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9 July 2003—Women's Role in Post-Conflict Iraq Discussed
An information-sharing session on the "Role of Women in Post-Conflict Iraq", co-hosted by the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and Women Waging Peace, was held at UN Headquarters on 26 June 2003.
Participants were briefed on the Fund's recent mission to Iraq and the Women Waging Peace's recently released "Winning the Peace Conference Report: Women's Role in Post-Conflict Iraq". The report presents the findings of the discussions between Iraqi women and American policy makers in a forum in Washington, D.C. It concludes, pursuant to the need for Iraqi women to participate in post-conflict reconstruction efforts as mandated by UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), that, among other measures, "women ought to represent no less than 30 per cent of all committees, bodies and structures that are convened to advance reconstruction, including parliamentary and executive governing structures".
Furthermore, the report recommends the appointment of a "gender focal point to the United States Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance of Iraq to see that the "needs, concerns and priorities of women are considered in decision-making".
—By Kristin Gilmore, for the Chronicle
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5 June 2003—Special Representative for Iraq Starts Mission in Baghdad
Sergio Vieira de Mello, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative for Iraq and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, arrived on 2 June in Baghdad to begin working with the Authority. In order to draw up a "clear picture" of the role of the United Nations and the international community, Mr. Vieira de Mello said he would devote his first days in Iraq meeting with the broadest possible spectrum of Iraqis, the Authority and various UN aid agencies.
On 3 June, Mr. Vieira de Mello met with his counterparts, American Civilian Administrator L. Paul Bremer and British Special Representative John Sawers. The coalition's officials presented their current priorities, namely: re-establishing law and order; reconnecting basic services and rejuvenating civil society; working on improving the economic situation; and moving towards creating a democratic, representative government in Iraq. Acknowledging the vital role of the United Nations in the reconstruction of Iraq, Mr. Bremer declared he was looking forward to working closely with the top UN official and his team.
As Security Council resolution 1483 (2003) also requires the Special Representative to promote economic reconstruction, the protection of human rights and the safe, orderly and voluntary return of refugees and displaced persons, Mr. Vieira de Mello visited the offices of the UN Development Programme in Iraq. In addition, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers sent a Special Envoy who will assist in the return and protection of Iraqi refugees. The Inspector General of UNHCR, Dennis McNamara, arrived in Baghdad on 1 June and will work under Mr. Vieira de Mello's leadership in the forthcoming days.
Secretary-General Annan said on 3 June that the creation of a representative government is one of the first priorities of Mr. Vieira de Mello. Declaring that "the day when Iraqis govern themselves must come quickly", the Special Representative reiterated his commitment to work "in concert with the wishes of the Iraqi people" to establish representative governance.
—By Sarah Cattan, for the Chronicle
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27 May 2003—Secretary-General Chooses Special Representative for Iraq
Secretary-General Kofi Annan has named Sergio Vieira de Mello, currently the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as his Special Representative in Iraq for a period of four months. In a letter to the President of the General Assembly released today, Mr. Annan said: “I am taking the unusual step of appointing Mr. Vieira de Mello for this short-term assignment in Iraq in view of his unique experience in serving the United Nations in post-conflict situations in the past”. The Security Council has entrusted the United Nations with “a vital role in providing humanitarian relief, assisting the reconstruction of Iraq and the establishment of national and local institutions of governance”, he said.
Speaking of his goals for his new post, Mr. Vieira de Mello said: “It is imperative that the Iraqi people take the destiny of their country in their own hands. We will contribute to that, working with the Authority, and with the other components of the international community”.
Mr. Vieira de Mello has had a long and distinguished career at the United Nations spanning over 30 years. Before being appointed in 2002 to his current post, he was the UN Transitional Administrator in East Timor and the Special Representative in Kosovo. He also has extensive experience at Headquarters and in the field with many humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, including those in Bangladesh, Cyprus, Lebanon, Mozambique, Peru and the Sudan.
