S/PV.4762Resumption1 Security Council

Mr. Traore (Guinea) (spoke in French): At the outset, I would like to thank Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette for her introductory statement. I would also like to thank our guests for their important statements, which have given us much valuable information about the relevance and delicate nature of the emergency humanitarian issues in post-war Iraq. I would also like to pay tribute to the humanitarian agencies in Iraq for their excellent work and for the valuable and important services they are providing the Iraqi people under particularly difficult circumstances, at times even at the risk of their staff members' lives. It is clear from the presentations we heard this morning that insecurity and lack of order are the major handicaps that almost all agencies must deal with and that limit the effectiveness of their efforts. This morning's adoption of resolution 1483 (2003) will no doubt help to speed up their efforts on the ground. The specific issue of insecurity nevertheless remains to be addressed. I have just one question for the representatives of the humanitarian agencies with us today - which is one that echoes the question raised this morning by Ambassador Pleuger. Given the importance and urgency of the Iraqi people's needs, what specific suggestions can they make to the Council in order to gradually end insecurity and make their efforts more effective as soon as possible?

Mr. Cunningham (United States of America): I, too, want to thank the representatives of the agencies here, all of their colleagues, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations local staff in Iraq and all the others for their tremendous dedicated efforts to ensure a humanitarian response in Iraq at a time when it is very important to support the Iraqi people. This morning, the Security Council adopted a really historic resolution that confirms the vital role of the United Nations and the international community in the future of Iraq. We find from the presentations we heard this morning - and we know first hand, of course, from our experience on the ground - that the needs are great, but we have common objectives and a sense of purpose. I am also struck by the thread that ran throughout the presentations we heard this morning: the great amount of experience, resources and political will in this Council that we can bring to bear to help the people of Iraq and to create a better Iraq. I hope and I trust that we will continue to work well together, especially on the ground, in bringing relief to people who have suffered for too long. The resolution we adopted this morning also calls on Member States to make contributions to the United Nations appeal and to provide food, medicine and other resources necessary for the rehabilitation of Iraq's infrastructure. We encourage all Member States and international organizations to respond as best and as soon as they can. The United States is supporting relief and reconstruction projects in Iraq from the macro to the micro level, ranging from reinforcing the Mosul dam and repairing ports and bridges to funding clean-up projects in four Baghdad neighbourhoods containing 16,000 people. One cannot really get the sense from the press, or even from looking at one part of the picture, of the amount of work that is going on throughout the country even as we speak, notwithstanding all the problems that exist. I should like to give Council members an idea of the range of the effort that is already under way, with more progress and new results coming about every day. Everybody who has spoken, I think, has emphasized that security is the key problem and the top priority, as Mr. Morris said. We are making every effort to ensure that the security situation is brought under control and stabilized as soon as possible. We are deploying additional United States military police. The coalition is taking steps to decrease the availability of weapons. There is a team in Iraq reviewing security, law enforcement, the justice system and prison issues so that it can come up with urgent and specific recommendations for action. The State Department is recruiting 1,000 United States police advisers and trainers and other countries are contributing as well. Over 5,000 Baghdad police officers are back on duty. We are approaching our coalition partners for international police advisers. The resolution just adopted invites international cooperation in restoring stability and security and we hope to have many more partners in this endeavour. In addition, the payment of salaries will contribute greatly to stabilization, particularly as police officers realize that they will be paid upon returning to work. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing micro-grants designed to build confidence among Iraq's diverse ethnic groups at the local level, strengthening the involvement and capacity of local and community institutions to respond rapidly to local needs, such as small-scale infrastructure repair. What we are trying to do here is to stimulate increased Iraqi participation in the restoration of public services, community security, conflict prevention, information and communications support and short-term employment opportunities. In Umm Qasr, for one example, grants based on community priorities established by the new town council will establish a fully functional office for the council, create a telephone and Internet centre, increase sports and recreational facilities for youth and rehabilitate a secondary school. We have begun implementation of a rapid programme to restore the essential functions of priority ministries. This is providing national and local-level ministry offices with minor repairs, furniture, equipment and supplies so that they can begin operations. USAID is working to provide essential communications links among ministries in the country by installing satellite or high-frequency radio-based connections at central ministries and commissions to permit voice, fax and data transmissions between Baghdad and operational units in governance throughout the country. In an important step, the ministries are ready to start paying salaries in Baghdad on 24 May - that is, in two days - and in the meantime the United States Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance has made emergency cash payments to 1.1 million civil servants in Northern, Central and Southern Iraq in order to start providing income for people who are coming back to work and to produce more cash in the economy. I should also note that, for all the difficulties that exist, there is economic activity resuming in all kinds of ways, including both cash and barter. Markets are up and running in many places, including in Baghdad itself, and while no one would pretend it is normal life, activity is resuming. On human rights, the USAID Abuse Prevention Unit, which is part of our disaster assistance response team, is working to identify, track and report acts of retribution and other abuses. It has investigated several mass graves, as well as property issues, and the Abuse Prevention Unit's officers are coordinating closely with ICRC and United Nations agencies in helping to develop public information campaigns to promote tolerance, justice and respect for the rule of law. We trained hundreds of United States civil affairs officers -that is, military officers who work on civilian affairs - in protection principles prior to their deployment to the Gulf. We have developed and distributed field guides on preventing and mitigating abuses. We are also working with others to address health and nutrition issues. For example, in response to nutrient deficiencies in the Iraqi population, a USAID private-sector partner named ABT Associates will provide four grain mills in Baghdad with food- fortification equipment and technical assistance to enable flour to be fortified with vitamins and minerals, including iron, which has been missing in parts of the Iraqi diet. ABT Associates will continue discussions with Iraqis in hopes of installing equipment in other mills in Iraq and is establishing a medical supplies and equipment management systems database for tracking all international medical donations. We applaud the monitoring by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) of the nutritional status in response to nutritional needs in Iraq and welcome recommendations from UNICEF on further specific actions needed. We encouraged and welcomed the proposal of the World Food Programme to procure grain locally in Iraq and hope that all practical arrangements necessary for this will be worked out with utmost speed, given that the harvest is already standing in the fields and that farmers will have to be paid immediately. We have under way many, many projects to begin to restore normalcy. Just to mention a couple more, we are working with Bechtel to restore the 400-kilovolt power lines into the Baghdad ring - an essential source of power for the entire country - and to supply equipment to Iraqi power authorities for necessary repairs. In addition, 50,000 cylinders of liquid petroleum gas were to be delivered to 18 sites in Baghdad today. The Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance has begun three demining missions in Al Hillah. In an important contribution to social stabilization, a USAID contractor is helping the Ministry of Education to administer tests for sixth-, ninth- and twelfth-grade students so that they can advance to the next grade level. We are gathering hydraulic and economic information in support of the restoration initiative in the southern marshes, where the Marsh Arabs have traditionally lived. In conclusion, I would like to inform the Council that USAID contractors are working closely with the International Civil Aviation Organization to ensure that Iraq's airports and civil aviation systems are rehabilitated so that we can facilitate the rapid re-entry of Iraq into international aviation systems of commerce. All of these activities are illustrative of our efforts and commitment to meet reconstruction needs throughout Iraq. We welcome Mr. Malloch Brown's comments this morning about getting the needs assessment process moving. That is an important part of the future effort.

