United Nations, March 21: A major two-day
international conference will be held next month to consider
how to deal with the humanitarian crisis being faced by
millions of Iraqis who have been displaced from their homes in
the war-torn country.
The United Nations Refugee Agency, which is hosting
the event, has invited all 192 member states, 65 international
organisations and 60 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to
participate in the conference.
"With displacement continuing at an estimated rate of
upto 50,000 a month, the humanitarian needs are growing by the
day and we need to do everything we can to try to get help to
desperate people," UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
spokesperson Ron Redmond said yesterday.
The ministerial-level meeting, scheduled for April 17
and 18 in Geneva, "will examine the humanitarian dimensions of
the displacement crisis, identify the enormous needs, and seek
to forge a common international effort to address those needs,
including through sharing the burden that's now being borne by
neighbouring states," he said.
Approximately two million Iraqis live in neighbouring
countries including Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey.
Besides 1.9 million are displaced within their
country, "many in increasingly desperate conditions," Redmond
said. Many of them find their resources dwindling, and host
communities are being strained by the influx of displaced
people.
The UN assistance mission for Iraq, known as Unami,
estimates that over 15 million Iraqis-- including refugees,
internally displaced people (IDPs), those facing food
insecurity, widows and the disabled-- are considered extremely
vulnerable.
In Iraq, with a total population of 26 million,
Redmond said four million are dependent on food assistance,
and only 60 per cent has access to the public food
distribution system.
Approximately 70 per cent of the population lacks
access to adequate water supplies, while 80 per cent does not
have effective sanitation. Almost a quarter of children are
chronically malnourished, and the unemployment rate hovers at
over 50 per cent.
In January, UNHCR launched a 60 million dollar appeal
to allow the agency to continue providing humanitarian
assistance in the region, and of this fund, a third is
targeted at helping tens of thousands of the most vulnerable
among the IDPs.
"Providing that help is extremely difficult because of
the dire security situation in much of the country," Redmond
said of the agency's staff located in seven areas within Iraq
working with almost 20 partners, most of whom are Iraqis.
"Despite the many limitations and in the face of
enormous needs, the work done by our staff inside Iraq has
still managed to benefit tens of thousands of internally
displaced people and the families and the communities caring
for them," he added.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, March 21, 2007, 00:00