—By Darrell Dela Rosa, for the Chronicle
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22 May 2003—Security Council Adopts New Resolution on Iraq
The Security Council on 22 May adopted resolution 1483 (2003) on Iraq that lifts sanctions imposed on that country nearly 13 years ago following its invasion of Kuwait. The new resolution grants wide interim governing powers to the United States and its coalition partners, stating that it recognizes the "special authorities, responsibilities and obligations under applicable international law of these states as occupying powers under unified command ('the Authority')". Co-sponsored by the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain, it also allows for full resumption of oil sales in order to restore economic activity for reconstruction, sets up a government infrastructure under the new provisional Authority, and requests Secretary-General Kofi Annan to appoint a Special Representative for Iraq.
The Special Representative's responsibilities include "reporting regularly to the Council on his activities under this resolution, coordinating activities of the United Nations in post-conflict processes in Iraq, coordinating among United Nations and international agencies engaged in humanitarian assistance and reconstruction activities in Iraq, and, in coordination with the Authority, assisting the people of Iraq".
The Council also noted the establishment of a development fund, to be audited by the International Advisory and Monitoring Board, whose members shall include, among others, a qualified representative appointed by the Secretary-General. Mr. Annan’s authority to run the Oil-for-Food programme will continue for another six months. Under the programme, Baghdad is permitted to use oil sales to purchase food and humanitarian supplies that 60 per cent of Iraqis depend on as their only source of sustenance, before it is finally terminated.
Noting that the mandate given the UN involved complex and difficult tasks, Mr. Annan said the Organization’s most important task would be to ensure that "the people of Iraq—men and women alike—are able, as soon as possible, through a transparent and impartially managed political process, to form a free and representative government of their own choice".
—By Darrell Dela Rosa, for the Chronicle
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12 May 2003—UN international staff return to southern Iraq
The first United Nations international staff returned to southern Iraq on 23 April and to Baghdad on 1 May. The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, Ramiro Lopes da Silva, led a team of senior UN officials across the border from Jordan into Iraq on 1 May to re-establish a permanent presence of international personnel in Baghdad for relief operations for the first time since their withdrawal on the eve of hostilities.
The Coordinator was accompanied by the country representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Ghulam Popal, the World Food Programme (WFP), Torben Due, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Carel de Rooy, and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Francis Dubois. The UN agencies will assess the most urgent needs, with priority being given to water and sanitation, assistance to vulnerable groups, the electricity supply, mine action and health and primary education.
The pace of the agencies’ return remains dependent on both the UN assessment of security and the United States’ declaration of “permissive environments” in areas of need. Aid, however, is reaching Iraq in increasing volume. Since the start of the conflict, over 100,000 tonnes of food (enough to feed 6.75 million people for a month) had been delivered. Another 500,000 tonnes will be delivered this month, with 600,000 tonnes expected in June and again in July.
—By Russell Taylor, for the Chronicle
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8 May 2003—UN Coordinates Humanitarian Efforts in Iraq with Private Agencies and European Union
The United Nations has stepped up its relief efforts in Iraq by meeting with 30 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to coordinate humanitarian efforts between the Organization and United States-run Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Affairs. It also met with several Iraqi ministries.
The event was hosted by Ramiro Lopes da Silva, at which NGOs from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia and the United States asked him to accept the role of UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq. It was decided that the United Nations would host regular talks on varying subjects with NGOs and UN agencies in attendance. The first, on health issues, took place on 6 May.
On 7 May, Mr. Lopes da Silva met with European Union Commissioner for Development Poul Nielsen to discuss the coordination, between the UN and the Union, of humanitarian assistance.
In other UN efforts, the UN Office of the Iraq Programme (OIP) announced that items for the Oil-for-Food Programme continued to arrive in neighbouring Iraqi nations. OIP and other UN agencies and programmes continue to assess the accessibility of items in their humanitarian pipeline, and are also negotiating with suppliers to expedite the shipment of supplies under current contracts.