Mr. Lucas (Angola): On behalf of the Angolan delegation, I should like to thank the Deputy Secretary- General for the update presented to the Council, which has been enriched today by the reports of firsthand field experiences presented by the representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the International Committee of the Red Cross. With the adoption today by the Security Council of resolution 1483 (2003), the international community has taken a tremendous step forward towards resolving the security, humanitarian, political, economic and social situation in Iraq. From today on, we have at our disposal a blueprint to deal with the situation in Iraq and to begin resolving, in a sustained manner, the immense problems caused by the international sanctions imposed on Iraq as well as healing the wounds of war. The appeal to Member States to respond to the humanitarian and other needs of the Iraqi people by providing food, medical supplies and the resources necessary for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Iraq's economic infrastructure has already had a very positive response from the international community. It is our belief that the adoption of resolution 1483 (2003) will give fresh impetus to what we believe can become a great movement of solidarity with the suffering Iraqi people. The picture that was painted of the situation in Iraq is of great concern. Nevertheless, it is our conviction that the international community can further mobilize the goodwill and resources to advance in the reconstruction of Iraq at all levels. Iraq has resources - both human and material - that, if properly directed to the right objectives - could, in a relatively short period of time, enable the Iraqi people to overcome their difficulties. In our view, efforts and resources should be concentrated on rehabilitation efforts in order to provide, as soon as possible, improved living conditions for the population and to avoid the most acute social-infrastructure-related problems. A decisive effort should be directed to the rehabilitation of the electricity network, given its direct implication in the normal functioning of hospitals, schools and particularly sewerage systems, whose malfunction affects water and sanitation, causing grave health problems. The rehabilitation of the electricity network will greatly improve the quality of citizens' daily lives. The repair and rehabilitation of the basic infrastructure - mainly in areas critical to humanitarian needs, such as health, education, water, sanitation and electricity - in a strategy framework devised by the United Nations Development Programme is a sensible approach to the situation in Iraq. This will enable the creation of jobs, providing employment to vulnerable groups. Furthermore, this approach can rely on the expertise of Iraqi professionals, whose competence and qualifications are well known, and is a concrete contribution to the building of peace through community participation in those activities. It is our deepest hope that the Iraqi people, after too many years of sanctions and of war, will seize this opportunity for a new beginning, and, since this beginning has its roots in a very rich cultural heritage, all hopes have the possibility of coming true. It is also hope that the international community will keep its pledge to the Iraqi people and that the Security Council will remain seized of the Iraqi issue, so that the rights of the Iraqi people can be fully respected. To conclude, I should like to address a few questions to the panellists, and specifically to the representative of the United Nations Development Programme. We would like to ask to what extent the adoption of resolution 1483 (2003) will strengthen UNDP's mandate for reconstruction work in Iraq, and we would like to know what the assessed funding needs are for the short and medium term. We would like also to ask how long, according to UNDP assessments, it will take to complete the rehabilitation of the basic infrastructure.

Mr. Gatilov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We, too, are grateful to the Deputy Secretary- General, Ms. Frechette, and to the leadership of the various specialized agencies of the United Nations and of the International Committee of the Red Cross for the briefings they have provided on their operations in Iraq to provide emergency assistance to the Iraqi people. Like many others who have spoken, we are primarily concerned with the ongoing instability in many regions of Iraq, as a result of which there still cannot be a full resumption of the work of international humanitarian personnel in that country. As the Council is aware, responsibility for ensuring the safety of United Nations staff and of the personnel of other humanitarian organizations, as well as ensuring them unimpeded access to all persons in need, in accordance with the provisions of international humanitarian law and paragraph 8 of resolution 1472 (2003), lies with the coalition forces. In this regard, we hope that, in order to resolve this issue in the near term, additional necessary measures will be taken. Overall, the situation remains alarming with respect to supplying the central and southern provinces of Iraq with sufficient drinking water. This problem has become particularly important in the light of recent outbreaks of infectious disease. There is a need to note that establishing a water supply system, particularly in the major cities, is closely linked to the restoration of the operation of treatment plants, most of which were damaged during hostilities or were looted in the ensuing period. We would note also that an equally complex situation - as seen in the presentations made today by the representatives of humanitarian agencies - has also emerged with respect to ensuring the normal operation of Iraqi hospitals, where, in addition to the shortage of staff, there is a critical shortage of specialized medical equipment, which was also looted recently. This has resulted in a serious deterioration in the level of health care in most regions of the country when compared with the prewar period, which has brought additional suffering to the Iraqi people. This problem also requires very close attention. One other point to which we would like to draw the Council's attention is the status of the electrical sector in Iraq. Prior to the war, the situation in that sector was not all that favourable, and now the Iraqis face the serious problem of its reconstruction. There is no need to restate the importance of this sector in the maintenance of the entire civil infrastructure in Iraq, since it is also essential for the operation of hospitals, water-treatment plants, schools and many other facilities that have clearly defined humanitarian designations. Clearly, one cannot restore the Iraqi economy with only the low-power mobile electric generators whose delivery has been given priority recently. We need more radical measures. Clearly, one cannot restore the Iraqi economy just with low-power mobile electric generators, the delivery of which has recently been given priority. We need more radical measures. In this context, we believe it is vital to implement the maximum volume of contracts that were concluded under the oil-for-food programme, which encompass such sectors as water supply, electricity, and the supply of vehicles and other essential goods. All of this will clearly be needed during the economic reconstruction of Iraq. We can say the same about equipment for the oil sector, which is essentially the engine for further development of the country's entire economy. We are certain that, in line with the resolution adopted today by the Security Council, the Secretariat should take all necessary measures to ensure that these and many other problems related to implementation of contracts are fully resolved. We believe that this would help to meet many of the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people and would help to ensure that the United Nations, its specialized agencies and other humanitarian organizations can do effective work in Iraq.

Mr. King (United Kingdom): We welcome this opportunity to discuss the humanitarian situation in Iraq. I would like to start by saluting the efforts of the agencies that are represented here, and in particular the United Nations national staff who, as we have heard, continued to work, and the outstanding work that has been done by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC). The United Kingdom looks forward to continuing to work extremely closely with all the teams involved on the ground to meet the challenges ahead. We believe that the humanitarian situation in Iraq is getting better. But, in saying that, we do not underestimate the challenges that lie ahead. As, I think, has emerged clearly from the discussion we are having here today, a major concern - perhaps, the major concern - continues to be security. This remains at the top of the coalition agenda. Our assessment is that incidents continue, but on a sporadic basis. They remain localized and, for the most part, at a low level. We have been taking all possible steps to improve security and law and order in the short term. We are beginning to plan for the medium to longer term, and in particular, to look at how best to transfer responsibilities to the Iraqis themselves, including in this area. There are plans under discussion for the establishment of a trained police force and, indeed, as a concrete gauge of that, there are already 1,000 Iraqi police carrying out joint patrols with United Kingdom personnel. Let me just say a brief word about the situation in the United Kingdom area of operation. We are working to involve Iraqis in the civil administration structures. We have established committees throughout our area of operation to engage with the local population on the restoration of public services. And the situation on basic services has improved significantly. Eighty per cent of Basra now has access to running water. Seventy-five per cent is covered by the sewage system. The An Nasiriyah electricity generation plant is running at full capacity for the first time since 1991. All hospitals have been provided with power, fuel and water supplies. We stress that this is only a start. We recognize that there is more to do. It is useful to us to have a detailed assessment from the agencies about where the impact of security concerns is being felt most keenly. We note and welcome the World Food Programme reports, which have reaffirmed today, that there is no food crisis, and we welcome this opportunity for an exchange on the implications of developments on the ground for the work planned under the flash appeal. Security concerns have not stopped our efforts to meet Iraq's humanitarian needs, working in many cases with and through the United Nations agencies and non- governmental organizations (NGOs) in areas where the United Kingdom has experience and, we hope, something to bring. Our overall objective is to provide support where there is greatest need. To take that agenda forward, we are establishing a presence on the ground of staff with humanitarian and development expertise as quickly as possible. We are starting to build that presence up in Basra, but we also have staff working with the agencies in Baghdad. Coordination is obviously vital and, if anything, will get more important as more donors and actors arrive on the scene. Much of the assistance is being coordinated in Kuwait at the Humanitarian Operations Centre, but that is continuing only until July. It is a United Nations lead, and we welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions, here and subsequently, on how the Humanitarian Coordinator, and indeed the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, will help us and tackle the issues of coordination involved. We hope and expect that we will need to factor in the NGOs, as well as agencies. Looking beyond the immediate humanitarian need, the United Kingdom will work to help Iraq reach its full potential to secure a stable future where the needs of the whole population are met equitably and sustainably. Over the next six months, we believe that means focusing on a number of points: first, reducing dependence on emergency assistance; secondly, creating transparent economic governance and legislative structures; thirdly, ensuring the full participation of the Iraqi people, including - and this point has come up a number of times in our discussions today - women, in defining their own governance structures; fourthly, ensuring the delivery of essential public services; and, finally, addressing the wider regional implications of the recent conflict. The United Kingdom contribution to all of this will need to fit in with the international framework that is going to be agreed upon with and by the Iraqi people. If I may just pick up one issue of key concern to the United Kingdom and others - the participation of women in the new Iraq - we welcome what we have heard from the agencies about what they are doing to promote the inclusion of women in and through their work. We believe that the right decisions in this area can only accelerate Iraq's acquisition of the capacity to manage its own affairs successfully. We recall lessons that have been learned from other situations, which show the continuing importance of the protection of civilians in the post-conflict reconstruction phase. Following the adoption of this morning's resolution, we would welcome the opportunity today, and subsequently, to discuss plans for the protection of civilians, as we go forward. Finally, just briefly to touch on media reports of the discovery of further mass graves, the security of evidence that may be linked to war crimes or crimes against humanity is a priority for the commanders on the ground, although I think that we have to recognize that it is one among a number of priorities. We have a team of nine forensic experts from the United Kingdom who departed for Baghdad yesterday. They will be there to investigate the mass graves and will make recommendations for further United Kingdom assistance on this subject. In conclusion, let me just reassure all here that the United Kingdom humanitarian community, both within Government and outside, will continue to place the highest priority on Iraq and will contribute strongly to the upcoming appeals and other calls for assistance.

