JULY
IRAQ: IOM suspends operations in Mosul
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) temporarily suspended operations in the northern city of Mosul on 8 July following a rocket-propelled grenade attack on its office over the weekend. "Our work in Mosul has been temporarily suspended and staff relocated to Arbil," the regional coordinator for IOM, Andreas Halbach, told IRIN from Baghdad. During Saturday's attack, a local guard was wounded, and two IOM vehicles and the wall of the compound were damaged. Halbach said IOM's project for internally displaced persons and some other major projects, as well as quick impact programmes (pro-sectoral rehabilitation projects) would be suspended until staff could return to Mosul.
IRAQ: First meeting of Iraqi Governing Council
The US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, which brings together Iraq's diverse mosaic of Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and ethnic Turks, met for the first time on 13 July. Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN special representative to Iraq, called the day "historic," and said the country was "moving back to where it rightfully belongs, at peace with itself and a member of the community of nations." The council announced on Sunday that it would have real political muscle, with the power to name ministers and approve the 2004 budget. A day later it voted to send a delegation to the UN Security Council in the following week and assert its right to represent Baghdad on the world stage.
IRAQ: ICRC worker killed
A member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was killed on 22 July near Hilla, around 100 km south of Baghdad and an Iraqi ICRC driver was wounded. Following the attack, the ICRC was assessing how it can continue operating in Iraq. The ICRC recently expanded the scope of its activities in Iraq, where it has been present without interruption since 1980.
IRAQ: First UN assisted refugee returns
The week staring 28 July marked the first UN assisted return of Iraqi refugees since the fall Saddam Hussein. Some 240 people arrived in the southern city of Basra on 30 July after nearly 12 years in exile in camps in Saudi Arabia. Despite the optimism, UNHCR remained cautious. "UNHCR is glad to see the first group of Iraqi refugees going home, but returns must be kept small and manageable for some time to come," the agency's assistant high commissioner, Kamel Morjane, said. "Due to security problems and the still fragile humanitarian and economic situation inside Iraq, we're only aiding those refugees who want to go back."
AUGUST
IRAQ: UN headquarters bombed
On 19 August 23 people were killed and scores injured after a cement truck packed with explosives ripped through the Canal Hotel, where some 300 UN staff - both local and international - worked. This was the worst attack on the UN in its 58 year history. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello was killed in the attack. The Brazilian born diplomat, with over 30 years of UN service, was on a four-month assignment to bring about peace and stability in the country. "The loss of Sergio Viera de Mello is a bitter blow for the United Nations and for me personally," the Secretary General reportedly said, adding: "Those who killed him have committed a crime, not only against the United Nations, but against Iraq itself."
IRAQ: ICRC scales back as UN agencies proceed with caution
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced on 25 August that it was cutting back operations in the capital, Baghdad, after being warned that it could also be targeted following the devastating blast at the UN's head office. The number of the ICRC's foreign staff in Baghdad was reduced to about 50 as violence continued in many parts of the country. ICRC staff would be moved from Baghdad to offices in northern and southern Iraq, which were regarded as more secure, Nada Doumani, the ICRC's spokeswoman in Iraq, told IRIN. She pointed out that ICRC officials did not have armed guards or vehicles, so the amount of work that could be done in the current climate of insecurity was being reduced.
IRAQ: UN releases human remains following bomb attack
Six days after a truck bomb attack here killed 23 people, the United Nations released the bodies of seven Iraqi UN workers to their families, Nicolaas Rademeyer, a United Nations spokesman involved in the investigation told IRIN. Of the 23 killed in last Tuesday's blast, 19 were UN staff - 11 internationals and 8 nationals.The international staff who died were from several countries,
SEPTEMBER
IRAQ: Mine clearance worker shot dead as more NGOs downsize
An international bomb disposal expert for the UK-based Mines Advisory Group (MAG) was shot dead and his colleague seriously injured while driving along a main road towards Mosul in northern Iraq on 4 September. Ian Rimell, 53, from the UK, and local employee Salem Ahmed Mohammed were on their way home from work when their vehicle was ambushed. "MAG's staff are devastated by the loss of their good friend and colleague," Lou McGrath, MAG's Executive Director, said in a statement.
IRAQ: UN Secretary-General condemns bomb attack
UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan condemned the second suicide bombing in the car park of the UN headquarters in Baghdad on 22 September, in which two people were killed and 19 others injured, according to a UN statement published the same day. The bomb went off shortly after 8:00 a.m. local time in a vehicle which was stopped at an Iraqi police checkpoint located at the entrance of the parking lot used by national staff who work in the compound of the Canal Hotel, where the UN's main offices in Baghdad are located. As it was being inspected, the driver of the vehicle detonated the explosives.
IRAQ: Redeployment of UN staff announced
Following the incidents of two separate bombings at the UN compound in Baghdad in just over a month, the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan announced on 25 September a temporary redeployment of UN international staff in Iraq. "Today there remain 42 in Baghdad and 44 in the north of the country, and those numbers can be expected to shrink further over the next few days," spokesman for the Secretary-General, Fred Eckhard said at UN headquarters in New York. "This is not an evacuation, just a further downsizing, and the security situation in the country remains in constant review," the spokesman explained, emphasising, however, that essential humanitarian activities in Iraq would continue, thanks to the efforts of more than 4,000 national staff in the country.
