Transcript of the UN humanitarian briefing in Amman, Jordan

30 April

Nejib Friji, UN Spokesman

Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the Security Council is discussing the UN role in Iraq and that he will be meeting with the Council's members this week. He hopes they will be able to make progress in the not-too-distant future. Obviously, apart from the UN role on the ground, the Council is also discussing the issues of sanctions, oil-for-food and other related issues.

Because the discussions in the Council were still going on; we are hoping to have a clearer idea of the UN role, and also hoping to get additional information as to the process and the organization of the meeting, but of course this does not mean that in the future, once we have finished our discussions, we will not find a way of cooperating with others.

On UN-EU cooperation, Mr. Annan said both parties will be signing an agreement that will improve considerably mutual operational relationship. We do have a good relationship with the European Union. On the humanitarian front, they have been very active to play a role, and several have discussed with him the possibility of making hospital beds in Europe available for Iraqi children who need treatment. I think they have always played an important role in the humanitarian area and the EU has been funding these efforts and would want to cooperate much more effectively on the ground with others and us.

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.

Mr. Annan added that the 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.

Simon Ingram, Spokesman for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Two trucks carrying high protein biscuits and medical supplies provided by UNICEF Iran crossed the Khosravi border point in western Iran today en route for Baghdad.

UNICEF staff in the Iraqi capital will distribute the biscuits and health supplies to medical centres and hospitals in Baghdad. This is UNICEF Iran's first medical convoy to Iraq, following two tanker convoys, which took supplies of drinking water to Al-Fao peninsula in southern Iraq earlier this month.

Today's convoy - the first movement of UN relief supplies through the Khosravi crossing point -- is expected to pave the way for other similar ventures, according to Kari Egge, UNICEF Representative in Teheran.

"The distance from the Khosravi border point to Baghdad is just 160 kilometres," said Ms Egge. "Given that proximity, the route has an important potential as a corridor for relief aid into central Iraq."

Ms Egge added that similar convoys are being organized, and would be leaving for Baghdad and other major Iraqi cities in the coming days and weeks.

Wednesday's cargo - comprising 20 tons of high protein biscuits, 100 boxes of Oral Re-hydration Salts (ORS), and 10 emergency health kits with complementary equipment -- are sufficient for the needs of 100,000 people, for a period of three months.

Peter Kessler, Spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for the Refugees (UNHCR)

Arrivals from Iraq:
Several newspapers and columnists continue to publish erroneous reports that large numbers of Palestinians are waiting at the Al Karama frontier seeking entry into Jordan. There is no truth behind the reports that 6,000 Palestinians are currently trying to enter Jordan.

The UNHCR/Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) camp at Ruweished shelters more than 550 Palestinians who have been permitted to cross into Jordan in recent weeks along with some 100 other persons, mainly their Jordanian spouses. Only 64 Palestinians remain in the no man's land, some of whom the Jordanian authorities say lack valid documents.

The first few Palestinians who reached Jordan after the fall of Baghdad arrived with almost nothing. Members of this first wave reported that their landlords had ordered them to leave their homes, or that they had otherwise been threatened. The majority of the Palestinians now arriving are coming with personal effects, indicating that they had time to organize themselves and pack.

These 550 Palestinians in the UNHCR/Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) camp are a fraction of the estimated up to 90,000 Palestinians who reside in Iraq. The reports of expulsions and intimidation that some of them have brought from Baghdad are a grave concern. We have called on the occupying power to ensure security for all residents of Iraq, as well as for all Iraqis to act responsibly towards their neighbours.

UNHCR remains very concerned about the precarious conditions of the some 1,000 people living in the no man's land zone separating Iraq and Jordan. Among those people waiting at Al Karama are more than 40 Iraqis, some of whom fled Baghdad, Diwaniyah, and other cities at the height of the fighting one-month ago, while others arrived more recently.

UNHCR's Representative in Jordan met with the Minister of Planning on Tuesday and discussed the delays faced by these Iraqis in obtaining temporary protection in Jordan.

Every Iraqi fleeing their homeland should receive temporary protection at the refugee camp in Ruweished. We see no reason why these Iraqis, women, children, and men, should be forced to wait in the no man's land for weeks.

No asylum seeker should be forced to wait in limbo in no man's land nor summarily sent home. Iraqis seeking the protection of temporary asylum should instead be sheltered in a refugee camp and subject to the appropriate screening procedure.

Pavel Kral, Spokesman for the UN Development Programme (UNDP)

• This past week saw a concrete re-start of UNDP operations in Iraq. Four UNDP international technical staff arrived in Erbil on 24 April 2003 to resume their duties as part of the Electricity Network Rehabilitation Programme (ENRP), looking into urgent requirements in the three Northern Governorates. UNDP national staff had ensured the continuation of ENRP operations throughout the conflict.

• Power supply to Dohuk from Mosul has significantly increased to about 22 hours daily to domestic consumers.

• The local authorities in three Northern Governorates have acquired considerable amounts of different types of fuel through the private sector. Accordingly, supply of diesel fuel to the three 29 MW plants has resumed at a rate of 120-150 thousand liters a day.

• In the South, the UNDP unit in Kuwait secured power generation equipment and a fuel pump for the emergency needs of water pumping/treatment station in Al-Zubair and a hospital in Nassiriyah. As a result, Al-Zubair's population of 400,000 now have access to potable water. Moreover, the hospital can now store its supplies of vaccines safely.

• The Government of Japan pledged US$2.5 million for dredging operations in the port of Umm Qasr where severe silting is preventing the use of this key port for the delivery of humanitarian supplies. Specialized equipment has been procured and UNDP engineers are due to carry out necessary assessments in the coming week.

• The UN's initial high-level inter-agency team, including the UNDP Resident Representative for Iraq, is expected to be deployed to Baghdad this week. The planned Sub-Office in Basra (South) is expected to be established this week.

• UNDP staff in Baghdad are rehabilitating one of the five buildings in the compound. This is expected to be finalized this week.

• The majority of staff needed have been identified for the first re-entry phase in all areas where UNDP plans to operate (i.e. Basra, Mosul/Kirkuk, Baghdad). Urgent need is now for Mosul/Kirkuk, where we should be sending staff within a week.