Transcript of the UN humanitarian briefing in Amman, Jordan, 14 April

[David]

Nejib Friji, UN Spokesman

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

The majority of internally displaced people from the cities of Erbil, Dahuk and Sulaymaniyah, who had been sheltering in schools or camps, have returned to their homes. The Kurdish authorities have announced that all educational facilities will reopen today and that IDPs should vacate all schools. Those who had gone north from areas controlled by the Iraqi authorities have mostly returned home, as well. As a consequence, agencies are scaling down their assistance.

The UN flight carrying international UN staff back to the three northern governorates has been delayed. We are waiting for clearance from the military authorities to use an air corridor and we hope this clearance will be given as soon as possible.

A UN humanitarian team mission has received clearance from the Iranian authorities and crossed today from Mehran in Iran to Badrah in Iraq, which is 16 km inside Iraq from the Iranian border. They will assess the needs of up to 30,000 internally displaced people in and around Badrah and once we have their report we will be able to tell your more about that situation

The International Committee of the Red Cross has resumed its activities in Baghdad and is extremely concerned that the health care system in the city has basically collapsed. Interruptions to the water and electricity supply remain a serious threat to public health.

Daylight UN humanitarian missions have now begun from Kuwait to Safwan, Umm Kayaal and Al Zubair, in the south. Initial oral reports indicate water as the key issue in Safwan and Zubair.


For the past four daus, since 10 April, UNICEF, the UN Children's Fund, has sent 24 water tankers to Basrah, five to Umm Qasr, 16 to Al Zubair and three to Safwan.

In Basrah the overall security situation is improving. Power and water supplies to the city are partly operational, but intensive looting has seriously affected water provision to the hospitals. The ICRC has commenced repair of the water treatment plant in Basra, while the military delivered 125,000 litres of water on 9 April and plan to continue deliveries. The Kuwaiti mobile phone network is in the process of being extended to Basrah.

The ICRC reports that after a trial run of sending one truck with medical equipment from Piranshahr (Orumiyeh, Iran) to Diyanah (Erbil) on 8 April, another two trucks are planned to follow. If that assistance mission is successful, it will be followed in turn by a convoy of six trucks of emergency supplies to Baghdad through Khosravi. (It takes about 24 hours to obtain permission from the military authorities for such movements.)

Geoffrey Keele, Spokesman for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)

All schools in the three northern governorates of Dohuk, Erbil and Suleimaniyah have reopened, and classes have resumed. This is a very important first step in creating a sense of normalcy in these chaotic times.

UNICEF in northern Iraq is also resuming its School Health Programme, and will be checking children to ensure that their health needs are being met. At the same time, UNICEF is conducting assessments of schools that were used by Iraqi troops, to ensure that they are safe for the children to return to.

Encouraged by the rapid developments in the whole country, the majority of IDP families have returned to their homes. UNICEF estimates that roughly 3,000 IDPS remain in the north, down from 300,000 at the height of the conflict.

The relative stability of the north contrasts with the lawlessness in other parts of the country. In the 15 governorates of the south and centre of the country, schools remain closed, further delaying a stable environment for children where they can begin to deal with the trauma they have suffered.

In Umm Qasr, UNICEF and volunteers have begun screening children for malnutrition at Community Child Care Units. UNICEF has been able to locate many of the former volunteers who staffed these centres prior to the outbreak of hostilities. New volunteers are also being trained.

This is an extremely important development. For aid to be effective, we need counterparts on the ground. With the disintegration of the Ba'ath party structure and the looting which has left skeletons of vital social infrastructure, the rejuvenation of these centres is a positive sign that the human resources needed to meet the humanitarian needs of Iraq's children are starting to re-emerge.

A further assessment will take place this week in Al Zubair to locate more volunteers so we can get the CCCUs there up and running as well.

These centres are also extremely important now because we are seeing a sharp increase in the cases of young children suffering from diarrhea, which leads directly to malnutrition. By reaching these children early, we have the chance to provide them with the care they need to recover. Without the CCCUs, and in these conditions, diarrhea can kill.

