UN urges stepping up measuring to aid Iraq

A senior UN official has urged stepping up measures to provide the Iraqi people with more humanitarian aid.

“It’s imperative at this critical time we do more to mitigate the suffering of the Iraqi people. Much has been done, but the needs continue to increase and more is needed,” UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien said in a statement.

O’Brien made the remarks after paying a two-day visit to Iraq. During his official trip to the country, he visited the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, where he met people recently displaced from Ramadi, in the restive province of Anbar, which has been the scene of deadly clashes between Iraqi forces and the ISIL Takfiri militants.

The UN official also paid a visit to a camp for internally displaced people as well as Syrian refugees in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region,

"All the families I spoke with had heart-breaking stories of fear, flight, loss and grief. International humanitarian law obliges all those engaged in fighting to protect civilians during hostilities, including by refraining from targeting them,” urged the UN official.

O’Brien sat for talks with Iraqi officials, including Iraqi President Fuad Masum and Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jafaari in Baghdad and some authorities in Erbil, discussing progress and challenges in delivering humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people.

“I emphasized the commitment of the United Nations and partners to work closely with the authorities in the delivery of humanitarian assistance. We are committed to meet the most urgent needs, wherever they arise,” he noted. 

Expressing concerns about the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Iraq, he encouraged Iraqi officials “to continue the generosity displayed so far.”

The UN relief chief also called on the international community to provide the world body with enough funds, so that it can meet the most basic needs of the Iraqi people.

“We urgently need $497 million to provide shelter, food, water and other life-saving services over the coming six months. This is the bare minimum to cover the most basic needs in Iraq. In actuality, the needs are far greater and we wish we could ask for – and receive – the full amount we need,” said O’Brien.

“It is my job to remind the international community that behind every statistic stands a child, woman or a man. We must not let the people of Iraq down,” he stressed.

The ISIL Takfiri group launched its campaign of violence in Iraq in June 2014, when its militants took control of the country’s second largest city, Mosul. Iraqi army, backed by volunteer fighters, are currently fighting the terrorists to win back militant-held regions in joint operations.

IA/NN/HRB

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