Transcript of UN Briefing in Amman
Nejib Friji, Spokesman
The Secretary-General and Prime Minister Tony Blair initially met one-on-one for about 25 minutes yesterday before sitting down with their full delegations. The Prime Minister briefed the Secretary-General on his talks in Washington with President Bush.
They then discussed the humanitarian situation in Iraq. They were informed that a draft resolution on the Oil-for-Food Programme could possibly be put to a vote in the Security Council as early as today and they welcomed the progress achieved on that front.
They also reviewed the next steps in the search for a peace agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis, stressing the importance of active engagement on the early implementation of the "road map" to peace. The meeting with delegations also lasted about 25 minutes.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette and the UN Humanitarian coordinator Kenzo Oshima are about to launch the largest appeal for the humanitarian assistance in Iraq.
Delegates of the member states of the Security Council seemed to have reached an agreement of a draft resolution that will adapt the Oil for Food Programme and make more flexible to allow Iraq to use oil revenues to meet the needs of approximately 60 % of the population. The delegations are consulting with their capitals in this regard.
Following converging reports about damage to several cultural buildings in Iraq, particularly in Baghdad, Mossul and Tikrit, since the beginning of the conflict, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, recalling that Iraq, "the cradle of civilizations that go back thousands of years, has many treasures and sites that are a valuable part of the heritage of all humankind", has again emphasized that everything possible should be done to preserve the Iraqi cultural heritage.
David Wimhurst, spokesperson for UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq (UNHCI)
Two health institutions have been bombed in southern Iraq. A health centre in Najaf was completely destroyed, and an ambulance was also destroyed and the driver killed. In Nasseriah the main hospital was bombarded and partially damaged.
Just so there is no misunderstanding concerning this point under international humanitarian law, let me read to you Article 18 of the Fourth Geneva Convention:
Civilian hospitals organized to give care to the wounded and sick, the infirm and maternity cases, may in no circumstances be the object of attack, but shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict.
Once again, parties to the conflict have failed to respect the Convention, and vital institutions that civilians need for their well-being have been destroyed or damaged.
The local authorities in Sulaymaniyah have appropriated 10 United Nations vehicles - six mini-buses, two ambulances and two pick-up trucks. Our concern is that these vehicles might be used in local conflicts by the authorities. If this happens, then the safety of UN staff and of the UN's humanitarian effort will be seriously compromised. This issue is being addressed in New York with Kurdish representatives.
Later today, in New York, a flash appeal will be launched for humanitarian relief in Iraq. The appeal is close to $2 billion dollars. Tomorrow, at 11 a.m., we will have a special briefing for you on this issue.
Geoffrey Keele, Spokesman for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
UNICEF staff working in Iraq have launched a new scheme in the north of the country to monitor what is happening to children caught up in the crisis. Staff are working with children from different communities whose situation can be regularly monitored over the next few weeks. Some have been uprooted from their homes, others are at home but facing disruption to their lives. The monitoring should provide not only a snapshot of how children are coping but also early warning of any emerging crisis that may require intervention.
To date, 17 children have been identified in Dohuk, Erbil and and Sulimaniya. One is Berivan Fazil a 12-year-old girl who moved with her family from Kirkuk and is living with relatives in Suimaniya. They have everything they need. But Berivan says she feels depressed and is suffering from headaches. She has no appetite. Her family says she was very scared when they were in Kirkuk.
Another is 10-year-old Sara Juma' Majeed who lives with her family in Sulimaniya. She is worried about her school and is missing her friends. Schools in northern Iraq are closed.
UNICEF staff have been out monitoring the IDP crisis. In Soran many people from Kirkuk and other areas are living in schools. 125 are in the Sardam school, 386 people sharing four latrines are in another premises and around 250 persons in a school where the women say there is not enough water despite provision of a water tank.
Of particular concern are 68 juveniles, 22 convicted women and 45 staff and others from a reformatory in Erbil who now reside in a three- room kindergarten. The juveniles, aged between 11 and 22 eat, rest and sleep side by side in the same room.
UNICEF will act to construct more latrines as needed, provide and rehabilitate water points, monitor the health situation and advocate with authorities for the juvenile and women prisoners to be returned to Erbil or for a more appropriate building to be found.
Dr. Paula Abdul Kader, the head of the UNICEF team working in northern Iraq, says 100% of the staff are working and carrying out their programmes of interventions on water, health and child protection. 'We are, he says, 'doing fine.'
UNICEF calls on authorities controlling areas to ensure that any aid being delivered to civilians is done in a way that ensures that the most vulnerable people are reached, that needs of those in institutions are met and that distributions take place in a way that ensures the human dignity of beneficiaries.