UNICEF has sent 10,000 sachets of Oral Re-hydration Salts to Nassriya today responding to requests from doctors. Like Umm Qasr, Nasiriya has seen a big increase in cases of diarrhea among children under the age of 5 in recent days.

Melanie Zipperer, Spokeswoman for the World Health Organization (WHO)

A team from the World Health Organization has conducted its first comprehensive survey of the situation in hospitals in the northern city of Kirkuk. The team, made up of two public health doctors, two pharmacists and one engineer, reports that the water and electricity infrastructure in the town is severely disrupted and that health facilities have been seriously damaged and disrupted by looting.

The team visited Azadi Hospital (which used to be called Saddam General Hospital), which is the main hospital in Kirkuk Governorate. They found only 40 patients in a 400-bed hospital, all with minor or moderate injuries. They concluded that there were two main reasons for this small number of patients: first, that in the current circumstances the chances of survival for anyone with a serious injury were very low; and second, that both health staff and patients had concluded that it was not safe to come to the hospital. Currently, between 50% and 75% of the health staff are not coming to work. Most have not been paid and there appears to be no system in place to pay them for the month of April.

There are two other hospitals in the town: a maternity and children's hospital, which was left largely intact; and the General Hospital, which was partially looted. Both hospitals are estimated to be running at about 25% of their normal capacity.

The work of those who are able to get to work at any of the hospitals is made extremely difficult by the fact that the main health storage facilities in the town have been completely emptied by looters. All medicines and medical supplies have been stolen and even the windows, doors and cooling system have been either stolen or destroyed. All health centres in the town have also been looted, as well as the local office of the Department of Health.

The WHO team was able to supply Azadi hospital with some urgently needed items, such as Oxygen cylinders. An agreement was reached to supply urgently needed medicines and other supplies.

Although this is only a snapshot from one town, WHO believes this situation is repeated across much of Iraq. Health facilities have been looted, vital supplies and equipment stolen, and both staff and patients are either afraid or unable to travel to the hospitals. Combined with the damage done to water and electricity systems, this makes the task of rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Iraqi health system harder than ever.

Health workers across Iraq clearly remain committed to their patients and their work: many continue to work in extremely difficult situation; some sleep in their hospitals or other workplaces; there have been many reports from Baghdad, Nasiriya and Basra of medical staff defending their hospitals and clinics against armed looters. However, unless conditions can be improved, even this level of extraordinary dedication will not be enough to keep the system running.

WHO believes that the key tasks which have to be tackled immediately are:


Meeting the living expenses of staff: this must be addressed urgently. Medical staff will not be able to continue working unless a system is put in place to recompense them for the costs of food that they and their families have to eat, and to enable them to meet their daily living expenses.

Paying running costs: most hospitals are short of electricity and water. They need fuel - hundreds of litres a day - to power their generators so that the electricity works, operations can be undertaken, water is pumped in and sewage is removed. They must pay for this fuel in cash: they cannot get credit.

Maintenance and cleaning: many hospitals have been damaged by conflict or looting; they need repairs and they must be kept clean.

Food for patients, Medicines and medical supplies: much has been stolen; replacing medical stocks will be an urgent and vital need.

Information on what is happening, where: this calls for rapid and continuing assessments. The needs are great and must be met. Accurate information is essential if supplies and other needs are to be prioritized - and met.

Protection: health staff, patients, supplies and facilities must be protected from looting and threats.

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

Contact has been made with the two WFP officers in charge in Baghdad. They report that the WFP office has been looted and very little property remains. As well as finding out about the welfare of some 70 national staff in the capital, they are investigating the state of warehouses, as a preparation for receiving bulk quantities of food in coming days from neighbouring countries.

WFP national staff members in Basra have completed assessment of the infrastructure of the Public Distribution System in the city. The nine mills used by the system are in good condition. Three warehouses are also in good condition except from the doors that were broken. One warehouse with food (OFF) is being protected by the British military. All the Food and Flour Agents, 1380, seem to be in place. The national staff will also assess the condition of the PDS system in neighbouring provinces.