—By Darrell Dela Rosa, for the Chronicle
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29 April 2003—Possible role of UN in Iraq
Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that he hoped the United Nations would play an "effective role" in the process of establishing a new Iraqi Government. "This idea of establishing an Iraqi Government is a process. We are at an early phase, and as we move down the line I hope there will be an understanding which would allow the UN to play an effective role in the process," he said, adding that he hoped there would be progress "in the not-too-distant future" to clarify the UN role. He will be meeting with the Security Council this week to further discuss the issue. The Council will also be discussing the relevant issues of sanctions, oil-for-food and other related matters.
When asked about the roles Europeans were trying to play in Iraq, Mr. Annan replied: "The European Union has been very supportive of a UN role in Iraq and have been discussing this with us and also with Washington. They have been consistent. They have been trying to support the UN role in which they would also play an active role."
—By Darrell Dela Rosa, for the Chronicle
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22 April 2003—UNHCR Raises Concerns Over Refugees in Iraqi Conflict
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for the Refugees (UNHCR) has raised concerns regarding the status of refugees and asylum seekers along Iraq's borders. According to UNHCR spokesman Peter Kessler, more than 450 individuals had fled armed Iraqi groups on 19 April and sought nourishment and other aid along Iraq's western border and had requested entry into Jordan.
He said: "There are now more than 1,000 people currently encamped in the windswept no-man's-land separating Jordan and Iraq at Al Karama, including over 400 children, among them several infants. Some of the people now stuck at the makeshift no-man's-land site have been waiting for more than two weeks to enter Jordan's empty refugee camp at Ruweished." On 21 April, 94 persons, mostly Palestinians married to Jordanians, were given permission to enter the UNHCR refugee camp.
Recently, however, Syria deported dozens of Iraqis and Jordan denied passage to hundreds of Iranians attempting to escape the conflict in Iraq. UNHCR officials in Syria reported that, on 21 April, Syrian authorities removed 32 Iraqi refugees, including 23 children, out of the El-Hol camp in the northeastern part of the country and transported them to the Iraqi side of the border. Similarly, on 13 April, 12 people were taken from the camp and moved back to Iraq. Both groups were residents of Tikrit, the hometown and stronghold of Saddam Hussein's regime.
When questioned by the UNHCR on the matter Syrian officials cited security concerns. UNHCR acknowledged Syria's concerns and its desire to refuse sanctuary to Hussein loyalists, but stressed Syria's continual obligations to provide a safe haven for refugees and asylum seekers.
—By Darrell Dela Rosa, for the Chronicle
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22 April 2003—United Nations Response to Iraqi Humanitarian Situation Gathers Steam
Trucks carrying hundreds of tonnes (metric tons) of food have been wending their way slowly into Iraq where food supplies are estimated not to last beyond early May 2003. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) reports that cumulative food deliveries to the Kurdish-run north have exceeded 10,000 tonnes of wheat flour and 2,170 tonnes of pulses this month. The latest recipient in northern Iraq is the city of Kirkuk, where looters destroyed warehouse stocks after its fall. Around thirty trucks carrying 625 tonnes of lentils and 35 tonnes of sugar have been crossing over from southeastern Turkey.
A country where 60 per cent of its population was dependent on the United Nations oil-for-food programme for their nutritional needs, Iraq suffered a major disruption of its food supply with the onset of war. WFP is planning to support a food distribution system to meet the needs of the entire country and appealed for donations amounting to US$1.3 billion. The blanket authorization for overflight and landing issued by the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 21 April 2003 promises to facilitate UN operations. The port of Aqaba in Jordan is expected to become a key entry point for deliveries to central and southern Iraq, while borders between Iraq and Iran, Kuwait, Syria and Lebanon are being opened as additional corridors for intensifying UN humanitarian operations.
—By Nuchhi R. Currier, for the Chronicle
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22 April 2003—UNESCO organizes meeting of experts to discuss the fate of Iraq's cultural heritage
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) issued recommendations to protect Iraq's cultural heritage, after a meeting of 30 experts at its headquarters in Paris.
