The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) opened a new office in Basra in early May in order to begin the urgent task of certifying the state of war-damaged housing stock. Undertaken as part of the UN-Habitat Emergency Relief Response, a planned survey is also to be conducted in Baghdad, Mosul and other urban areas. The team in Basra consists of one international expert and 54 national engineers, architects, and database managers.
The agency has also examined the state of sewage disposal and solid waste management in Habania, a low-income district in Basra with a population of 300,000. According to initial findings, the situation is desperate due to years of neglect and additional war damage. Supported by its offices in Amman, Jordan and Larnaca, Cyprus, UN-Habitat will liaise with the UN Children's Fund for emergency repairs once the ongoing assessment reporting is finalized and will soon re-open its offices in Baghdad. Its international experts are returning to the three northern Iraqi governorates of Erbil, Dahuk and Suleimaniyah, where UN-Habitat has been working on its settlements rehabilitation programme for internally displaced persons and most vulnerable groups under the "Oil-For-Food" Programme since 1997.
For its work on emergency assistance in Iraq, UN-Habitat—the lead agency in the UN system for providing shelter and for urban reconstruction and rehabilitation—has been drawing upon its experience during the past seven years in northern Iraq under the Oil-for-Food Programme and its considerable experience in re-establishing institutions of local government in Northern Somalia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
Over the past 15 years, there has been progressive deterioration in living conditions in Iraq, including shelter and infrastructure. This has been due to a lack of resources, and mismanagement and neglect as a consequence of the prolonged conflict. By March 2003, 10 to 20 per cent of all houses required emergency rehabilitation and there was a short fall of some 1.4 million housing units. Rapid assessments completed to date reveal that damage to houses is limited, but the need for rehabilitation is pressing.
UN-Habitat has been working with a number of UN agencies on immediate humanitarian assistance in Iraq, which covers site preparation and layout, building of access and internal roads, building of temporary structures, such as health centres, stores and staff administration buildings, construction of water and sanitation. The agency is also providing assistance to the internally displaced persons' camps in the three northern Governorates, namely Delizian, Ashkawtwan and Jenarook Camps in Erbil and Tanahi Camp in Dahuk, as well as Basian, Sordash, Maydan and Hajyawa camps in Suliemanyah, comprising close to 6,000 families. It has also made available a range of construction materials and heavy machinery and is planning to start constructing shelter for war widows.
UN-Habitat is further involved with the overall UN Development Group/World Bank (UNDG/WB) needs assessment for the long-term post-war reconstruction of Iraq, which is being prepared for the donor conference in October. More specifically, it is charged with producing the needs assessment for the housing and urban management sector, which includes facilitating assessment missions and stakeholder meetings in Iraq to be held in late August; a report will be presented to UNDG/WB by 31 August 2003 for consolidation with reports from the other sectors.
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