A Journalist and researcher Issam Khoury, coordinator of the Center for Environmental and Social Development, delivered a speech on behalf of a number of Iraqi civil society organizations, at the request of the Public Aid Organisation, during the high-level segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council and the 2026 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at UN Headquarters in New York.
The speech was part of the UN conference held under the title: “Transformative, equitable, innovative and coordinated actions to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Goals for a sustainable future for all.” This year, the forum focused on five key goals: clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, industry, innovation and infrastructure, sustainable cities and communities, and partnerships for the goals.
Khouri’s intervention appears in the official recording of the session published on the United Nations webcasting platform, within the meeting that addressed the role of local initiatives in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, prior to the adoption of the ministerial declaration and the conclusion of the high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council.
Goal 17: A gateway to implementing the other goals
The speech was based on a central idea: that Goal 17, concerning partnerships for the goals, is not a supplementary goal that comes at the end of the list of Sustainable Development Goals, but rather the tool that enables the implementation of the other goals.
Khouri explained that the crises Iraq faces in the fields of water, electricity, energy, desertification, and infrastructure cannot be addressed by a single actor—whether the government, the United Nations, the private sector, or civil society organizations. Therefore, effective response requires building national and international partnerships that bring these parties together within clear and permanent mechanisms, instead of relying on scattered or short-term projects.
The speech linked Goal 17 with the other goals reviewed at the forum, stressing that the water crisis is not related only to Goal 6, but also affects food security, health, education, and displacement from agricultural areas to cities. Likewise, the electricity and energy crisis is connected to industry, job opportunities, infrastructure, urban development, and responses to climate change.
Water in Iraq: A developmental crisis, not only an environmental one
The speech specifically addressed declining river flows, reduced rainfall, rising temperatures, soil and water salinization, and the resulting threats to agriculture and the livelihoods of people in rural areas.
It referred to data indicating that nearly three out of five children in Iraq do not have access to safely managed drinking water services, and that less than half of schools have basic water services. UN reports have also placed Iraq among the countries most exposed to the impacts of climate change.
The intervention emphasized that water scarcity is no longer a technical issue limited to the ministries of irrigation or environment, but has become a factor affecting public health, education, food security, and social stability. It also contributes to pushing people from affected agricultural areas into cities, increasing pressure on public services, housing, and infrastructure.
From this standpoint, the speech called for strengthening regional cooperation in managing shared water resources, on the basis of dialogue, international law, and mutual interests, given that the impacts of rivers, desertification, and climate change do not stop at national borders.
The paradox of energy, electricity, and gas flaring
In the field of energy, the speech highlighted the paradox Iraq is experiencing: it possesses large reserves of oil and gas and vast potential for solar energy production, yet still suffers from frequent power outages, especially during the summer months, which see extremely high temperatures.
The intervention referred to assessments indicating that peak electricity demand may exceed 34 gigawatts, while the actual available capacity remains unable to meet a large share of this demand. At the same time, the contribution of renewable energy sources is still extremely limited compared with Iraq’s solar potential.
The speech also pointed to the continued flaring of gas associated with oil extraction, noting that this practice not only increases emissions and air pollution, but also wastes a resource that could be used to generate electricity, operate factories, create jobs, and reduce dependence on imported fuel.
It called for long-term investments that go beyond building new power plants to include modernizing transmission and distribution networks, reducing losses, developing energy storage systems, expanding solar energy, utilizing flared gas, and linking energy sector reform to diversifying Iraq’s economy and providing job opportunities for young people.
Civil society as a partner, not a substitute for the state
In his speech, Khoury stressed that Iraqi civil society does not seek to replace the state or its institutions, but rather calls to be treated as a responsible and independent partner capable of reaching local communities, identifying needs, providing knowledge, enhancing accountability, and building trust between citizens and institutions.
The intervention included a set of proposals based on principles that Iraqi organizations have worked on within the Basra Charter, foremost among them:
Institutional and regular inclusion of civil society organizations in the preparation of policies, plans, and national reports related to the Sustainable Development Goals, and the creation of a permanent coordination mechanism bringing together the Iraqi government, the United Nations, the private sector, universities, trade unions, and non-governmental organizations.
It also called for publishing public, updated, and verifiable data on water, electricity, emissions, desertification, and development spending, and for developing direct and flexible financing mechanisms that enable local, small, and youth-led organizations to implement projects related to environmental awareness, water conservation, community solar energy, and support for populations affected by drought and climate displacement.
The speech also called for supporting technology transfer and building national capacities in the fields of water treatment, renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, early warning, digital transformation, and good governance.
The ministerial declaration: international commitments that go beyond general phrases
The Iraqi statement coincided with the High-Level Political Forum’s adoption of its ministerial declaration for 2026, which renewed countries’ commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and called for urgent action to accelerate the achievement of its goals during the four remaining years until 2030. The declaration was adopted after negotiations among Member States, as the final document of the Forum and the high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council.
The ministerial declaration does not constitute binding international law, but it serves as a negotiated political reference that defines the priorities which ministers and government representatives have agreed to advance within national policies, international cooperation, and United Nations institutions.
In the area of Goal 6 on water and sanitation, the declaration emphasized expanding fair and affordable access to safe drinking water and sanitation and hygiene services, and strengthening integrated water resources management capable of withstanding climate change and disasters. It also called for improving water-use efficiency, increasing funding and investment, protecting water-related ecosystems, developing monitoring, data, and early warning networks, and reducing water pollution and the discharge of untreated wastewater.
As for Goal 7 on affordable and clean energy, the declaration affirmed the need to achieve universal access to modern, reliable, and sustainable energy, expand and modernize electricity grids, increase investment in clean energy, develop and transfer technology and build capacities, and assist developing countries in attracting the financing and investments needed for transformation in the energy sector.
Regarding Goal 9 on industry, innovation, and infrastructure, the declaration called for developing adaptive industrial policies, linking financing to the structural transformation of economies, developing skills, building more sustainable value chains, and strengthening the ability of developing countries to add value to their resources and products instead of exporting only raw materials.
The declaration also focused, within the framework of Goal 11, on building cities and local communities that are more inclusive, safe, and resilient, with attention to housing, basic services, transport, and urban planning, and on strengthening the role of local authorities and communities in implementing development goals from the grassroots to the national and international levels.
However, the core of the declaration, as reflected in the Iraqi statement, lies in Goal 17; water networks cannot be financed, electricity cannot be modernized, nor can climate-resilient cities be built without partnerships that bring together governments, international institutions, the private sector, universities, and civil society.
Goal 17 includes mobilizing financial resources, facilitating access to technology, building capacities, improving data and statistics, enhancing trade and international cooperation, and establishing multilateral partnerships that ensure development goals do not remain merely theoretical commitments.
From pledges to measurable results
The Iraqi intervention converges with the general thrust of the ministerial declaration in affirming that the remaining years until 2030 require a shift from general pledges to measurable implementation.
However, the statement added a local Iraqi dimension to this discussion; the country does not suffer from a lack of natural or human resources as much as from weak coordination, shortcomings in long-term planning, limited participation of civil society, and the difficulty local organizations face in accessing finance, technology, and data.
Khoury concluded his intervention by stressing that Iraq needs “more just, transparent, and sustainable” partnerships that move from short-term financing to institution-building, and from formal consultation to genuine participation in decision-making. A joint statement issued by a number of Iraqi organizations was also presented to the participants, focusing in particular on Goal 17 as the framework through which national and international efforts can be combined to achieve the goals related to water, energy, infrastructure, sustainable cities, and confronting climate change.
The statement in both English and Arabic
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