Transcript of the UN humanitarian briefing in Amman, Jordan, 4 April, 2003

[David]

Transcript of the UN humanitarian briefing in Amman, Jordan, 4 April, 2003

Nejib Friji, UN Spokesman

The Secretary-General is continuing his consultations on Iraq with the regional groups of the UN member countries. He will meet today at 11 a.m. with the African Group. He will also meet with the Latin American and Caribbean Group at 4 p.m. He will be accompanied by Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Kenzo Oshima and the Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme, Bennon Sevan.

After hearing an update on the humanitarian situation in Iraq by Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fr?chette, members of the Security Council expressed their concern regarding the Iraqi population's access to relief.

Ambassador Adolfo Aguilar Zinser of Mexico, which holds the Council's rotating Presidency for April, said in a press statement that members noted the comments of Ms. Fr?chette, "indicating that while there is not a critical situation at present, there still remains the danger of such."

He also said Council members expressed concern "regarding access of relief assistance to the Iraqi population," adding that following the adoption of resolution 1472, which adjusted the Oil for Food Programme "immediate measures have been taken for the prioritization of contracts and the coordination with neighboring countries to establish alternative ports of delivery" for relief supplies.

In a closed-door briefing to the Council Thursday, Ms. Fr?chette said there had been firm indications or pledges of some $1.2 billion in response to the $2.2 billion emergency appeal launched last week by the UN.

Ms. Fr?chette noted there were water and electricity shortages in some cities, including Baghdad. She also told the Council that water and sanitation supplies, including water treatment and hygiene items, were needed. Disruption of potable water supplies increased the likelihood of epidemics, and medicine was required to treat them. Hospitals were starting to run out of certain supplies.

The Deputy Secretary-General also pointed out that thousands of UN national staff are doing their best to continue providing essential assistance to the extent possible.

Khaled Mansour, Spokesman for the World Food Programme (WFP)


A WFP convoy carrying about 475 tons aboard 19 trucks are heading towards the Turkish border with Iraq this afternoon with badly needed wheat flour for the three Kurdish provinces. These provinces, unlike the rest of Iraq, have not received wheat flour rations through the distribution system in March.

Wheat flour stocks are now nil in Dahuk, and negligible in the other two governorates.

In the past few days, there has been no food distribution in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah governorates (following the already reported distribution of some 5,000 tons of food since the war began).

While there are no serious factors affecting people's lives, since most families have food stocks, their main concern now is with the security situation, which is currently calm - but tense. Most people are fearful about the future, with so much uncertainty and unexpected events.

It is estimated that although people received their food rations up to the month of July (except wheat flour) less fortunate people will probably only have stocks to last them until the end of April.

The market prices across the three northern governorates are 80% higher for wheat flour, 50% higher for vegetable ghee and tea. Otherwise in general, fruit, vegetables, chicken meat and red meat are the main items sold in the markets, as people have their own stores of dry food.

The numbers of displaced people remain relatively low:
a. Dahuk: 1,796 people (no recent influx included)
b. Erbil: 145 people, living in Ashkawtan camp - which has a capacity for 1,500
c. Koysinjaq, near the border with GoI controlled territory: 882 people, mainly from Kirkuk governorate.

On 2nd April, a WFP team from Sulaymaniyah went to assess IDPs at Bazyan, 30 kms south-west of Sulaymaniyah. The Mayor said that since mid-March, 1,000 families mostly from Chamchamal, Kirkuk and surrounding Bazyan had arrived, and were staying with relatives, friends, in schools or mosques. Of that some 300 families now remain.

Wivina Belmonte, Spokesman for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Some hopeful and positive steps regarding UNICEF's distribution of aid to Southern Iraq.

UNICEF is sending six trucks to the outskirts of South Basra today, marking the first time the trucking operation we have been using has reached so far into the country.

The trucks are part of the biggest tanker convoy UNICEF has gotten on the road to date - with 11 trucks making their way across the border from Kuwait today.

The drivers will be delivering UNICEF supplies to the towns of Safwan, Zubair and to the southern fringes of Basra. The supplies include much needed water and emergency health kits.

When our drivers came back from Zubair four days ago, they had a list of over 50 medicines that a health worker at the local hospital said the children there needed. Today, part of the delivery to that hospital includes a UNICEF drug kit, which provides medicines for 10,000 people for three months.

The challenge is to get the aid to the children who need it, wherever they may be in Iraq.

The route into Northern Iraq from Turkey has also proven successful, with two trucks of essential UNICEF supplies making it in earlier this week - and another 12 on their way tomorrow.

Our concern today, with news of the electrical grid going down in Baghdad, is - among other things -- with the water situation there. We saw how quickly the humanitarian situation deteriorated in Basra, when electricity was cut there. With that very concern in mind, before the conflict began, UNICEF concentrated its efforts in making sure that clean water might still be available in Baghdad even if power were cut. Five million people depend on the water system for their daily needs - drinking, cleaning and cooking.

Children in all parts of Iraq are caught in a conflict and are among the first to pay the price.