Mr. Aguilar Zinser (Mexico) (spoke in Spanish): First, allow me to congratulate you, Sir, and your delegation for your initiative of convening this meeting and this dialogue at such a timely moment. This will enable the Council to direct its decision-making and activities on humanitarian issues in Iraq based on the opinions, judgements, points of view and very valuable information that have been provided to the Council by the individuals invited to this meeting. We would like to thank Mr. Mark Malloch Brown, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator; Mr. James Morris, Executive Director of the World Food Programme; the representatives of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund; and the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Believe me, I certainly do not envy them the daunting task that confronts them in Iraq. Looking at the situation from the distance of the Security Council Chamber, it is very difficult for the Council even to imagine the magnitude of the work involved in reconstructing Iraq and attending to the humanitarian situation. I do not think that there is any precedent for this kind of situation, in which a State structure has totally collapsed. There have been many cases in which changes of Government as cataclysmic as the present case still left behind some sort of institutional structure - or possessed structures that were so precarious that it little mattered whether they existed or not. But in the case of the Iraq, we are faced with a situation in which, due to the nature of the Iraqi regime, with its authoritarian character and its strict control over the entire structure of the Government, the collapse of the regime represents not merely a change of individuals but the total destruction of a structure, accompanied by great economic and social impact and the physical destruction of institutions, including buildings and records, which will be extremely hard to reconstruct. Therefore, I believe that in the humanitarian and support tasks that the United Nations will carry out based on the resolution that the Council has adopted today, the extent of the reconstruction effort is almost physically indicative of the circumstances existing in that country. My delegation is therefore attentive to, and concerned about, the type of institutional capacities that the United Nations will have to deploy and the relationship that will be created between the United Nations agencies responsible for attending to the humanitarian situation and the Authority representing the occupying Powers, because they are going to be operating in the same space and will have to work side by side as they lay their bricks. For the institutions will need to be rebuilt in order to enable Iraq to attend to its humanitarian needs. There is another topic that has already been touched upon: the intimate relationship between security on the ground and the capacity of the United Nations to provide humanitarian services. I would therefore like to ask what the prospects are for the emergence of Iraqi civilian institutions - even nascent ones - that could eventually to some extent take over those efforts and that would represent Iraqi society's efforts to organize in order to provide for its own needs. In other, comparable situations in which disasters involving such thoroughgoing collapses of institutions occur, civil society has shown a certain ability to respond by getting organized. In Iraq, it seems that such abilities are attributable to religious elements and to those belonging to certain groups. But I wonder whether there is any sign of an emergence of civilian entities whose underlying purpose is simply to attend to specific humanitarian situations and the concrete needs of communities. We are also facing a phenomenon of violence and social disruption of whose magnitude we are just beginning to have accurate readings. The looting and the lack of security in Iraq seem linked to widespread disorder and the complete loss of authority by the institutions entrusted with ensuring public law and order. We are confronted with the emergence of phenomena that could have a deeply rooted dimension: criminal organizations that may emerge and certain patterns of violence that may have to be clearly identified in order to counteract them. In that respect, we have heard non-governmental organizations speak about kidnappings and the abuse of women. We would like to know whether the humanitarian organizations and the United Nations agencies can inform us about the nature and scope of those phenomena. Are they associated with acts of revenge, the massive settling of scores with the Saddam Hussain regime, or are they linked to the emergence of other phenomena related to the breakdown in authority and the ensuing social dynamic? We are also interested in the issue of the protection of humanitarian workers. What work plans are being developed to increase the capacity to address humanitarian issues, once there are more staff to deal with those issues and once they have greater mobility throughout the territory of Iraq? That would, of course, require specific security measures to be taken and specific security criteria to be established. What can our guests tell us about progress in that field as well as about relations between the United Nations humanitarian agencies and the Authority of the occupying Powers? In conclusion, we would like to ask whether the role of the Special Representative will also include coordinating all the United Nations agencies as they fulfil their commitments and their work plans. Do we anticipate a single joint work programme being crafted to cover the efforts of all the agencies and all the tasks of the Special Representative? Once again, I would like to express my gratitude for the information and views provided by those who have briefed the Security Council today. We wish them luck in their work in Iraq; they will need it.

Mr. Zhang Yishan (China) (spoke in Chinese): I would like at the outset to thank the Deputy Secretary- General, Louise Frechette, and the executive officers of United Nations specialized agencies, for their briefings. I am pleased to hear about the progress that has been achieved with regard to United Nations humanitarian assistance activities in Iraq. I would like to express appreciation for the efforts made by the relief workers under difficult circumstances to ease the suffering of the Iraqi people and to resolve the difficulties that they are facing. As has been pointed out by a number of my colleagues, after a decade of sanctions and in the wake of the recent war, the humanitarian situation is grave. There are deficiencies in the areas of nutrition, basic supplies, infrastructure and sanitation, and in some parts of the country epidemics have broken out. In all these areas urgent assistance from the international community is required. The Chinese Government has been closely following the humanitarian situation in Iraq. After the outbreak of war, we quickly provided emergency humanitarian supplies. I would like to reaffirm that China is ready to work with the international community in its efforts to alleviate the humanitarian situation in Iraq. At present, the situation in Iraq is still unstable. Security conditions there are worrying, and this is impeding the humanitarian assistance efforts of the United Nations. China calls on the parties concerned to fulfil their obligations as set out in the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Hague Regulations and to facilitate the activities of humanitarian relief workers so that they can have full, unimpeded access to all the Iraqi people who need assistance, while ensuring their safety, security and freedom of movement in Iraq. This morning the Security Council adopted resolution 1483 (2003), which lays the groundwork for enabling the United Nations to play a significant role in the post-war reconstruction of Iraq. China is pleased to note that, in accordance with the resolution, the Secretary-General is to appoint a Special Representative as soon as possible, to assist in the various aspects of the post-war reconstruction of Iraq. China believes that that will facilitate the efficient and orderly carrying out of humanitarian assistance in Iraq. The oil-for-food programme has long played a significant role in easing the humanitarian situation in Iraq. After the outbreak of war, the humanitarian programme was adjusted to take account of any possible humanitarian crises. In accordance with resolution 1483 (2003), which was adopted earlier today, the oil-for-food programme will be gradually phased out. China hopes that the Office for the Iraq Programme will work with the parties concerned to minimize any negative impact on the humanitarian situation in Iraq that might be caused by the termination of the programme. At the same time, China believes that we should fully implement the programme and fully utilize its resources, especially the resources that have been approved, so that the post- conflict reconstruction of Iraq can proceed smoothly.