"Despite all your expertise and good will, the fate of Iraqi heritage does not lie in your hands. It lies in the hands of the international community as a whole," said UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura at the meeting. The Organization has already raised $1 million in contributions towards this project.
Mr. Matsuura intends to request the UN Secretary-General to submit the issue of illicit traffic to the Security Council for the adoption of a resolution that imposes a temporary embargo on the acquisition of all Iraqi cultural items. He would also like urgent the compilation of a database of Iraqi heritage to enable the recognition of specific objects by customs and police authorities, art dealers and other concerned parties.
The emergency steps suggested by UNESCO include the protection of museums, libraries, archives, monuments and sites by coalitions forces, as well as a call for the voluntary restitution of stolen cultural objects.
—By Consuelo Remmert, for the Chronicle
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15 April 2003—Special Adviser Meets With United States Government Officials in Washington, D.C.
Rafeeuddin Ahmed, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Adviser on developing a framework for a possible UN role in post-conflict Iraq, met on 14 April with top United States government officials in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Ahmed was invited by the State Department to a series of briefings on Iraq, involving Defense Department, State Department and National Security Council personnel.
UN Spokesperson Hua Jiang said: "Mr. Ahmed hopes to get a clearer picture of the coalition's thinking on post-conflict Iraq, as part of his ongoing work for the Secretary-General."
Mr. Ahmed was officially appointed as the Special Adviser on the matter on 7 April. He had informally been assisting the UN since February on potential UN involvement in post-war Iraq. He now acts as the focal point for discussing the various scenarios of a UN role and will also advise the Secretary-General on any role that the Security Council may eventually mandate once the current military campaign has ended.
—By Darrell Dela Rosa, for the Chronicle
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8 April 2003—United Nations role in in post-conflict Iraq
The United Nations today responded to suggestions by the United States and United Kingdom regarding the role it would play in post-conflict Iraq by stressing that any potential involvement in the territory would come only under the discretion of the Security Council.
Fred Eckhard, spokesman for the Secretary-General, said: "I don't think we have a clearer sense of what that role might be, and we would expect the Security Council to define whatever role—beyond the humanitarian one that might already be included in the mandates of our specialized agencies—that we might have in Iraq after the conflict has ended."
He added: "We feel that for the legitimacy of any new governmental authority established in Iraq, and therefore for the stability of the region as a whole, it would be in everyone's best interest if the international community were brought to play in the establishment of such a government or authority," later mentioning the recent work done by the United Nations in Afghanistan.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan did not suggest any specific ideas on potential UN involvement, but mentioned that a new government would be better managed with the aid of the international community.
8 April 2003—UN agencies awaiting massive relief tasks in Iraq United Nations relief agencies have been painting grim pictures of hardship and catastrophe awaiting them in war-shattered Iraq.
The World Health Organization reported that Baghdad hospitals have been overwhelmed by numerous injured civilians. The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, quoting the International Committee of the Red Cross, said that on 6 April injured persons were coming in at Al-Yarmouk hospital at the rate of 100 per hour. The World Food Programme (WFP) said that it would have to move massive amounts of food next month. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on 7 April had sent eleven trucks from Kuwait to southern Iraq carrying urgent items such as clean water and medical supplies.
However, an agency spokesperson warned: "With each passing day, as the conflict continues, a humanitarian clock is ticking—it's a question of access, it's a question of distribution, it's a question of time, and it's a question of the lives of Iraqi children."
Furthermore, WFP Executive Director James Morris reported that the relief efforts in Iraq "will be by far the largest undertaking we've ever had." For the first thirty days, the WFP six-month plan for Iraq will require $1.3 billion for food, logistics and communications, focusing only on refugees and internally displaced persons. In the second through fourth months, the plan will include the entire Iraqi population.
