The Baghdad which UNICEF Iraq Representative, Carel de Rooy, is returning to today is - as he himself remarked - a place very different from the one he left exactly seven weeks ago.

Carel told me before leaving Amman that the first thing he'd do on reaching the UNICEF office in Baghdad would be to give each of his national staff a big hug of gratitude and comfort.

The gratitude is well earned. Throughout the long, dark weeks of the war itself and during the terrifying chaos that ensued, UNICEF's Baghdad staff have performed heroics. Setting aside the trauma they and their families had endured, they knuckled down to the task of reaching out to the city's children, beginning the task of restoring countless shattered lives.

If I may, I'd like to recap briefly some of the work UNICEF's national staff have accomplished.

They have trucked water daily to hospitals and communities in some of the most deprived areas of the city. They have cleared lorry-loads of hazardous garbage from medical facilities and other sites. They have helped get vital water treatment plants back up and running. They have gone house-to-house to get an idea of the extent of malnutrition among the city's under-5s. They have reached out to assist some of the most vulnerable and brutalized children of all, those living in orphanages and shelters for the abandoned.

And there's more. As of today, I can report that rehabilitation work at al Rahma center for abandoned street children has begun, a process that should ensure the return of many of its young occupants. And in education, our energetic appeals for an early reopening of Baghdad's schools seems to be bearing fruit. We are pressing for an official announcement of this by the US military authorities within days.

None of this is to under-estimate the scale of the task remaining. It is truly enormous. With more UNICEF staff arrive back in Iraq by the day; our organization is at last acquiring the resources it needs to meet the challenges of the months ahead.

Dr. Ibrahim Kerdany, Spokesman for the World Health Organization (WHO)

Three truckloads of aid have arrived in Baghdad as part of a well-guarded convoy. One of the trucks was refrigerated carrying some meningitis and polio vaccines and surgical kits as part of the Norwegian government donation also arrived. These kits are sufficient to carry out on thousand surgical operations. Blood bank kits also arrived to ensure safety form HIV and hepatitis.

WHO is very busy paving the way for 165 contracts for the Oil for Food Programme, and looking into storage place in Amman. Also custom clearance, transport agencies and loading and unloading. There are a group of three experts arriving at the northern border in Irbid, Jordan.

On Sunday a WHO office will be established in Kuwait. They visited Basra several times and there have been two national officers recruited.

A coordination meeting with the Hashmite Charity Organization and WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNHCR, MSF, MDM and the Japanese were discussing the health situation of the 1100 refugees between the Iraqi and Jordanian border.

WHO as the coordinator of the health sector group, discussed and sorted out problems related to shortage of drugs, ambulances for the sick and purchased Scorpio and snakebite anti venom, in preparation for the summer season.

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

Refugees stuck in no man's land:
In no man's land on Jordan's border with Iraq, dozens of Iraqis are still stuck in the windswept border zone only metres from the Al Karama border post, waiting to enter the refugee camp at Ruweished. Some of these people have been stuck there for a month.

On Wednesday, the Jordanian authorities permitted 14 Iraqis to leave no man's land and enter the Red Crescent's camp for third country nationals. These Iraqis were apparently allowed into Jordan because they carried valid UAE residence permits in their passports. The International Organisation for Migration reports that a handful of Iraqis are regularly permitted to cross into Jordan as long as they carry travel documents and visas for on-ward movement.

Under our 15 April agreement with the Minister of Interior, all Iraqis should be permitted to cross into Jordan for temporary protection in the refugee camp at Ruweished.

The current government policy is leaving some desperate Iraqis stuck in the no man's land. It is a basic principle of international law that refugees need not present travel documents or visas. Every individual has a right to seek temporary asylum - exactly the reason why we established a refugee camp at Ruweished.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees had called on all governments in the region to keep their borders open to Iraqi refugees seeking temporary protection.

Lack of a pervasive civil authority, as well as unrest and looting are still prevalent in areas of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, despite efforts by the Occupying Power to arrest the lawlessness. There are also disturbing reports that some Iraqi women fear that the liberties and rights guaranteed by the former regime may be under threat.

The apparent vacuum, continuing hostilities, and the fact that some groups may well find their human rights threatend is creating at trickle of new asylum seekers. For these reasons, the right to asylum must be observed by all states in the region.

The no man's land encampment continues to accommodate some 1,000 refugees, mainly Iranian ethnic Kurds from Al Tash camp, and some 30 other Iranians for whom we are seeking their readmission to their countries of first asylum

Palestinians in Ruweished camp:
We understand that eight Palestinian refugees who arrived in recent weeks have opted to leave the refugee camp at Ruweished and return to Iraq.

Two small groups left yesterday, with five persons, including one woman, leaving Wednesday morning using transport provided by the Jordanian authorities. Another group of three men left later in the day, also transported by government vehicles up to the Iraqi border post at Trebil.

While UNHCR was not involved in their decision to return to Iraq, it appears that these Palestinians felt that life in the refugee camp was not what they expected, and that they did not require the protection afforded them by refuge in Jordan. One man indicated, however, that he may return to Jordan together with his family.

