Iraq: senior UN relief official discusses lack of security with US authorities
The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator flew into Iraq today and asked the United States authorities to address the lack of security, which has been seriously impeding UN abilities to deliver badly needed humanitarian aid.
On the first day of a three-day visit, Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Kenzo Oshima met with the head of the US civil authority, Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, and reiterated concerns voiced by several other UN officials in recent days over the lack of in a city that has been swept by looting, shooting and robbery.
"We are concerned about the security situation," Mr. Oshima told reporters after the meeting. "Without adequate security the delivery of humanitarian assistance will be hampered. We are concerned with security and we are very strongly interested in the restoration of law and order. I raised this issue with Ambassador Bremer."
He also met with Ramiro Lopes da Silva, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, the heads of other UN agencies in Iraq, and Iraqi officials working in the various ministries.
Tomorrow, Mr. Oshima is due to visit the UN humanitarian team in Basra in the south, Iraq's second largest city, and on Sunday he is scheduled to tour port installations in Um Qasr, where the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is taking delivery of food cargoes for the reactivation of the public distribution system in June.
A second top UN official is due to fly into Iraq this weekend. UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Carol Bellamy will spend three days taking a first-hand look at the condition of children in Baghdad and the north of the country.
"There's much more that needs to be done to improve the chances of survival for children and to get this country pointed in the right direction," Ms. Bellamy said in a statement on the eve of her departure.
"We are alarmed by the high numbers of children being injured by munitions, and by anecdotal reports of children who are reported to have disappeared. The faster we get coherent education and health systems functioning again, with paid staff, the less children will fall through the cracks," she added.