23 June 2003
U.N. Appeals for Additional Funds to Help Iraq
(Appeal part of two-day session on rebuilding effort) (1070) By Judy Aita Washington File United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- The United Nations launched a new humanitarian appeal for Iraq June 23, hoping to raise an additional $259 million to allow the international organization to help with the emergency rehabilitation of the country through the end of the year -- supplementing funds raised earlier at the end of the Iraq war. Widespread looting and the destruction of hundreds of public facilities necessitated the organization's request for new funds, which will be added to the initial amount raised in April. The appeal has been developed in consultation with the Coalition Provisional Authority and senior Iraqi officials from ministries and municipal authorities have participated in the planning. For the first time since the end of Saddam Hussein's regime, Iraqi officials are at the United Nations headquarters to discuss the future of their country. A dozen Iraqi officials attended the all day meeting concerning the U.N. appeal and will participate June 24 in talks on long-term reconstruction plans sponsored by the U.N. Development Program (UNDP). At a formal meeting to launch the appeal, U.N. Deputy Secretary General Louise Frechette said that when the initial appeal went out in April, the U.N. planned for the possibility of very serious humanitarian consequences, especially large-scale displacements of people both inside Iraq and in neighboring countries as a result of hostilities. While that didn't occur, the looting and destruction of public facilities since the end of the fighting have given rise to a range of humanitarian and rehabilitation needs. Frechette said that the U.N. was able to raise $870 million, or 40 percent of what was needed. That amount combined with about $1.1 billion made available from the oil-for-food program will enable the U.N. to get 800,000 tons of food into the country and re-start the food ration distribution system; deliver millions of liters of fresh water to hospitals and communities in Baghdad and the south; deliver medical supplies; repair water, sewage and power facilities; clear mine fields; and distribute "school-in-the-box" kits to 400,000 primary school children before the end of the school year. U.N. officials said that the food aid needs through the end of the year will be more than $1.5 billion and they are already being taken care of through a combination of donations and more than $1 billion from the oil-for-food program. The officials are now hoping to raise the $259 million to meet other needs through the end of the year in areas such as health, nutrition, water and sanitation, refugees, shelter, mine clearance, education, human rights, emergency food aid, and infrastructure rehabilitation. A main objective of the U.N. effort is to support and re-establish Iraq's capacity to provide essential services. Once Iraqi institutions are able to do this, the U.N. humanitarian assistance effort will come to an end, Frechette said. Ramiro Lopes Da Silva, U.N. Coordinator for Iraq, said that in March 2003 "Iraq was a country in distress. Years of sanctions, wars and repressive government contributed to the situation." Unemployment and underemployment reached 50 percent, and 60 percent of the population was heavily dependent upon the food distribution system, he said. "The power vacuum created by the end of the regime and the subsequent lack of law and order has been conducive to widespread looting of hospitals, government facilities, water infrastructures, etc.," Da Silva said. Water, electricity, and health infrastructures, neglected for years and further damaged by looting, have yet to recover. Today Iraq does not even have the capacity to pump and export oil at the pre-conflict levels, he said. "The quantities are much lower and it is going to take a while for that sector to be rehabilitated." Iraq now has "limited resources, and the ability to continue to use the resources have been hampered now by the looting. So you have much less resources being made available at this stage. Simultaneously you have an aggravation of the humanitarian situation and you need to address [that]," Da Silva said at a press conference after the donor meeting. The rising cost of living, lack of employment opportunities, distortion of exchange rates, and lack of electricity continue to exacerbate the situation and are potential factors for social destabilization, Da Silva added. De Silva said several key matters need urgent attention: facilitating dialogue between all Iraqi parties in an effort to rebuild Iraq; promoting human rights; ending the oil-for-food program; and moving from emergency aid to reconstruction assistance. "What we are trying to do through the appeal is to address those most immediate humanitarian needs," Da Silva said. The needs are too great to be addressed by the Coalition Authority alone, the U.N. official said. In the weeks since U.N. officials and agencies returned to Baghdad, "the general security situation has improved," Da Silva said. "The streets are less chaotic and there are less incidents of banditry and criminality." "On the other hand, there are more targeted attacks against coalition forces and there is concern that the U.N. will become targets of those attacks," Da Silva said. "The situation is not yet fully under control," he said. "We still have severe restrictions in the movement of our own personnel. We have parts of the country where we consider U.N. staff cannot operate at all. It is still an issue of concern and I'm afraid it is going to remain so for a while." Kenzo Oshima, undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, pointed out that the largest component of the funds -- 70 percent -- will go to the food sector. But he said children are the main beneficiaries of the two sectors which will be expanded with the new funds -- education and mine action. "The more children can go back to school the less they will be exposed to the deadly threat of mines and unexploded ordnance," Oshima said. "The removal of this threat requires an urgent and coordinated effort -- the number of casualties caused by unexploded ordnance in some areas of Iraq is among the highest in the world." (The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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