David Wimhurst, Spokesman for the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq (UNHCOI)

I would like to begin with an update on recent population movements within Iraq. Some 30,000 internally displaced people from the Amarah area in Missan Governorate, about five kilometres of the Iran border. For the time being, there is no indication they are intending to cross the border. Ten thousand people are said to have left Baghdad and moved to Badre, which is 10 km from the border. There are also reports that small groups of IDPs are requesting assistance in Umm Qasr, Basrah, An Najaf and Nassriyah. No precise figures are available.

In the north, the UNOPS Mine Action Programme and several NGOs are working on limited mine action activities, including Mine Risk Education, the permanent marking of minefields and explosive ordnance reconnaissance.

In Baghdad, the International Committee of the Red Cross continued to provide clean water to hospitals and some water distribution stations in the suburbs of the city. Repairs to water and power systems are also continuing. To reiterate what my colleague from UNICEF has just said, the lack of electricity across the cityposes a threat to the population the longer it continues, as water-pumping facilities without back-up generators or fuel to operate them cease functioning.

In Basrah, the water situation appears to be largely under control. Water treatment plants in Shaebe and Al-Zubair are operating once again and 80,000 people who had been cut off are now resupplied.

A small UN humanitarian assessment team is in Umm Qasr today making a first evaluation of local water, sanitation and food needs, as well as the condition of the port. The team will be returning to Kuwait this evening.

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

There have so far been no significant refugee movements from Iraq.

The Syrian government confirmed this week during talks in Damascus its open-door policy towards Iraqis. The government's position is that all Iraqis will receive the necessary temporary protection during this conflict.

Following the outbreak of war on 20 March, UNHCR advised states that Iraqi asylum seekers should receive temporary protection for an initial period of three months. Earlier this year, UN High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers wrote governments in the Iraq region requesting them to open their borders to Iraqis in the event of a war.

This week's affirmation by the Syrian authorities will reassure Iraqis currently residing there. Over the last week, our office in Damascus has been approached by more than 2,600 Iraqis seeking to register with UNHCR, far more than the usual 40 individuals that we normally receive daily. Only a fraction of those Iraqis who approached us have arrived since the outbreak of fighting.

The vast majority of the Iraqis said that they left due to fear of war or concerns about the possible deterioration of the security situation. Mainly Shiite Muslims, most arrived in Syria with their families, although some women said their husbands stayed behind in Iraq to watch over their property.

UNHCR is currently expanding the Al Hawl refugee camp in northeastern Syria to accomodate Iraqis in the event of a large influx. We have stockpiled supplies for 10,000 people at Al Hawl, and we're currently shipping additional items from our regional warehouse in Turkey to ensure that we have sufficient stocks for 20,000 people on-hand.

So far, the Iraqis residing in Damascus are being accomodated with friends or relatives. As the Syrian authorities have said that all Iraqis will get blanket protection, we've informed Syria's Iraqi community that there is no need to register with UNHCR.

Chris Lom, Spokesman for the International Organization for Migration (IOM)

SYRIA - Today a group of 41 Sudanese left the El Heri transit camp at the Abu Kamal border crossing for Damascus. Tonight they will fly to Khartoum with IOM.

A group of eight Egyptian nationals who arrived on Wednesday night at the Abu Kamal border crossing described their trip from Baghdad as dangerous and exhausting.

The group, who said they had paid US$1,200 for the trip to the border in the back of a truck, reported seeing burnt out vehicles and damage to the road from bombing.

JORDAN - Yesterday, 19 Egyptians and eight Somalis crossed the Karama border, where they were picked up by IOM buses and transported the 50 kilometres to the Ruweished transit camp.

Today eight Somalis and 11 Djiboutians flew out of Amman with IOM bound for Mogadishu and Djibouti respectively.

Yesterday's arrivals bring the total number of third country nationals arriving in Jordan to 748. Some 506 have returned home with IOM assistance.

Currently, there are 242 third country nationals in Ruweished camp, which is run by the Jordanian Red Crescent, supported by the IFRC and IOM.

Finally, I'd like to draw your attention to a new high tech IOM website - or web-based, multi-media reporting system - described in a press release that you can find on the table outside.

The new system, developed in collaboration with Boeing and National Geographic, is known as the Collaborative Humanitarian Analysis and Reporting Tool (CHART), and will provide up-to-date graphic details of IOM activities in the region throughout the crisis.

Other regular updates can be found on IOM's conventional web site at http://www.iom.int.

Fadela Chaib, Spokeswoman for the World Health Organization (WHO)

Civilian Casualties
The World Health Organization is receiving reports of growing numbers of civilian casualties, in and around Baghdad, Basra and many other towns in southern and central Iraq. The International Committee of the Red Cross reports a particularly disturbing situation in the town of Al Hillah, where some 300 people are reported to have been injured. The hospital there is overwhelmed with patients and is struggling to cope. It is clear that injuries suffered as a direct result of this conflict are the number one public health problem in Iraq today. Shortages of medicines and medical supplies are threatened as the sieges build up. Hospitals may no longer be able to cope. Public health will become an overwhelming concern. Speeding up the delivery of medical supplies is therefore essential in order to build up a pipeline of emergency stocks.