It is this PDS system that WFP is working to revive as of May. A complex network of mills, silos, warehouses and thousands of food and flour agents have to be in place to ensure that we would have an efficient and functioning system to distribute about 27 million food rations.

WFP international staff are on standby in Cyprus to re-enter northern Iraq once they get the go-ahead from a joint UN security assessment team which went to Dahuk and Erbil on Sunday and to Sulaymaniyah today.

Life across the three northern governorates is returning to normal, with no security incidents reported. Those people who left their homes are returning, schools are re-opening, most shops are open and prices of food and fuel are gradually decreasing - especially wheat flour - thanks to WFP's distributions of flour over the past week.

As of today, WFP is increasing the loading and shipment of food aid through Turkey to northern Iraq by nearly 200%. More than 100 trucks, each carrying an average of 20 MT, are scheduled to be loaded today with locally purchased wheat flour, red lentils, chick peas and vegetable oil at seven different supply locations along the humanitarian corridor in southeastern Turkey.

This momentum will continue as shipments to northern Iraq approach an average 2,000 MT a day. At present, the Turkey corridor is WFP's only operating route for food aid into Iraq. In the coming days, WFP is planning to activate other corridors, security permitting.

The first trucks carrying wheat flour for Sulamaniyah arrived yesterday with 384 MT, which was distributed to some 41,000 people, their first flour ration since March. A convoy of 33 trucks (684 MT flour) arrived in Sulamaniyah today.

Since the conflict began, 217 trucks have crossed from Turkey into Iraq carrying 4,260 MT of food (NB You can see photos on WFP's website of the Turkish trucks arriving in Erbil, offloading and WFP assessment of IDPs near Sulaymaniyah later today)

Two trucks of dried milk (just under 43 tonnes) have arrived in Sulaymaniyah from Dahuk - for WFP's nutrition programme.

WFP had already purchased 3,720 metric tons of lentils and 300 metric tons of vegetable oil from the Syrian market. These items have been pre-positioned in Syria for the Iraq emergency.

Buying food locally allows WFP greater flexibility and speed in moving it into Iraq. However, such contracts are always concluded in such a manner so as not to impact on the local markets.

The GoS has agreed to loan WFP an additional 100,000 metric tons of wheat flour that can be used for the Iraq emergency. The government has also granted a number of facilities for the smooth transit of humanitarian food aid through Syria to Iraq.

A total of 43 trucks carrying 1,300 MT of the wheat flour purchased in Syria arrived to Jordan on April 12. On April 13, truck to truck loading started to prepare WFP's first convoy to Iraq using a commercial transporter this week.

Ndeye Fall, Director of UNESCO, Jordan
Following the acts of looting committed in the National Archaeological Museum of Baghdad, UNESCO Director-General Ko?chiro Matsuura has contacted the American and British authorities and asked them to take immediate measures of protection and surveillance of Iraqi archaeological sites and cultural institutions.

In a letter of 11 April 2003 addressed to the American authorities, the Director-General emphasized the urgent need to preserve collections and a heritage considered to be one of the richest in the world. He particularly insisted on the necessity of assuring military protection for the Archaeological Museum of Baghdad and the Mosul Museum. The same request was formulated to the British authorities concerning in particular the Basra region.

In order to prevent the illicit export of Iraqi cultural goods, the Director-General also undertook contacts with the authorities of the countries bordering Iraq and international police and customs officials to ensure respect of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. He again requested INTERPOL, the World Customs Organization, the International Confederation of Art and Antiquities Dealer Associations (CINOA), the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the principal actors of the art market to join forces with UNESCO in a "comprehensive mobilization so that stolen objects should not find their way to acquirers".

Ali Shabou, Spokesman for the UN Habitat

UN-HABITAT is the responsible agency within the United Nations system to facilitate human settlements solutions, and is the leading agency in the shelter sector. , UN-HABITAT's massive presence in Northern, Central and Southern Iraq since 1997 places it in a unique position to support other agencies in the emergency relief phase particularly to address immediate measures related to emergency shelter for internally displaced people.