Mr. Maquieira (Chile) (spoke in Spanish): I would like first of all to thank Mr. Mark Malloch Brown, Mr. David Nabarro, Mr. James Morris, Mr. Nils Kastberg and Mr. Jakob Kellenberger for the comprehensive information they have given us concerning the various parts of the humanitarian picture in Iraq. We share the sentiments expressed by the members of the Council with regard to the situation in Iraq. There has been some progress, although the situation remains precarious. We also share the concern expressed about security in Iraq. As has been said, efforts are being made to improve the situation. We hope that it will improve rapidly so that humanitarian assistance can be provided and the enormous humanitarian task in various sectors can proceed smoothly, as required by the urgency of the situation. I would like to ask a number of questions. I have already written them down, so, of course, my concerns may overlap some of those that have already been expressed. One of the results of the lack of security is that various aspects of the provision of services might to some extent be entrusted to religious groups in parts of Baghdad and in the south of the country. I would like to know whether measures are being taken to take control of the hospitals and other service entities so as to take them out of the hands of religious groups. At a recent meeting of the Council, my delegation asked for information with regard to salaries for local workers. According to available information, the situation has not improved. We would like to know more about the payment of wages to local workers, as that would have a direct impact on the poorest families. We were informed this morning that the nutritional needs of the three northern governorates are once again being addressed and that, fortunately, there is no food crisis in Iraq. We would like to know how long it would take to resume delivery of the 480,000 metric tons normally distributed in the country. We would also like to know about the situation regarding the quantity of supplies that are usually distributed in other zones. Given that the oil-for-food programme has been extended for another six months, we would also like to know whether it will be necessary to buy food during this period and whether provisions have been made to fund such purchases. Finally, reference has been made both in the press and in today's discussion to the mass graves that have been discovered. We are concerned about the problem of identifying remains and returning them to family members. We would like to know who is taking responsibility for this matter in the field.

Ms. Menendez (Spain) (spoke in Spanish): We too would like to thank Ms. Frechette for the presentation she made today. We would also like to thank the representatives of the agencies present here and the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross for their work in the field and for their briefings today. Since the beginning of the Iraqi crisis - and given the current circumstances - one of Spain's main priorities has been to address the basic needs of that country's population by contributing humanitarian assistance as a matter of the greatest urgency, in accordance with the demands of the new reality on the ground. In that regard, and in a constant effort to contribute to overcoming the challenges that have arisen in recent weeks, Spain's contribution has played out on several fronts. First of all, my Government responded immediately to the financial needs that emerged, including the needs indicated in the Flash Appeal launched by the Secretary-General. To date, Spain has committed a total of about 65.45 million euros - about $75.43 million - out of which 5 million euros have been allocated to various United Nations programmes and agencies and 7.2 million to the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office. Moreover, in terms of bilateral assistance, we have provided 37 million euros in outright grants in order to provide equipment in basic sectors and to finance other projects and activities to assist the least advantaged among the population. Lastly, in addition to those amounts, 16 million euros have been earmarked for humanitarian assistance provided in the context of our Joint Humanitarian Support Unit. The second pillar of Spain's response to the situation in Iraq is based on the human dimension of our contribution. As soon as coalition operations began in Iraq, Spain sent a Joint Humanitarian Support Unit composed of 900 men and women. I would like to point out the fact that a medical unit containing many hospital beds was among the tools available to the Joint Unit. Turning to the immediate future, and bearing in mind what has been repeatedly stated here today with regard to the still fragile security situation in Iraq, my Government is considering the possibility of sending a number of members of its Guardia Civil to assist in maintaining law and order and, in the medium term, to assist in training new members of Iraqi's security forces and in planning their activities. My Government hopes that, along with the framework established through the Council's adoption this morning of resolution 1483 (2003) - of which, as members are aware, Spain was one of the original sponsors - the measures adopted by various Member States, including Spain, will contribute to improving the situation, bringing stability to Iraq and well-being to its people.

Mr. Duclos (France) (spoke in French): At the outset, let me thank you, Mr. President, for having organized this debate. I would also like to express our gratitude to Ms. Frechette for her presentation. I would also like in particular to thank the officials of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), as well as the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), for their presence among us today. On the very day that we have adopted a resolution that I believe underscores the commitment of the international community to address, in a unified and resolute manner, the challenges in post-conflict Iraq, their participation in this discussion has a great symbolic impact. Like my colleagues have done, I would like to underscore some of the points that were made in the briefings. My first point - which is one that Ms. Frechette has also made - is that, while there is no humanitarian catastrophe per se in Iraq, the situation is nevertheless extremely fragile. It is a situation in which the health, nutritional and other needs of the people were already enormous prior to the conflict. Secondly, as all other delegations have pointed out, we believe that the security situation continues to be a key element, as well as one of considerable concern. Like the representative of Mexico for example, we too were particularly struck by the information we have just heard about the kidnapping of women and of young girls in schools. If such incidents continue or worsen, it will lead to a climate in which women are excluded. That would bode ill for what we are seeking in Iraq, which is exactly the opposite. My third point is that the statements that have been made demonstrate the degree to which the coordination of all the efforts of the various agencies in the context of the current disorder is indeed crucial. It should perhaps be linked to the appointment under today's resolution of a Special Representative of the Secretary-General. My fourth point is that special attention will have to be given to the linkage between the humanitarian and reconstruction phases, as Mr. Malloch Brown noted this morning. We believe that this issue must be emphasized. Like my colleagues, I have many questions to ask, but most have already been raised. Nevertheless, I wish to address several subjects. My first question is specifically with respect to coordination. Are we already in a position to make an initial assessment of such coordination and, on that basis, to draw lessons with respect to the role of the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General? Are there expectations regarding the Special Representative's mandate? My second question, regarding the establishment of parallel politico-religious structures that are currently assuming certain social functions, has already been raised by Ambassador Maquieira of Chile. My question is addressed in particular to the representatives of WHO and ICRC. It would appear that such parallel structures are emerging in the health system, and particularly in hospitals, to provide health care and solidarity. How are WHO and ICRC dealing with such structures? What kind of contact might they have with them? What assessment can be made of their significance? My third question is addressed specifically to the representative of UNDP. How does he perceive the situation with regard to demining problems and the degree to which they could affect the reconstruction of infrastructure in Iraq? Finally, I have one last question with respect to Iraq's food autonomy. I believe that others have already raised this question. Is there a possibility of United Nations purchase of local produce, funded by the oil for food programme? Is such a possibility already being explored, discussed and elaborated? Allow me to reiterate our high esteem, gratitude and admiration to all the personnel of the various United Nations agencies and of ICRC working in Iraq. They are making an invaluable contribution to the reconstruction of that country.

The President: I call on Mr. James Morris, Executive Director of the World Food Programme.

