The United Nations' top envoy for Iraq on Tuesday highlighted the importance of continued and wide-based international support to ensure that Iraq leaves its violent past behind.

The support is to ensure that Iraq does not slip back into the turmoil from which it so recently emerged, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN secretary-general's special representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, told the Security Council in a briefing.

According to Hennis-Plasschaert, Baghdad is opening up, but the security situation will continue to require close monitoring throughout the country. "Attacks continue, as seen with recent blasts and suicide bombings. Also very relevant: the ISIL threat is still out there."

Another dominant security concern is the issue of armed actors operating outside state control, engaged in illegal or criminal activities and exerting economic and social influence throughout the country, she said.

The activities of these actors undermine state authority, they affect vulnerable communities, they weaken the national economy and they also prevent the peaceful return of displaced persons, Hennis-Plasschaert added.

It will therefore prove crucial to hold to account all armed actors involved in criminal enterprise or illegal activity, she said.