Relief aid drive in Iraq must adapt to security conditions - UN official

As Iraq enters "the period of greatest challenges," relief efforts will have to be adapted in order to succeed, a senior United Nations official told donor nations meeting today in Doha, Qatar.

"Flexibility and innovative ways of working with Iraqi and other partners are key to successful delivery within the current security climate and are likely to be for some time to come," Ross Mountain, the UN Special Representative ad interim for Iraq, told the Donor Committee of the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq.

Analyzing the period ahead, he observed that Iraq will undergo political, structural, economic and military-security transitions all at once. "There has been progress on these transitions, but there is clearly a need to better address some of the causes of insecurity that exist to different degrees in different areas," he said.

Mr. Mountain also outlined a range of ongoing UN relief operations in Iraq, including the procurement of 1.6 million tons of food supplies, the rehabilitation of several hundred schools, the vaccination of 5 million children against measles and the provision of support for infrastructure and housing.

"All our activities seek to enhance the capacity of Iraqi institutions," he said. This year, some 6,500 Iraqis have benefited from UN training in a wide range of disciplines, while over 40,000 have gotten jobs through UN activities within Iraq.

Mr. Mountain also announced that 17 programmes and projects valued at approximately $230 million have been approved under the UN Iraq Trust Fund.

He emphasized the need for long-term international assistance to Iraq, warning that "for the political transition to succeed, the new government must be able to count on the full support of all concerned." He pledged that the UN would play its "full part" in this process.

Officials from some 35 countries, regional organizations, the UN and the World Bank are attending the meeting. The International Fund was set up at a conference held last October in Madrid.