Mr. Morris: May I first express our profound gratitude to you, Sir, and to all of your colleagues on the Security Council for the fact that you would be willing to spend as much time with us as you have today. You will never know how much your interest in what we do means to us and to our colleagues around the world. Fifty-nine staff members of the World Food Programme (WFP) have lost their lives in the past 14 years in the line of duty. The work our national and international staff do is oftentimes under the most difficult circumstances. The fact that we will be able to convey the Security Council's interest and the appreciation expressed by all will be a real boost to our team. I should also thank the many Council members that have been incredibly generous in their support as it relates not only to Iraq, but in fact to our work all around the world. First, let me say that, as of 1 June, the 480,000- metric-ton monthly requirement will be in place. There will be adequate food in Iraq to feed every single citizen. Our plan is for WFP to help provide that food through oil for food resources and through donor support for the next five months. We are hopeful that the Ministry of Trade in Iraq will be back on its feet by then and able to work through its very successful and substantial distribution system. It has a distribution system of 44,000 outlets all across the country and it functions very well. Once we got into Iraq, we discovered that the country had more food reserves than we were aware of. With what we have been able to pull out of the oil for food programme and with the approximately $500 million our donors have given us, we will have enough food - together with what is in Iraq's reserve stock - to feed the people of Iraq through the end of the year. We are very much focused on the issue of local purchase. The barley harvest and the wheat harvest are beginning right now and last a few weeks. The tradition in Iraq has been for the Government to buy these crops in their entirety. I think I mentioned this morning that it had been paying $75 per metric ton. It costs us about $200 per metric ton to move wheat into the country. With proceeds from the oil for food programme, we intend to buy at least one million metric tons. We will pay $105 per ton for the food. It is important that the grain board and all of the infrastructure for acquisition and distribution of locally purchased commodities be put back in place. We try to buy locally every time we have the chance. I am grateful for the emphasis on security. There is no doubt in my mind that it is everyone's top priority. My sense is that a lot of the turmoil relates to the uncertainty of the Iraqi people and to their level of confidence that a system that has fed them for many years will still be there. I tried to say this morning that 60 per cent of the Iraqi people get 100 per cent of their food from the Government and that 100 per cent of the people get most of their food from the Government, so we are working at trying to give some degree of confidence to the Iraqi people that this system will continue to function. Members of the Council should know that the United Nations family works pretty well together on the ground. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and WFP work as a good team. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) gets part of the credit for that; the United Nations Development Group gets part of the credit, too. I know the Council has a great focus on harmonization and on how we work together as a team. We do that really very well. We also work well with the Red Cross. We now have 10 NGO partners functioning in Iraq all across the country and doing a good job. We also, I believe, are working well - at least in our case - with the Ministry of Trade. I met with the two leaders of the Ministry of Trade when I was there last Sunday; they are working with the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA). Every other day they have a senior staff meeting together with the United Nations agencies. There is a good sense of collegiality and of doing our work well together. We essentially have the food we need to do what we need to do. We still have a need for some salt and something called weaning cereals, but those are not substantial figures that we need to address. We will get that done. Security, in part, is being provided by the occupying militaries, but in the long run this needs to be provided by local people, and I am pleased with the commitment that people will begin to be paid in two days. Security guards have not been paid for a long time, and it is very difficult to ask them to come back and resume their occupation when they do not have any confidence in compensation. I am grateful for the high praise that many here have given to the United Nations country teams and their national staff. We had 800 people with the World Food Programme in Iraq work right through the conflict, and they did a superior piece of work. I think that those are my comments. Once again, I am grateful for the privilege of being here and for the importance and value the Council attaches to the work that all of us do as it relates to issues of international security.

The President: I would like to thank Mr. James Morris, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, for those remarks and for the splendid work that the World Food Programme is doing in Iraq and elsewhere. I now give the floor to Mr. Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.

Mr. Malloch Brown: Mr. President, I wish to thank all your colleagues, who have shown such interest in this subject and asked such thoughtful and difficult questions, in some cases. Let me also just echo what my colleague Jim Morris said: just because the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) does not have a nameplate at this table, I do not think that we should forget to express tremendous gratitude to Kenzo Oshima and all his colleagues in OCHA, and particularly to the Humanitarian Coordinator, who, of course, also reports through the oil for food programme and Mr. Benon Sevan. That whole coordination mechanism has, I think, proved absolutely critical to all of our efforts. Turning now to the questions posed to us, a number of Council members, starting with the Ambassador of Germany, asked whom we are working with. Well, we are working with municipal authorities, local community leaders of different kinds, directors- general of national ministries. We have found many very good local national partners. We are also, as Jim Morris just said, coordinating, I think, extremely effectively with ORHA and the coalition forces, which have gone out of their way to try to engage us in coordination discussions. I think that there is two-way coordination with both local and national Iraqi authorities and with the coalition forces, and we all are very pleased with how that is going. The Ambassador of Cameroon raised the question of the link between the humanitarian response and reconstruction needs. This was a theme to which many other representatives returned during the meeting. A colleague from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has just equipped me with a wonderful way of entering this discussion, which is to consider this first humanitarian phase as an effort to return the Iraqis' standard of living to what it was in 2000, before recent events began, and to consider the subsequent reconstruction effort an attempt to return the Iraqis' standard of living to what it was 20 years ago, before the cycle of violence and conflict which has consumed that country since the Iraq-Iran war. To give the Council a sense of this, before that war, according to the data from UNDP's Human Development Index, Iraq enjoyed a standard of living which put it next door to Iran - in other words, a standard of living of a middle-income oil-producing country. By the time of current events, Iraq's Human Development Index rating had dropped next door to that of Lesotho, a poor, landlocked least-developed country. Therefore the scale of reconstruction in terms of improving the social indicators - the lives of ordinary Iraqi men, women and children - is really considerable, and I think that that, in a sense, will be the critical second phase of our intervention. Let me also say that I think that the reconstruction activities will be characterized by an effort to focus on how the Iraqis themselves, using their own resources and their own human capacities, can take the lead in their own reconstruction. We do not envisage the same huge requirement for external resources, despite the great size of the challenge, that one had seen during this initial humanitarian phase in terms of scale. The resources may be more externally, but, as a proportion of global development spending, they are unlikely to be as dominant as they have been as a proportion of humanitarian spending in recent months, because this is a country that, once its economy is operating properly again, is a rich country with huge human talent able to take a major role in its reconstruction. We were also asked about what is available to us under the oil for food programme. As with our colleagues in the World Food Programme and the other agencies, we are able to make very considerable use of that programme. Under the 3 June deadline, before the current resolution, we had already identified something like $270 million of contracts which we felt could be delivered within the allowable dates up to 3 June and which provided critical priority items in the electricity and other sectors. We now, with the six-month extension, are looking at further contracts with a value of another $250 million. We therefore want to stress that there are major items in the pipeline which are relevant to the infrastructure sectors that we have been addressing. That is rather offset by the fact that we do not believe that we will be able to complete more than half of the major ongoing electricity rehabilitation programme that we are undertaking in the north of the country, which has something like $860 million outstanding of work to do, within the remaining six months of the programme. We were also asked by the representative of Angola to what extent resolution 1483 (2003) changes UNDP's role and mandate. I think that UNDP's role and mandate are not expressly changed by this Security Council resolution, but it is by the Secretary-General's management follow-up, if you like, to that resolution. First, through my role as Chairman of the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), I expect, as I said in my opening statement, to coordinate the activities of that Group on needs assessment and the planning of reconstruction; to ensure that those efforts are made in partnership with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and in partnership with interested donors who wish to participate in these activities; and to ensure that all the undertakings that UNDG members make fully reflect the emerging priorities of the Iraqis themselves. Secondly, as Administrator of UNDP, clearly, I will be focusing UNDP's efforts not just on the continuing infrastructure-rehabilitation role we take on because of the exceptional expertise we have in Iraq because of our role under the oil-for-food programme, but I will also be focusing them on the whole democratic governance mandate, which has become the core of UNDP's global practice. Obviously, we will be seeking to support the emergence of Iraqi government through working on issues such as governance, the strengthening and modernizing of public administration, assistance on rule of law issues, transitional justice, public sector reform and other key issues where we feel that we can offer support. Obviously, we have huge sub-practice areas also in issues such as elections and the strengthening of parliament. So, as those become relevant in Iraq's future, we would expect to provide technical assistance in these areas as well. We were asked the question of both how long it would take to complete the reconstruction and how much it would cost. We have been on record for some months as saying it will be an extremely expensive reconstruction operation, but we very much hope that methods can be found to finance it as much as possible through Iraqi resources, through oil revenue and other income sources available to the Government: first to the Authority and later to an Iraqi Government. With our colleagues in the World Bank, we will obviously be seeking to propose financing mechanisms that maximize the use of internal Iraqi resources and minimize the calls on finite amounts of world development assistance. But I do not think we should hide the fact that there will, nevertheless, be a major call on international donor resources for this extraordinary undertaking that lies ahead of all of us. I was specifically asked about the dredging operation in Umm Qasr, Let me just very quickly say that it is financed both out of a Japanese contribution and from three oil-for-food contributions that we have been able to utilize. Between them, this amounts to something like $43 million. Under these contracts, we are able to pay for heavy dredging of the port. At the moment, the food that the World Food Programme (WFP) is delivering has to be unloaded into small boats before it can be taken to the actual harbourside to be unloaded. Once this dredging programme begins, in a week's time, it is going to be possible, after about a month of dredging, to bring big ships directly to the portside and in so doing accelerate the unloading and distribution of food in a quite dramatic way. Also under one of the oil-for-food contracts - and there are several others in addition to the dredging ones I have mentioned - we will be able to utilize a contract to remove 19 shipwrecks that are blocking entry to the port. We will be able to drag those ships out in the coming weeks. As to how quickly it will all be done, as one of my colleagues observed, dredging ships move slowly, and they are sailing at stately speed towards Umm Qasr as we speak, from the various countries in which we contracted them. Let me just say a word on the United Kingdom's concern about the coordination of humanitarian and reconstruction issues. It is our view that, with the cooperation of interested parties, we would hope, perhaps on the sidelines of the meeting on the revision of the humanitarian appeal in June, to hold a first planning session on reconstruction. We hope that would then allow for extensive work over the summer months here on needs assessment, according to a set of partnerships, principals and approaches agreed at that meeting. This would allow us to return, perhaps by September, with the elements of a reconstruction programme, one that would likely continue to evolve over time, as more authoritative Iraqi voices emerge to broaden the discussion of reconstruction priorities and as a continued process of information and data- gathering allows us to further refine needs as we move forward. But it will be absolutely vital that both the humanitarian assistance and the reconstruction work are on the United Nations side, planned very much together; it is very much Kenzo Oshima's and my objective to keep these two processes - the humanitarian process that he leads here at Headquarters and the reconstruction process that I will lead - closely tied together so that they can move forward together. In response to the question posed by the representative of Mexico about the United Nations capacity to manage this reconstruction, unfortunately we have had a lot of test runs. Post-conflict work has emerged for both UNDP and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) as critical parts of our global activities. In the case of UNDP, there are now some 50 to 60 countries where our Bureau of Crisis Prevention and Recovery is engaged in a variety of activities. We obviously had a deep immersion in post- conflict planning and recovery in Afghanistan just a year ago. But I think that, critically, beyond the capacities of the United Nations institutions themselves, it is the partnerships that we have made with others - particularly in this case with the World Bank and the other international financial institutions - which have made us now into such a formidable force in this area, particularly when we are with a coalition - perhaps I should not use the term coalition - but with a group of donors who also are committed to this process. I think we can mount the kind of effort on the scale required by this situation. I think the Ambassador's second question also provides part of the answer, which is the strength of Iraqi institutions, particularly civil society institutions, in playing their part. It was a comment by my colleagues who served in Iraq before this conflict, and who have returned since, that one of the things that gets so lost in the press coverage of the country is the enormous resilience of civil society organizations, both religious and secular, which in the absence of political freedom to express a point of view became the critical social glue of the society. And I think that utilizing these institutions as partners in the reconstruction is absolutely critical. I think that in saying these things I have not touched on the issue of security. I can only echo the point made by so many of my own colleagues and then picked up by others that, of course, it remains a tremendously difficult issue and one that will have to be addressed effectively. We were asked about demining, which in a sense is a dimension of security. We have sent a demining expert over there to work with colleagues from the United Nations Mine Action Service, the United Nations Office of Project Services and other parts of the United Nations. We are trying to get a handle on the demining problem. This is one area where, clearly, we need to work closely with the Authority, which has several hundred thousand deminers there at the moment. This is obviously something in which the military are very well trained, so we do not want to duplicate what the coalition forces are doing. On the other hand, we would very much like to build a national mine-clearing centre for the long term. So, we will be working with the Authority on how that can be done. Finally, on the question of our relationship with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, let me just say that, obviously, he is going to be very much the lead figure for all of us in Iraq. The kinds of things that we have been talking about today - reconstruction planning and such - are the support that all of us from headquarters will give to that individual and the country team. But, just as Lakhdar Brahimi was our leader for Afghanistan, we look to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to play this same role for all of us in Iraq in the months ahead.

