Further to the announcement by Commissioner
Nielson yesterday (SPEECH/03/146 and IP/03/416),
the European Commission has released further details of its first humanitarian
aid decision (adopted today) for civilians in Iraq. €3 million has been
allocated by the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) under the fast-track "primary
emergency" procedure to provide at least 75,000 internally displaced
people with emergency relief, through the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC).
Commenting on the decision, Poul Nielson,
the Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid stressed the need
to act swiftly. "Even at this early stage, we are receiving reports
of people moving out of urban areas in northern Iraq. We all recall the
terrible images of twelve years ago when tens of thousands of civilians
were stranded without food or shelter in the mountains. There is now a
very serious risk of major displacements throughout the country."
Mr Nielson reiterated that the Commission was moving swiftly to deploy the remaining €18 million in the initial package of funding announced yesterday by the Commission.
This decision announced today involves:
- the provision of emergency relief for
75,000 internally displaced people (covering items such as food parcels,
blankets, kitchen sets, tarpaulins, tents, heaters, stoves and hygiene
kits).
- the supply food aid for hospitals.
- the chartering of an aircraft for humanitarian
flight operations
- protection activities.
More details on ECHO activities in Iraq can be found on our website at the following address http://europa.eu.int/comm/echo/field/iraq/index_en.htm