Fadela Chaib, Spokeswoman for the World Health Organization (WHO)
Many people within Iraq face increasing difficulty with access to food and water, to electricity, and to basic services. The international humanitarian agencies are poised, ready to help. We cannot access those being affected by the conflict and by the extra strains placed on health and other civilian infrastructure. For example, access to the people of Basra is now vital - so that health experts can assess the impact of the current situation on the health of the population and ensure that the right kinds of relief are provided to those who need it the most. The World Health Organization has a team of experts ready to depart from Baghdad to make this assessment. As of now, this team has not been able to depart due to 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. WHO appeals to all sides in this conflict to allow humanitarian agencies to gain access to these people. In previous conflicts, where humanitarian access has been restricted, it has proved possible to agree on humanitarian corridors or pauses to allow access. All of these ideas must be pursued with energy to ensure that the impact of this conflict on the civilian population of Iraq can be minimized.
Peter Kessler, Spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
There have been no reports of refugee arrivals in the region.
Iran
UNHCR teams, accompanied by Iranian authorities, have visited several areas along the border to look into reports of groups of displaced Iraqis, mainly from northern Iraq, who have fled towards border areas near Iran.
This week, a team went to the Bashmaq border crossing about seven kilometers from the Iraqi town of Penjwin, a mountainous, snow-covered area where the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had reported that 22,000 Iraqi Kurds who had left Suleimaniyeh and Kirkuk had gathered in mosques, schools and houses of friends and relatives. This was the largest group that was reported to have moved to the border close to Iran since the war broke out in Iraq. We were told that some of these Iraqis had gone back to Suleimaniyeh after hearing that the situation there had improved. At Bashmaq village just 200 meters away on the Iraqi side, we were told that 30 to 40 people had gone there from Suleimaniyeh but had returned because there was no food in the village and the situation had improved in Suleimaniyeh.
We have checked out several other reports of smaller groups of Iraqis who had gone close to Iran, but Iranian authorities tell us that so far there have been no attempts by displaced Iraqis to cross the border into Iran. The Iranians have maintained that their borders are sealed but Iraqis whose lives are in danger would be allowed to enter the country.
In the meantime, preparations by Iran to receive Iraqi refugees continue. Construction of basic infrastructure, such as water and sanitation facilities, continues in four camp sites in Khuzestan, Kermanshah and Ilam provinces. These four, with a total capacity for 60,000 people, are among 10 sites that have been prepared to receive refugees. The other sites will be opened if needed. We are also continuing to stockpile relief items - tents, blankets, jerry cans, kitchen sets - in our warehouses in the towns of Ahwaz and Kermanshah in western Iran.
Syria
We plan to deploy 30 staff on Sunday to ensure the monitoring of Syria's border areas and to expand our early warning capacity. Our main hub will be at Al Hasakah, from where we'll oversee the Al Hawl camp and monitor the Al Yarubiyeh border crossing northwest of Mosul, as well as the northernmost Faysh Khabur frontier post, west of Zakho. Teams will also operate from Tadmur to monitor the Al Tanf border and Dayr Az Zawr, to observe the Abu Kamal frontier.
Works are underway at the longtime Al Hawl camp. We are also studying the need to open a second refugee camp at Sabaa Biar, northwest of the Al Tanf crossing. The Syrian government is finishing work on transit sites at the Al Tanf, Abu Kamal and the Al Yarubiyeh border crossings that they've identified in the context of our joint contingency planning. UNHCR has an existing stockpile of relief items for 10,000 people in Syria, with additional items available at our regional stockpiles at Iskenderun, Turkey, and Aqaba, Jordan.
We have heard of Iraqis who have arrived on their own in Syria but who have decided to reside with family and friends in major cities. We will be working with a local Syrian relief society to identify if any of these Iraqis have any special needs.
Temporary Protection for Iraqis
We have distributed new guidelines to governments this week advising that asylum claims from individual Iraqi citizens not be processed for an initial period of three months, during which Iraqis should instead be granted temporary protection.
In a separate March 7 memorandum, we had already urged asylum countries to halt forced returns of Iraqis. Now our legal experts are advising a suspension of individual asylum procedures, both of pending cases and new arrivals, and the granting of temporary protection instead.
Within the framework of international solidarity and burden-sharing, UNHCR urged that Iraqi asylum seekers should not be returned to countries in the conflict region either, because a possible major influx of Iraqis could put major strains on these neighbouring states.