The President: I now give the floor Mr. David Nabarro, Executive Director at the World Health Organization.

Mr. Nabarro: I do not apologize for repeating some of what Mr. James Morris said at the beginning. This interest is extraordinary for us, and I wish all our staff could have been here to witness it. I shall try to convey to them much of what I have heard. I would like to comment under six headings. First, I felt that it was Mexico that fingered the key issue of the complete vacuum in authority and the breakdown of the State. Cameroon asked to what extent there is a problem of leadership in the hospitals. I would reply that it is not so much that leadership is lacking but that leaders of the hospitals are not sure who they are working for. That sense of slight confusion has caused some problems in these early weeks. Again in relation to this vacuum of authority, Germany asked why people were looting. Our experience is the extraordinary phenomenon of Government staff who work in the hospitals: they are absolutely not those who are looting, even though they have the best opportunity to do so. In fact, many of them stayed in their hospitals and themselves stood guard. They went and pleaded with soldiers to come and put their tanks or other defences outside the hospitals. They have also been working for many weeks without pay, and yet they have been turning up to work. So, we must recognize that if there has been looting, it has rarely been the Government workers themselves who have looted; it is others. I am afraid we ourselves in the World Health Organization (WHO) are still quite unable to explain why it has been happening. My second heading is the possible stabilizing influences that we can try to put in place in order to keep things a bit more under control. Most importantly, we feel - as has been said by others - that it is important to restore normality for the time being, to get the system working again. That means that there has to be some visible authority, legitimacy and, of course, security in localities. We were asked, again by Cameroon, about the impact of insecurity in the health sector. Basra is one example. Although it is possible to distribute supplies inside the city, going out to the more isolated parts of the governorate is difficult without a military escort. While it has been possible to negotiate a military escort for distribution on certain occasions, there are other priorities facing the military, and regular escorts have been hard to establish. But there is no doubt that if the services are back and are working and if there is an element of security, then this phenomenon of taking over hospitals and other institutions - which was identified by Germany, Chile and France - is not so likely. We have seen this particularly in smaller institutions in Baghdad. The phenomenon does not seem to have spread too widely, and our view is that the more quickly we can get the systems back and working again as they should, equitably accessible to all, the less likely we are to have sections of the community taking over and running institutions according to their rules. Predictability of life, and confidence in that predictability, matters. That brings me to my third heading: restarting the work of the public service. Many members of the Council have commented on how that can best be done. I agree that involving Iraqis in the response is critical. Secondly, as was said by Mexico, there is the need to restore institutions that are already there - as Mark Malloch Brown just said - and are already strong. But restoring their self-confidence to work again is so important. That is where I would like to pay tribute to the role of the Authority, particularly in recent days, which has explicitly been working hard to let the Iraqi institutions feel empowered again and to encourage links between the United Nations and those institutions. Thirdly, with respect to salaries - thank goodness we are going to get salaries paid shortly. That is going to make such a difference. I heard it said it was to be in Baghdad. I hope it will be more than Baghdad as quickly as possible. Fourthly, with respect to communications, particularly telecommunications, governorates being able to talk to Baghdad matters so much. My fourth heading is coordination. I want to stress that there have been lots of very valuable contributions from Governments to the health sector. Bulgaria, China and Spain described their contributions. The United States and the United Kingdom are making many contributions. It is great that we have many actors involved in the health sector. It means that there is a lot of innovation and new ideas. But it has one disadvantage: it is sometimes difficult to get everybody to work according to common principles, whether those are common principles on how we will work with Iraqis or on how we handle different problems. That leads to a degree of unevenness in the way in which services are being provided. So, as we have these multiple actors involved, let us also emphasize the importance of working together and making coordination effective. That is where the role of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, which is working with different elements of the Government of Iraq, is so important. I think that compared with other settings, the United Nations is doing well, as has already been said. We have a single work programme under the Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq (UNOHCI), and we are very much being encouraged by the Deputy Secretary-General to stick to that. We were asked what our relationship to the Authority was like. All I would say is that it has been quite challenging, and it evolves. But it is utterly different now from what it was like a week ago. I would like to publicly state that I think there is a really new and exciting spirit of working together, in Baghdad and in other places. That is something on which we can all build. I believe that with the resolution that has been passed today, we will be able to do more. Moving to my fifth heading, Syria asked about the situation with the oil for food pipeline, what it was like and how had we been working on it. I would like to give you a quick insight as to what it is like from the health side. The oil for food pipeline has been used to bring at least 20,000 different items of medicines and medical goods into Iraq during the period from 1996 to the present. They were a mix of urgently needed and lower priority goods. What we have done is try to tie it down to a small number of priorities, approximately a thousand. We have also tried within the short time available to increase the number of things coming through that pipeline. But I want to stress that it is not easy trying to keep a pipeline going and make it effective in a situation where the mechanism is being turned on, turned off and changed at quite regular intervals. We are very anxious about how we can take full advantage of the oil for food programme before the 3 June deadline. We are also quite anxious about how we will then be able to make the transition to the new mechanism and get the best out of it before the end of December deadline. I hope that the Council will look at the oil-for-food changeover operation and, if it looks like it needs more time, the Council will say so. In conclusion, this is an alarming situation, as some members of the Council have stated. It is very challenging, but it is fast-moving. Now it looks as though, with the resolution, we have got solidarity with the people of Iraq and convergence, together with a strong commitment from the Authority, expressed here and in Iraq. There is good consensus on issues and approaches. We personally, in the World Health Organization, predict that because of so many positive factors, things will greatly improve in the foreseeable future. We will have in place a system that delivers services to people in the way they need them well before the end of the year. We will continue to provide regular briefings on the health situation on the WHO web site. I hope that this will enable members of the Council to keep up to date with what is happening. I am sorry for rushing those words. Thank you very much for the opportunity to be here.