At present, and as part of a combined effort with other UN Agencies and the Local Authorities, UN-HABITAT is contributing by providing assistance for four camps designed for internally displaced people, which are already in operation in northern Iraq. The form of assistance provided by UN-HABITAT has been as follows:


1,000 tents have been provided for emergency camps.

In addition to tents, a wide range of materials have been provided, including water pipes and fittings, timber, concrete blocks and special toilets for disabled persons.

Construction services have been provided for preparing the sites and constructing access roads.

A contract is now being negotiated with a local contractor to carry out site preparation, access roads and common buildings for a camp in Erbil to house 1500 internally displaced families.
In addition, 100 new houses were allocated last week to internally displaced people and widow-headed families in Erbil Governorate. In Duhok Governorate some 524 partially completed UN-HABITAT houses are being occupied by internally displaced families who left Duhok city after 19/3/2003.

The UN-HABITAT planning team has been monitoring the situation throughout Iraq and has been preparing a plan to initiate a programme of assistance focusing on shelter and basic services as soon as the security situation permits.

While there may not be large displacements of people, reportedly, there has been substantial damage to houses, public buildings and infrastructure, especially water and sanitation services. UN -HABITAT has noted that there are large numbers of people who are being placed in a state of extreme vulnerability by the conflict. This group includes widows, families with war-wounded and disabled family members, the elderly and infirm groups. A targeted programme of assistance focusing on providing shelter and basic services to these vulnerable families and groups will constitute the major objective of UN-HABITAT's emergency assistance programme in post-conflict Iraq.

Questions and Answers

Q: WFP, do you have any plans to use Jordan for a corridor to get aid in & if so why?

A: K. Mansour: There is a good port in Aqaba, where we can almost discharge about three ships a day, we have a lot of facilities from the authorities there & there is a strong trucking industry in Jordan. We can go as high as 250,000 tonnes a month using Jordan as a corridor, so yes, Jordan is going to be used as a major corridor, but Um Qasr is also going to be central once it is fully functioning.

Q: Do you have any idea when that might be, within in the next few days, weeks or when, the Jordan corridor?

A: K. Mansour: In Jordan we are hoping that the first convoy might go this week & the first ship might come in 10 days.

Q: Does UNESCO know how much damage the looting of museums has caused & any specific information about any artifacts or statues, how many have actually gone?

A: N. Fall: From what the museum officials said, there are about 170,000 items that have been evoluted or destroyed; that has to be assessed. As soon as UNESCO is in a position to get inside Iraq, we are going to have an assessment team do so. My colleague Kiser might give you more information on that.

Kiser: I would not be so bold as to say what exactly has been gone, but let's put it that way, a certain part of the most valuable collection as we well know, as there are inventories about the valuable objects that circulate in the international community. That is all I can say about that; we are not quite sure, but we hope that the 170,000 missing objects are a reaction on the part of the museum. We will only know for sure in a few weeks. I am concerned that the inventory at the museum was also partially looted from the national archaeological museum in Baghdad; if that is the case then there is real trouble.

Q: Aida Taweel, Al Dustour: Was there anything found on the borders with people passing through?

A: Kiser: The pillaging of artifacts in Iraq is a very old trade & a fairly well organized. Although I haven't myself seen the pillaging, my hypothesis is that in fact although there is certainly spontaneity to it, I have a suspicion that it was organized. To answer your question, we believe that everything goes through customs & this is sometimes the case, therefore, we rely a great deal on the honesty, reliability & honesty of customs & police services on the border to catch things. Things also go out in other ways; to the best of my knowledge I don't know anything about anything that has been stopped. This letter that has been written to the Ministers of Culture in the region has gone out a few days ago. What I am also concerned about are the efforts made on the ground; there are two types of efforts, one is the fact that many people in Iraq were ashamed when they saw this, because it is one of the great museums in the world & is a reason for national pride, so let's keep in mind that it might not be impossible that some sorts of information & appeals might work. From my experience, people sometimes take the things they find back. So when people have radios & radio stations that are functioning, something can come out of those appeals. Something else is the military authorities, for example the American & British military authorities, should be drawing the attention of their troops to objects, there is no doubt that people are going to try to sell things to the troops. Keep in mind also, that on a later date, when the international community is inside Iraq, that the same approaches are going to made to them. Our agencies have to be aware.

