earlier this month to outline some of the steps and measures needed to implement the legitimate demands of the protesters.

The UN envoy said she would present to the Iraqi parliament the results of her meetings with all factions of the Iraqi society in order to discuss their proposals to get out of the current crisis in Iraq.

Mass demonstrations have continued in Baghdad and other cities in central and southern Iraq since early October, demanding comprehensive reform, accountability for corruption, improvement of public services and job opportunities.