The President: I now give the floor to Mr. Nils Kastberg, Director at the United Nations Children's Fund.

Mr. Kastberg: Let me begin by endorsing the gratitude expressed by Mr. Morris to you, Sir, and to the rest of the Council. Our colleague from the World Food Programme (WFP) is very humble; I do not think that ever before in history so much food has been moved in such a short time under such circumstances. The WFP is doing brilliant work. Let me also reinforce all the points that my colleagues have made on the issue of coordination. We are not only working very well together; we also happen to be very good friends. Ramiro Lopes da Silva, our Humanitarian Coordinator, is certainly an old colleague and friend. But this coordination also extends to the broader community of the Red Cross movement and to non-governmental organizations. A delegate from Oxfam, for instance, is doing the water coordination on behalf of the system. So we are open to a much broader community as part of a greater collaborative effort. In terms of the questions regarding funds, 50 per cent of the Flash Appeal has been funded as it relates to the United Nations Children's Fund, and we are extremely grateful for that. But obviously we are only half way there. We have a relatively short timescale, so we are looking at strengthening that part. China, Russia and France raised the issue of the recent resolutions - 1472 (2003) and 1476 (2003). We adopted 19 contracts under that oil-for-food programme to a total value of $40 million, and certainly in the context of the new resolution we hope to strengthen routine immunization and additional contracts, at least in water and sanitation, as well as, perhaps, in other areas. Let me turn briefly to three other areas. Syria raised the question of education; the United States made suggestions about reducing malnutrition; and the United Kingdom and Germany spoke about issues of security. With regard to the question from Syria about the rates of enrolment, certainly before the war it was in the region of 75 per cent, which was too low in our opinion. The normalization process has not been completed, and the enrolment rates are therefore still very low - below the earlier figure. We see a need to strengthen that. I would like to make some remarks in that regard. Much of the school system has been dilapidated for years. We have noted that when a school is improved physically, the enrolment rate is higher. That is certainly one area in which we will need to work. In fact, on average we have seen a 35 per cent attendance increase when the physical facilities are improved. Much more work needs to be done in terms of modern teaching methodologies. The curriculum has not been updated for 20 years, and we also know that there are gender discrepancies, with many girls not going to school. We have some schools that are in dangerous locations at the moment because of the problem of landmines and unexploded ordnance. These are issues that will need to be tackled. Certainly there will also be a need for additional schools, because many schools are doing a double shift at the moment. As for the software aspect, the top-down style of teaching certainly needs to be changed in order to promote children's participation. That is a generic type of recommendation that we work on in many places. On secondary education, regrettably, examinations were disrupted. An examination board could not be constituted and therefore it has not been possible to design an examination. That is bad news on the secondary education side. On the primary education side, we are at the moment actually printing the examination booklets and materials for the annual exams, which are supposed to take place quite soon. We hope that at least that part will progress. Again, security questions were raised in relation to school attendance. I will come back to the question of security. In terms of oil-for-food requirements, we would certainly welcome investments in education. I have given examples of some areas that we need to strengthen. Let me turn to the question posed by the representative of the United States regarding our advice on reducing malnutrition. First, we are appreciative of the brilliant work of the World Food Programme, which provides the general food basket. There are certainly a number of areas outside the food area that we need to tackle. The number-one priority is water and sanitation. It is the disruption in that area which, combined with the infant formula - the second point - is causing an enormous increase in diarrhoea. So we will be working with our colleagues in the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization on phasing out the infant formula. It cannot be out immediately, but it needs to be phased out. It needs to be put into more of a therapeutic-type category, or at least combined with an attempt to encourage breastfeeding. The third area is the need to ensure a therapeutic feeding referral system that functions. Obviously that is constrained at the moment because of security considerations. I think that down the line the whole question of the availability of fresh food, and the income to be able to do that, will have a bearing on nutritional levels. Given recent events, the operations of the 3,000 community child centre units have been disrupted. Trying to get them operational again will require outreach to children throughout the country at the community level. Those are some suggestions, and we certainly welcome further dialogue on concrete suggestions. With regard to the questions from Germany and the United Kingdom on the impact of security and how it is felt more keenly, from our perspective, certainly, the fear felt by women and girls about going out is a major constraint. Obviously there is a hesitation on the part of parents to send children to school, and threats to girls by some communities to try to prevent them from going to school are obviously also a concern. Another element is the limitations on the movement of United Nations staff, in terms not only of long-distance travel but actually of travelling inside the cities, which obviously creates difficulties by limiting the outreach of humanitarian actions. A broader type of area security that enables United Nations humanitarian action to engage with local communities is obviously important, therefore, in enhancing freedom of movement. A further point is the repeated lootings. We have improved a number of water treatment plants, generating plants, pumps and so forth. We have made improvements, but they have been looted again. So obviously we are proceeding more keenly on security issues. Other aspects of questions asked by the representatives of Mexico, Germany and other members have been covered by other colleagues, and I will not repeat their replies. I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for having taken the initiative to convene this meeting. Certainly we will convey with appreciation the Council's interest to our colleagues in the field.