Q: Have you heard that there has been prior to the invasion, lobbying of the occupational authorities to relax the rather historically strict retention controls with respect to artifacts that the Iraqi government has maintained? I am speaking about lobbying from western interest?

A: Kiser: A few days ago, I had in my hands an article which talks about these lobbying groups & perhaps even more ambitious efforts of redrafting legislations on movable heritage. I am afraid that I don't know too much about it but I do know that headquarters are looking in to this to see what there is. When you have laws that exists, & everybody knows what these laws are; I think before you go fiddling with the laws, you should perhaps make an efforts to see that these laws are in fact implemented. UNESCO will not have any truck with this sort of fiddling of laws. As I said, we are looking into it.

Q: Some reports indicated that coalition forces used mass destruction weapons in its war against Iraq. What about the UN role about this, why didn't you open investigations about this, why were there no investigations about this? I think it is more important than aid distribution

A: N. Friji: Our main concern is humanitarian assistance. Regarding the use of mass destruction weapons we have no reports to confirm that. I am sure, if it is the case, the concerned parties will focus on that, as nothing will remain a secret.

Q: Aida Taweel, Al Dustour: Don't you think that UNESCO should be more aggressive on establishing a campaign to protect national museums in Iraq, or is it the way we are use to the UN with slow motion action?

A: Kiser: From somebody went through 10 years in the Balkans including two or three wars & being a specialist on cultural heritage, I know there seem to be a tendency to have communiqu?s, especially after something has happened. I know perfectly well the kind of frustration that you are expressing. The question about a more aggressive campaign, a few weeks ago UNESCO did communicate with the State Department about archeological sites & museums, there was another communiqu? after that about cultural heritage in Iraq. One can say the more communiqu?s you issue on something the else the effect is. What we are really concerned about is moving things forward. There is a meeting in the headquarters on the 17th April, and it brings together all the archeological missions, which have worked in Iraq. I am sure the first thing on their agenda is the protection of archeological sites, museums & other cultural institutions. The next thing is what is UESCO going to do about it; well let's put it this way, knowing the type of chaos, & information that is read through grief, I think it is very important that quickly there be a mission in Baghdad. UNESCO is the UN organization that takes care of cultural heritage in the world, there are no other organizations that have this mandate & I think that is a very important message that should be understood. We will be working on this & we will be doing better than this.

Q: The bombing has destroyed a lot of the homes of the Iraqi people; we know a lot of Iraqis that don't have a home to go back to. Are any of the UN organizations involved, who are going to help those people rebuild their homes & would they have to pay for it themselves? UNESCO, there was information that the Iraqi government, has moved some of the most precious artifacts, do we know where they are?

A: A. Shabou: Before the war, we had a kind of database, kind of, because it is not very comprehensive, on the shortages of housing & the needed supplies. Obviously after the war it is becoming redundant. We are waiting to enter Iraq & make assessments for that. Meanwhile our team is working for a full programme of reconstruction.

Q: Will this be helping people to rebuild their homes or is this their problem?

A: The UN works with governments & partners. Parts of our partners are the beneficiaries & the communities.

Kiser: That is a very good question that is the reason UNESCO has to be there. It appears that some material was moved down into some kind of volts. It is easier for the directors to come out openly with the mission & say where things are.

Q: What is the reaction today from the coalition forces to this plea to protect Iraq's cultural heritage?

A: Kiser: The letters to the US & UK authorities; the US is to the Secretary of State & the UK I assume is to Jack Straw; this letter was sent two days ago & I don't know if there was a reaction to it yet.

N. Friji: The letter was sent on the 11th April as was announced by the UNESCO representative.