Measles
A new visit to the village of Kanpanka (Pop. 2700) 20 Km east of Suleimaniya to investigate the 20 measles cases reported among children aged 6-15 years was undertaken yesterday. No new cases were found. The health centre was advised on case management and preventive measures and was supplied with the drugs and vaccines for all children aged 6-15 years in the surrounding area. All health centres in the area were alerted. The situation appears to be under control. All children of this age group will be vaccinated soon in the village and the surrounding ones.

Water
Overnight, the power supply to Baghdad was cut and that has disrupted the water pumping system. Many people therefore lack access to their regular supply of clean, safe drinking water. In southern Iraq, the International Committee of the Red Cross reports that 1.5 million people lack access to a safe water supply. This is extremely concerning. As temperatures rise across Iraq, a shortage of clean water will almost inevitably cause outbreaks of diarrhoeal disease and other health problems

Questions and Answers

Q: AP: Do you know what the situation is with the back up generators for the water plants in Baghdad, have you had any communication about their status?

A: We haven't had word, but I can give you a snap shot of what we did before the conflict started. We focused our efforts in Baghdad, knowing full well that the water system, even if a conflict were to begin needed to be up & running. There is a really a direct link between clean water & the health of children. You can use water, almost as the art stick for how well the child's health is going to be. Even before the conflict began, access to clean water was a problem; one in four people did not have access for clean water. This accounts for 70% of childhood illnesses. When I say that, I'm talking about things like diarrhea, an average child in Iraq suffers 15 vaults of diarrhea over the course of each & every year, just because they are drinking bad water. One of things we try to do, is that back up generators are prepared& there will be fuel to run them.

Q: IOM, today I have just come back from the refugee camp in Ruwaished, & there was a spokesperson from the Jordan Red Crescent, he told me that today & yesterday, there were no arrivals & he also added that the total number of arrivals 756. Why is there a difference?

A: The data I have was from close of business last night, & I was given these numbers of 748 with 506 returning home. I would simply advise you to look at the spread sheet I gave you yesterday & add & subtract the arrivals & departures of the last 24 hours, which were the 19 Egyptians & the Somalis arriving after that & the 8 Somalis & 11 Juboutians leaving today, which he may not have been aware of.

Q: Regarding the food situation, I recall the Iraqi officials saying they have distributed enough food recently to keep them going for at least seven months. How does that fall in line with food distribution that your involved with & do you think people in Iraq have now enough food for seven months & that the WFP programme falls where in all of that? About the relief aid in general, we heard that some of the relief shipments have returned, does the UN relief work know anything about this policy of returning aid, will that be practiced with the UN aid also?

A: The Iraqi government, which ran the Oil for Food programme in the south & center, while we managed them on the behalf of the government in the other provinces. Since late last year, they started distributing double rations to people, periodically, people will have enough food till July, but our assessment & taking into consideration that even, the normal food rations were not enough beyond 21 days, & some of the very poor people that got double rations, sold them in the market to get money for medicine. Our assessment quotes in March that they will have enough food maybe after six weeks, which is end of April, beginning of May. So yes, on paper, people have food until July, but in the north the double ration didn't cover everything, for example, the wheat flour, which is a stable food in the north.

On your questions of why the trucks returned. We have seen those reports that were a decision by the Iraqi authorities; we can't speak on their behalf. All of us here say that the situation is getting more critical everyday & why they decided not to accept those trucks, is something you have to pursue with the authorities that refused them.

Q: My question was, do you anticipate such response to the UN aid, or how such a situation taking place with the UN efforts?

A: Well, any UN convoys that eventually go into Iraq would be undertaken on the basis of agreements with all parties of the conflict, including the Iraqi government. So if there is an agreement in place that is how we will proceed. So no, we don't anticipate such reactions.

Q: German Radio: Do you have any information on the impact of cluster bombs on the civilian population?

A: We don't have any evidence of has happened so far, but we can certainly extrapolate from what has happened in the past & what we are trying to do about it. UNICEF is on record along with the ICRC that there will be an optional protocol to stop the use of cluster bombs. They are certainly dangerous for children & adults; landmines & cluster bombs are meant to mane not kill, so this is a lethal legacy that goes on over the course of a child's life. One of the things we are concerned about now is their use & the kinds that are used. When they land they don't necessarily explode, so not only are we dealing with pieces of shrapnel & pieces of bombs left around, but also you are dealing with 10-15% of them that don't go off. Especially the colorful ones, they are very attractive to a child that is why they play with them & get hurt by them.

Q: May I confirm the numbers of today's convoys; 500 tons of flour & 19 trucks, is that right?

A: If you want the precise figures, we have 19 trucks out, of a convoy that should be from 40 trucks, 19 are crossing, and the rest will cross tomorrow. Today, they had 475; tomorrow they will have 525 tons. This is from southeast Turkey into northern Iraq.

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