The President: I give the floor to the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Mr. Kellenberger: I, too, would like to thank you very much, Mr. President, for the trust that you have placed in the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has, indeed, maintained a strong presence in the field at the most difficult times. I would like simply to tell the Council that it can count on our organization and that we will continue to fulfil the mandate entrusted to the ICRC by the Geneva Conventions, which also cover questions such as persons who are unaccounted for - a matter that has been raised in this meeting. As far as health structures are concerned, especially hospitals, I said in my statement that in fact the hospital situation can vary widely from one place to another. There are administrative problems in some hospitals, and that is one of the reasons why, at an early stage, the ICRC was underlining very forcefully the importance of strengthening administrative structures in general and in the health sector in particular. I would like to tell the Council that I was encouraged by what I heard regarding additional measures to be taken in order to improve security in Iraq. As far as coordination is concerned, I would like to tell the Council that the ICRC, as an independent actor, has previous experience in coordinating our activities with those of United Nations agencies and other humanitarian actors. I think we have had good experiences in the past. I would simply like to say one thing with regard to coordination. Although it goes somewhat without saying, it is perhaps good to repeat it. A precondition for efficient coordination is always to have each actor trying to focus on his core competency and on areas in which he feels he has a competitive advantage. I think that is an important precondition for efficient coordination. I think that all of us humanitarian actors owe it to the donor community to avoid unnecessary duplication. We also owe it to the population of Iraq to carefully identify any gaps that may exist. I thank the Council once again for inviting me to participate in this meeting.

The President: With the concurrence of the members of the Security Council, and in accordance with rule 39 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure, I intend to give the floor to Mr. Kenzo Oshima, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. As I hear no objection, it is so decided. I invite Mr. Oshima to take a seat at the Council table. I thank Mr. Oshima for his participation, and give him the floor.

Mr. Oshima: After hearing my agency colleagues and the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) so extensively and professionally cover the key issues, I am not certain what is left for me to say. But I would like to make a few salient points, if I may. First of all, I too would like to convey my thanks for the support and encouragement expressed by all the members of the Security Council for the work done by United Nations humanitarian agencies. This is very encouraging and important to all of us engaged in the current humanitarian relief activities at Headquarters and, in particular, in the field under very difficult conditions. My own recent visit to Baghdad, Basra and Umm Qasr, and my meetings with many of the actors involved and with the representatives of organizations, including the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) in Baghdad, confirm the key issues that have been touched upon repeatedly in today's discussion. Those issues are, first, security- related problems; secondly, the law and public order situation; and, thirdly, problems related to meeting recurrent costs, including the payment of salaries. My visit also confirmed the impression that, while a humanitarian catastrophe has been averted in Iraq, there are nevertheless very acute humanitarian needs in a number of sectors that must be addressed speedily. The security situation in Iraq, coupled with the serious salary, electricity and fuel problems, among others, clearly raises the prospect of a declining humanitarian situation that, if not addressed rapidly, could soon develop into serious humanitarian problems. We therefore all welcome the measures that have been taken or are being planned by the coalition authorities. Those measures have been explained today by the representatives of the United States and the United Kingdom. They have also been explained to me in my meetings with Ambassador Bremer of ORHA, as well as by the military representatives of the United Kingdom at Basra. This is a welcome step, and we all hope that these additional measures to improve the security situation will really begin to bear fruit soon. I would like to mention that, as far as the coordination of humanitarian relief activities in Iraq is concerned, I believe that we have a reasonably well functioning mechanism in place, starting with the Humanitarian Coordinator, who is responsible for overall coordination, both within the United Nations system and between the United Nations system and other important actors, which of course include non- governmental organizations, our colleagues in the ICRC and, most important, ORHA. I believe we have a good team there working for the same objective, which is to bring relief and assistance to the people in need in Iraq. Along with ORHA, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator and his team have established a cordial operational relationship that is functioning in Baghdad. That working relationship is being duplicated in various areas and in certain governorates in the north, centre and south of Iraq. With regard to the Flash Appeal, as the Deputy Secretary-General mentioned in her remarks, we are looking at revising the Flash Appeal that was launched shortly after the outbreak of the conflict, at the end of March, with a view to revising it in the light of the new situation on the ground, as well as in the light of the resolution adopted by the Security Council today. To the extent possible, we will be conducting a needs assessment, covering as wide an area of the country as possible in order to come up with an appeal that will be sufficient to deal with current humanitarian problems. We intend to launch that revised humanitarian appeal some time in the second half of June. Finally, I wish to say a word regarding the working relationship with the Iraqi people themselves. As has been noted by a number of members today and by my agency colleagues, there is a considerable amount of reliable and capable human resources, high skill levels and an institutional base available in Iraq. It has been disrupted momentarily, but it can be redeployed quickly once the security situation permits and salaries are paid. Already, Iraqi professionals and senior ministerial officials - some of whom I met in Baghdad - have expressed their expectation that they will be consulted and involved early on and at all levels in the priority- setting and planning exercises for the revision of the humanitarian appeal and subsequent reconstruction project. I believe that this wish should be respected as far as possible.

The President: I believe that Mr. Oshima's remarks have summed up the very extensive discussion which we have had this morning and this afternoon with regard to the humanitarian response of the system to the humanitarian situation in Iraq. I think that all of us would agree that this has been a very informative debate and that it has enhanced our understanding of the situation. I am sure that Council members have been reassured by the fact that the key humanitarian needs, such as food, electricity, water, sanitation and medical supplies and facilities, are all being addressed and receiving the attention of all concerned. It is also heartening that the United Nations family seems to be working well together, as was confirmed just now by Mr. Oshima, and that it is working together with local Iraqi authorities, as well as with the coalition partners, now called the Authority under resolution 1483 (2003). Thirdly, it would appear so far that the resources to undertake the humanitarian activities are available, including through the oil for food programme. Perhaps, with the changes that will be made under resolution 1483 (2003), there may be a need somewhere down the line to make a projection of needs and of the resources required to meet them. While we have discussed the humanitarian situation, the role of the United Nations has this morning been broadened considerably by the adoption of resolution 1483 (2003). These are aspects of the work of our Organization which we shall need to review and return to at some future point. I would like to thank all the personalities who participated in this debate: the Deputy Secretary- General, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme, the Executive Director of Sustainable Development and Healthy Environments of the World Health Organization, the Director of the Emergency Programmes of the United Nations Children's Fund, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross and, last but not least, Mr. Kenzo Oshima, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Following informal consultations with Council members and with their concurrence, I now call on the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to make a statement regarding the Council's proceedings this morning.

Mr. Mekdad (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic): It is my pleasure to convey to you once again, Sir, our deep appreciation for all the efforts you have made and the serious work you have undertaken over the past few days. Allow me to explain to you and to the members of the Security Council the decision of the Syrian Arab Republic with respect to resolution 1483 (2003), adopted by the Security Council this morning. We would have voted in favour of the resolution had we been granted the additional time for deliberation before the voting that we requested on more than one occasion. I shall now read out our explanation of vote: "For many years, Syria has called for the sanctions imposed on the Iraqi people to be lifted and for the mitigation of the consequences of the unjust embargo, including malnutrition and the lack of medicines. On the basis of the interest of the Government and people of Syria to improve the conditions of our brothers, the Iraqi people, we believed that we were compelled to vote in favour of the resolution despite our conviction that it fails to rise to the expectations and aspirations of the Iraqi people for their country to be a sovereign and united land and nation, enjoying their natural resources and playing an effective role in both the Arab and the international arenas. "Syria's vote in favour of the resolution can in no way be interpreted as a change in its position of rejecting the war against Iraq as illegitimate. We cannot imagine how the United Nations could legitimize foreign occupation. Along with other States members of the Security Council, Syria attempted to effect fundamental amendments to the draft resolution that were designed to give the United Nations a central role in Iraq and to ensure that the Iraqi people would enjoy the wealth of its country and the speediest possible end to the occupation of its land. "Syria's vote in favour of the resolution is in conformity with its ongoing desire for unity within the Security Council, which we believe to be the fundamental framework for the maintenance of international legitimacy." I wish the position of Syria that I have just read and its implications for the resolution we adopted this out to be reflected in the official records of the Security morning. Council. At a later stage, I shall convey to the . . . . . The meetin rose at 5.30 .m. Secretariat an official letter containing this statement. g p

The President: We take note of the statement made by the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic