In October 2021, the people and Government of Iraq successfully concluded the country’s latest parliamentary elections. The members of the United Nations Security Council commended Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) for "conducting a technically sound election." They further recognized the role of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) in providing "technical assistance and international monitoring" in support of the electoral process. The international experts with UNAMI's Office of Electoral Assistance (OEA) included 15 dedicated UN Volunteers.
This group of UN Volunteers (six women and nine men) was part of a team comprising one thousand personnel during the peak period of the elections – described as "the biggest electoral assistance mission in the history of UN’s practice worldwide," according to Dr Aamir Arain, Director of UNAMI Electoral Assistance and UN Principal Electoral Advisor. However, these volunteers "were a significant part of this undertaking, serving in both substantive, technical and administrative aspects of the complex electoral assistance programme," adds Dr Arain.