8 April 2003—Special Adviser appointed for post-conflict Iraq
Expecting the United Nations to play a crucial role in post-conflict Iraq, Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with members of the Security Council on 7 April to inform them of the appointment of Rafeeuddin Ahmed, a Pakistani, as his Special Adviser in delineating the plans for UN involvement. Fred Eckhard, a spokesman for the Secretary-General, said that Mr. Ahmed will be the focal point for discussing the various scenarios of the UN role and "will also advise the Secretary-General on any role that the Security Council might eventually mandate the UN system to carry out once the current military campaign has come to an end".
Mr. Ahmed had been informally assisting the UN since February regarding possible UN involvement in post-conflict Iraq. He has held several UN posts, including that of Under-Secretary-General and Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary-General, as well as assignments in the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Development Fund for Women.
—By Darrell Dela Rosa, for the Chronicle
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April 4 2003—In a series of briefings beginning on 1 April, Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with all UN Member States, in the framework of the five regional groupings, to exchange views and brief them on the current humanitarian situation in Iraq.
He also met in this regard on 31 March with the Arab Group, which is not one of the regional groups.
On 2 April, the Secretary-General met with the 15 members of the Security Council, who endorsed his recommendation to retain in Kuwait a small logistics headquarters of the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM to support UN activities in the region for three more months. A letter from the Council President to Mr. Annan released on 4 March noted that Council members concurred with the Secretary-General's recommendation to retain the peacekeeping presence until 6 July.
Mr. Annan withdrew all UNIKOM personnel from the border region on the eve of hostilities in Iraq, but maintained a reduced staff consisting of 12 military officers, 20 essential civilian staff and some local personnel in Kuwait City.
—By Belal Hassan, for the Chronicle
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2 April 2003—The first UN security assessment team to Iraq reached the southern city of Um Qasr on 1 April 2003. They will submit a report on their findings to the Secretary-General shortly.
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
During the UNICEF daily briefing in Amman, Jordan, it was announced that a convoy of five trucks was on its way to Safwan, south of Basra. This was the first time that a trucking operation organized by UNICEF, under contract from private companies in Kuwait, would have reached those in need there. The trucks were each carrying 35,000 litres of water and were also delivering emergency health kits, and each would meet the needs of a 1,000 people for three months.
Truck drivers who reached the city of Zubair on 1 April, told UNICEF that 20,000 people in nearby Um Kail had not yet received any aid whatsoever. When drivers delivered health kits to the hospital in Zubair, a health worker informed them that the heat was already taking a serious toll on children and more of them were suffering with diarrhoea.
Office of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq
According to the Coordinator, the International Committee of the Red Cross had reported that the whole western area of Iraq, which spans from Heet to Fallujah, had been deprived of electricity since 29 March, when two major electricity substations were damaged during hostilities.
Office of the UN High Commissioner for the Refugees (UNHCR)
Reports from the High Commissioner state that there had been no significant refugee arrivals, although small clusters of people—mostly third country nationals and some Iraqis—had been crossing the frontiers.
—By Belal Hassan, for the Chronicle
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28 March 2003—The UN Security Council on 28 March 2003 unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the adjustment of the suspended oil-for-food programme and giving Secretary-General Kofi Annan more authority to administer the operation for the next 45 days.
Mr. Annan said it remained unlikely that any new aid would be delivered before fighting subsided. The programme, which funds Iraq’s humanitarian needs from national oil export revenues, is the sole source of sustenance for 60 per cent of the country's 27.1 million people. The massive effort was suspended on 17 March after the Secretary-General ordered the withdrawal of all UN personnel from Iraq.
29 March 2003—On 29 March, the United Nations aid agencies issued a joint appeal for more than $2.2 billion to fund the humanitarian programme in Iraq. Access was now "vital" since half of the population was without clean water and there was a high potential for epidemics, especially cholera and typhoid, World Health Organization spokesperson Fadela Chaib said. The team had not been able to get through because of the security situation. "The need for access to Basra and to other areas where the civilian population has been affected by the conflict is increasingly urgent", Ms. Chaib said. "WHO appeals to all sides in this conflict to allow humanitarian agencies to gain access to these people."
—By Russell Taylor, for the Chronicle |
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