More than 51,000 Iraqis claimed asylum worldwide last year, forming by far the largest single group of asylum seekers in industrialized countries. The top five industrialized countries receiving asylum requests from Iraqis during 2002 were the United Kingdom (14,900), Germany (10,400), Sweden (5,400), Austria (4,600) and Greece (2,600). Iraqis are one of the largest refugee groups worldwide. At the beginning of 2002, some 400,000 Iraqi refugees were spread across some 90 countries.
"Temporary protection" is a collective protection scheme granted for whole groups of asylum seekers. It is usually applied when mass movements of refugees occur whose reasons for flight are obvious. It then proves impractical and time consuming to verify those refugees on a case-by-case basis.
Chris Lom, Spokesman for the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
US Funds IOM Iraq Relief Plan. IOM has received US$7 million from the US government, including US$5 million from the USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), for coordination of relief efforts to internally displaced people (IDPs) in southern and central Iraq.
IOM's coordination role, when access becomes possible, will be to bring together the efforts of UN agencies, NGOs and other organizations to efficiently channel aid to the most vulnerable populations and to minimize duplication.
Under the supervision of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, IOM's responsibilities will include IDP camp management, registration of IDPs and filling gaps in the provision of essential non-food items.
The other US$2 million from the US State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) will fund IOM's ongoing operation to help third country nationals fleeing Iraq to return to their home countries. The program has already repatriated over 400 mainly Sudanese and Egyptian from Jordan and Syria in the past week.
IOM's response to the Iraq crisis had been funded up to this point by contributions from Switzerland, the UK and the US totaling US$1.2 million. The money was given in response to a UN-backed IOM appeal for US$1.9 million to prepare for a possible emergency in the region.
IOM was also advanced $1 million from the UN's Central Emergency Revolving Fund, which allowed it to deploy specialist staff and resources to the region to prepare for a possible outflow of people from Iraq into neighboring countries.
IOM's mandate, at the request of the UN, includes transport for refugees and third country nationals to transit camps in countries bordering Iraq; repatriation of third country nationals; and coordination of relief efforts for displaced people inside southern and central Iraq.
IOM planners believe that the entire program could require as much as US$64 million over the next six months. Under its constitution, IOM has no reserve funds and is entirely dependent on project-based donor funding.
Gerard Gomez, Speaking for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
UNDP has been involved in the rehabilitation of the electricity network (identified as the Electricity Network Rehabilitation Programme or "ENRP") in the three northern Governorates of Iraq (Dahuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah) under the "Oil for Food" Programme since 1996.
The overall condition of the electricity sector in the three Northern Governorates at this moment remains stable. The basic humanitarian needs of the population are being met.
While there are no major disruptions, the main constraint is the limited availability of diesel fuel.
Since hostilities commenced, UNDP-ENRP has taken on additional responsibilities such as:
- Providing the essential requirements
for the camps that are being prepared for the anticipated flow of IDPs
into the Northern governorates;
- Providing and maintaining power supply to essential services such as hospitals, water supply facilities etc.
All UNDP-ENRP national staff are reporting for duty and activities are being carried out in accordance with earlier developed work plans and as directed by international staff based outside Iraq.
All UNDP-ENRP assets (which are quite considerable and cover large diesel power plants, substations and warehouses) are fully secured in accordance with the arrangements made prior to the evacuation of international staff.
Please remember our briefing tomorrow will be held at 11:00 AM local time
Questions and Answers
Q: The attacks on the two health institutions in Southern Iraq, what is the source of this information & do you have anything on casualties & what I believe is a contention on that one of those institutions had some military connections and/or equipment?
A: We have no further information beyond what I stated already, or on casualties, & the source of the information came through the UN system.
Q: BBC World Service Radio: I want to know whether the British & US army have been approached by you or had any kind of dialogue with them & is there any progress on that front, especially about the access to the victims & people suffering & whether there is any response from the British?
A: The relationship between civilian & military in this situation is handled through liaison, which would go from our people to the Humanitarian Operations Centre (HOC) and the headquarters of the military in Kuwait. We would have the necessary contacts; that is how the system works, but whether or not the WHO on the ground has any further information, I don't know.
A: I was informed that our local staff in Baghdad was in discussion with the National Health Authorities in Baghdad to see if it is possible to go from Baghdad to Basra in a joint mission, the Ministry of Health in Baghdad & the WHO team. Today, the communications were very bad so I was unable to get the information yet.
Q: How many people might need your help in Basra?
A: There are 1.7 million people in Basra, which is the second largest city in Iraq. Half of the population is without clean water and there is a high potential for epidemics, especially cholera & typhoid. We know that the most vulnerable & children are at risk, especially the children under the age of five. From the previous emergencies in Iraq, access to water is very vital; but we cannot assess the situation & the scale of the problem.
Q: Do you have an estimation of when the Oil for Food Programme will be reactivated & once it is, will that not mean that there will be need for UN staff to administrate it; will that be local staff or is it international?
A: We expect the Security Council will very soon authorize a new resolution, which will allow the Secretary General, for a 45-day period, to take over & reactivate the Oil for Food programme. Getting the resources currently in the pipeline, all of the food & other supplies ordered before this conflict began or were on their way to Iraq; getting those resources into the country will require secure & safe access. That is a problem that has not yet been resolved & we don't know how long it will take; as soon as there is access, hopefully sooner rather than later, some of these resources will start moving. In the meantime, the emergency relief effort which is represented by all these agencies here & partner NGOs are ready to move on a moments notice inside Iraq, if they have safe access, to provide the needed emergency relief. The flash appeal coming out tomorrow will also be funding that emergency relief effort.
Q: Please elaborate whether there are any Palestinians arriving in Syria, or did you mean third country nationals arrived in Syria & been moved to the UNWRA camps inside Syria?
A: We have no reports of any refugee arrivals in the region & I don't know of any Palestinians crossing the borders of Syria. We know of about 33 third-country nationals who have crossed the borders to Syria & smaller numbers to Iran.
We have an agreement with UNWRA in Damascus, that third country nationals who are on their way home, will stay in the UNWRA compound in Damascus. My understanding is that the 28 Moroccans, who left earlier in the week, stayed there. I am not aware of any Palestinians who stayed there.
Q: I'd like to refer to yesterday's images on televisions, of the Iraqis in Basra having received the aid; while that's all fair & well, that they got the aid; in my opinion it was the wrong way this was administered, the way the people's state of desperation was viewed; I know that humanitarian law always looks at preserving peoples' integrity & what we have seen was not expected. Who was administrating these things & are these the images we're going to see frequently as those people are receiving aid.
A: I think you partly answered your own question. Your observations are not inaccurate & one of the reasons we have been insisting since the beginning that the best way to distribute humanitarian assistance is through impartial civilian organizations is to avoid those sorts of scenes. Giving aid to people under whatever circumstances should not result in a free-for-all with people fighting over boxes of food. It was obviously not distributed in any organized way. The best way of helping people is to know what they need & then deliver according to those needs; that could be done in an impartial, organized, effective & efficient way by civilian organizations like the UN & NGOs who have experience in doing this. Handing out aid should not be in the hands of the military. Having said that, when it is vital to meet immediate needs, the occupying military authorities have the responsibility to help people, and they will be bringing in such aid, but it should be distributed in a much more effective way, not just simply to have these scenes on TV.
Q: Will the oil for food have some sort of guarantee from the occupational powers to provide safe access to Iraq. Are they in any violation of international law delivering aid? & in not having secured a corridor for the UN agencies to be operating right now?
A: We will have to wait for the wording of the resolution, which we will share with you, on the first question. On the second part of your question; no they are not violating any International Law. It is simply that from experience we know the best way to hand out aid is by impartial civilian organizations, so the humanity & dignity of the people receiving the aid are preserved. Obviously that wasn't the case in these images.
Q: Are there any figures regarding displaced persons in Iraq?
A: The only figures we have seen coming out are of the displaced people in the three Northern governorates. Specifically a group in & around Sulamaniaya, which was estimated around 22,000, but we know that before the conflict there were between 250,000000 & 800,000 displaced people in & around the governorates. There is a suggestion that there is around one million displaced in the central & southern regions of Iraq. We have no new data coming out of Iraq concerning this.
Q: With the absence of Iraqi refugees till now, it seems that the biggest problem is with the IDPs. Can you give me a number of IDPs, who is taking care of them & what kind of camps are prepared & humanitarian assistance is given. For instance, in Pashwan, the ICRC said that the number has risen up to 40,000 & today we are hearing that your still investigating 23,000. Is there an overall figure or is it hard to establish?
A: It is difficult to establish, especially in the South & Central parts of the country. Our information is based on the media reports which you are seeing, of the people on the roads, for instance around Basra. It will be very difficult to come up with any realistic figures.
We all have a role to play when it comes for IDPs, for instance in UNICEF we have been immunizing children who are IDPs, bringing in educational equipment, so even in the camp they can continue their education & other different things all agencies are working for. UNICEF is especially working on providing water, nutritional supplements & like high protein biscuits. But it is extremely difficult to pin down the number of IDPs.
Most of the people who are displaced in the North are not in camps, they live with families. What we are trying to do for the decreasing food stocks over there, is to give priorities to people in the areas they moved to & increase the rations to the families there so they can continue accommodating the IDPs. Some are even in mosques & schools, not in camps.