UNHCR is not facilitating the return of people to Iraq at this time due to the continued insecurity in that country.

Following the admission by Jordan of more than 40 persons from the no man's land - mostly Palestinians - more than 700 people are currently sheltered in the UNHCR/Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) refugee camp at Ruweished. Among them are more than 100 Jordanians married to Palestinians.

Palestinians in Iraq:
In Baghdad, UNHCR staff spoke with representatives of the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC) regarding reports of insecurity facing some Palestinians in the Iraqi capital. The PRC said that 250 Palestinian families had left their rented apartments and settled in a makeshift camp close to the PRC's hospital. Apparently these households were approached by their landlords seeking rent - payments that were formerly made on their behalf by the government. The PRC reported that conditions at the makeshift encampment where these people are sheltered are very poor.

Since UNHCR's Baghdad warehouse was looted in recent weeks, we are looking at the possibility of moving some relief aid from Jordan or other neighbouring countries into Iraq and providing supplies to the PRC so that it may assist these Palestinians until they can rent new accomodations.

As noted here Wednesday, there are no reports to indicate that large numbers of Palestinians are headed towards Jordan. Indeed, in addition to the eight Palestinians who opted to return to Iraq from our camp at Ruweished yesterday, Jordanian officials manning the Al Karama border post have reported that Palestinians are apparently returning to Iraq at a much greater scale than the numbers of people fleeing to Jordan.

Iranian refugees on the move:
We have received reports that more than 800 Iranians, apparently from among the more than 6,000 Iranian refugees settled in Iraq's Wasit and Misan governorates, may be seeking to repatriate to Iran. These people are reportedly still on the Iraqi side of the frontier, near Iran's Dehloran border post, Ilam Province.

A UNHCR team from our Kermanshah office expects to meet with these Iranan refugees tomorrow at the Dehloran crossing. If indeed they are seeking to return home, we will be discussing with the Iranian authorities how their entry formalities can be speedily arranged so that they may cross as soon as possible. It is so far not clear why this group opted to leave their refugee settlements.

UNHCR last year repatriated more than 1,100 Iranian refugees from this area of eastern Iraq. They originally fled Iran during the first Gulf War.

Questions and Answers

Q: I wanted to get an update on the flash appeal, since the UN is picking up its operations inside Iraq, with the return of international staff. Have you been getting the funds you need & where do you stand in that regard? You also said that the Council will have important decisions to take including the search for WMDs, what is to be done with that?

A: A. Hamati: I cannot remember the exact figure, but so far out of the $2.2 billion we have asked for, $950 million have been collected. We are still looking forward for more money in order to cover the costs of the priority goods we need to deliver to Iraq as soon as possible.

N. Friji: Lets go through the agency spokespersons here & see if they have something to add to that.

K. Mansour: When that deal was issued in New York in March, all UN agencies were asking for $2.2 billion. Out of this WFP is asking for $1.3 billion. In all these operations we have learned from the past that all these figures are reviewed with time, sometimes they go up sometimes they go down. I think in WFP they will go up unless old contracts from the Oil for Food programme will compensate for some of the food needed. We are talking about 1.6 million tonnes of food to bring into Iraq. If some of that food comes from old contracts, then we will have to reduce our appeal, which hasn't happened so far. We have so far received from donor countries around $475 million, the two largest donors being the US & UK, between the two of them they provided $420 million, with the US leading with around $370 million.

S. Ingram: The UNICEF share of the appeal was $166 million, I don't have the exact figures, but I know that the last report we got, mentioned we are half way through there. But can I get back to you with the exact figures.

B. Came: FAO's portion of that was $86 million, I think we are half the way there, with the UK being the major donor with around $3 million. \

A. Hamati: A follow up on something WFP mentioned; we do have a $10 billion worth of supply that are in the pipe line going to Iraq. Those were contracted before the hostilities began. Unfortunately a very same amount of that money was for food & medicine, but there is a portion for that. As Khaled Mansour mentioned, the more supplies from these that go into Iraq, the costs will be deducted from the flash appeal.

N. Friji: Regarding my part of the question, I have nothing to add. The UN inspectors are the only ones entitled to certify whether or not Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction. However, if the coalition forces find such weapons, I am sure the inspectors will go in & check them according to the UN book.

Q: There is a question of time here; with the fact the Security Council might revisit the issue, with the US & UK being permanent members, maybe pushing for new resolutions. The weapons inspectors are mandated by the existing Security Council resolutions. When will the inspectors go back, before their mandate is pulled off their feet?

A: N. Friji: Part of you question/remark, I don't think we can talk on behalf of the coalition in Iraq, but if there is any desire to lift the sanctions, there are other members in the Security Council with the opinion that the inspectors should go & confirm that the reasons behind the sanctions don't exist anymore, i.e. there are no WMD. Concerning the return of the inspectors, it is the decision of the Chief inspectors & the Security Council on when to send them, we will wait & see.

Q: About the children injured in the landmines, was that just in the Kirkuk area, what kind of injuries & who is looking after them?

A: A. Hamati: That was only a piece of news we got just before we came in to the briefing, we still have no details on that, but I am sure you will get more information on that from UN spokespersons or press releases the moment they know about them.

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