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UN revises humanitarian appeal

The United Nations today appealed to donor countries to make up an outstanding $259 million in funding needed to carry out its humanitarian relief operations in Iraq through to the end of the year. The amount covers the remainder of the $2.2 billion flash appeal launched in March and unpredicted requirements that emerged during and after the conflict in Iraq from widespread looting and the destruction of hundreds of public facilities. About 88 per cent of the $2.2 billion has already been pledged. “There is still much work to be done and more resources needed,” Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette said at the formal launching of the appeal at UN Headquarters in New York. Fréchette added that the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) bore primary responsibility for the welfare of the Iraqi people, including the provision of public services. “The assistance activities carried out by UN agencies complement those of the Authority itself,” she said. “The sectoral strategies presented in the revised Appeal have been developed in consultation with the Authority, including senior Iraqi officials of relevant line ministries and municipal authorities, some of whom are with us today.” Akila Al Hashimi, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and an Iraqi member of the CPA delegation subsequently said at a press briefing: “We came to New York to tell everyone that Iraq is back… and to ask the international community to help Iraq in this transitional period.” The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Kenzo Oshima, said the food sector remained the largest component of overall requirements but was fully funded thanks to “generous donor support” and more than $1 billion in resources from the Oil-for-Food programme, under which the ousted regime was allowed to sell oil for humanitarian supplies. “In other sectors, we still need significant additional resources to allow agencies to respond to priority needs,” Oshima said. “Assistance to the basic health system and nutrition support now account for about 30 per cent of outstanding funding needs.” He added that education and mine clearance were two other areas targeted for additional assistance. “The more children can go back to school the less exposed they will be to the threat of mines and unexploded ordnance,” he said. “…the number of casualties caused by unexploded ordnance in some areas of Iraq is among the highest in the world.” For his part, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, Ramiro Lopes da Silva, stressed that the humanitarian situation in the three northern governorates of Erbil, Dohuk and Suleimaniyah was quite different to that in the centre and south. “In the 15 Centre/South governorates, economically marginalized populations are emerging as a significant group in need of assistance, including the 400,000 ex-military which have been demobilized,” he said. “ Water, electricity, health infrastructures, neglected for years, and further damaged by looting, are yet to recover.” By contrast, he added, the north was largely undisturbed by the war but still faced potential difficulties. “Reverse arabisation, the spontaneous return of Kurd populations that had been forcibly displaced, the complex political landscape and the presence of large and well-armed militias outside the central authority’s framework of control could cause future problems,” he said. Da Silva said lack of security continued to inhibit relief activities but added that the CPA was committed to improving the situation. “While the Coalition Provisional Authority has taken determined steps to address the general lack of law and order, criminals are increasingly organized….looting and re-looting of rehabilitated infrastructures is creating a deep sense of frustration among the population and the humanitarian community,” he said. Da Silva said that the major challenge faced by the United Nations was to interpret the aspirations of the Iraqi people and respond to their needs. “Establishing a meaningful dialogue with the Iraqi civil society is extremely complex,” he said. “ Despite the long presence of the United Nations in Iraq, this is new territory for all of us.”

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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