OCTOBER
IRAQ: UN to carry out safety inspection
The officer in charge of the UN's Iraq mission, Kevin Kennedy, announced on 5 October the arrival of a United Nations assessment team in Iraq later that week to assess the safety of remaining staff there. According to Kennedy, the group was to examine the events surrounding a suicide truck bomb attack on 19 August that killed 23 people, including Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN Special Envoy to Iraq.
IRAQ: Unanimous vote on UN resolution
The UN Security Council voted unanimously in favour of the new UN resolution calling on the US-run Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to return governing authority to the people of that country "as soon as practicable", a statement from UN headquarters in New York said on 16 October. The resolution also invited the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) to provide a timetable, by 15 December 2003, for drafting a new constitution and holding democratic elections. In addition, the Security Council urged member states to contribute to a multinational force in Iraq to maintain security under a unified command until the establishment of a representative government, at which time the force's mandate would expire. It decided to review the requirements and mission of the force within one year.
TURKEY: Third convoy of relief aid sent to Iraq
A convoy of trucks carrying relief aid from the Turkish Red Crescent to 500 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Iraq crossed into the country on 20 October. At a total cost of US $330,000, this was the third time the Turkish Red Crescent had sent aid to Iraq. The present consignment would be transported in five stages and would eventually supply 2,500 IDPs in the capital, Baghdad. The convoy of six trucks was carrying 2,000 mattresses, tents, blankets, stoves and packets of food for 500 people, along with medical supplies.
IRAQ: Findings on safety and security released
The safety of UN staff in Iraq was again at the forefront this week as Martti Ahtisaari, Chair of the Independent Panel on the Safety and Security of UN Personnel in Iraq, released his findings on 22 October at UN headquarters in New York. "Adequate security arrangements may not have been able to prevent the attack, but would certainly have minimised the vulnerability of staff and, perhaps, would have reduced the number of casualties," he said. The panel, which was set up following the 19 August truck bombing in which 23 people were killed, concluded that the United Nations Security Management System was dysfunctional and provided little guarantee of security to UN staff in Iraq or other high-risk environments.
IRAQ: ICRC bombed
A serious of bomb blasts rocked Baghdad on 27 October, one targeting the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross, killing in total 30 people and injuring 200. Two ICRC workers were killed, leading to the withdrawal of international staff and downscaling of operations in the country.
IRAQ: NGOs cautiously welcome aid pledges
NGOs said they were pleased with donor commitment to Iraq at the Madrid conference held on 23 and 24 October, but raised concerns over rifts between nations over the war in Iraq and deteriorating security. At the Madrid donors' conference, more than US $33 billion was pledged for Iraq's reconstruction over the next four years, well short of the World Bank's assessment of $56 billion needed to rebuild the country. Of the pledges, nearly two-thirds were from the US.
NOVEMBER
IRAQ: Maternal deaths triple since 1990, says UNFPA
Maternal deaths in Iraq have tripled since 1990 due to a crumbling health system, a new report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) revealed in the week starting 3 November. The study found that bleeding, ectopic pregnancies and prolonged labour were among the causes of the reported 310 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2002. This figure had risen from 117 deaths in 1989. Miscarriages had also risen, partly due to stress and exposure to chemical contaminants, the report said. More than 65 percent of women were giving birth at home and the majority do not have any help, the report said. This was due to deteriorating security, poor communication and transport systems, making it difficult for women to access medical facilities.
IRAQ: More than 20,000 Iraqis dead since war started
A new report by in the international health charity Medact released early November estimated that more than 20,000 Iraqi's had died between the start of the war and the end of October. A report published at the end of October by the US-based research group, Project on Defence Alternatives maintained that some 13,000 Iraqis, including 4,300 non-combatants, were killed during the war.
IRAQ: Bush announces speed up in power transfer
In a major shift of policy, US President George Bush announced on 13 November that the US was taking steps to speed up the transfer of power in Iraq. "We want the Iraqis to be more involved in the governance of their country," Mr Bush told reporters at the White House. The announcement came after mounting calls from other nations and aid agencies for the handover of power to the Iraqi people as security deteriorates in the country.
IRAQ: NGO suspends operations after Nasiriyah bombing
The UK-based Caritas NGO temporarily suspended operations in the southern city of Nasiriyah after 13 of its workers were wounded, one of them seriously, in a suicide bomb attack on the Italian police base on 13 November. Sixteen Italian military and police personnel, two Italian civilians and eight Iraqis died and a further 79 were wounded in the attack.
IRAQ: Progress made on return of Kurdish refugees in Iraq
As a result of talks between senior US, Turkish, Iraqi and UN officials in the Turkish capital, Ankara on 13 November, Turkish Kurds living in northern Iraq could soon be moving back to the homes they fled almost 10 years ago. The talks were between the visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Arthur Dewey, senior Turkish and Iraqi officials and UNHCR representatives. There are some 12,000 Turkish Kurds living in northern Iraq today, most of them in the Mahmur camp in the southeast of the northern governorate of Arbil, home to some 9,000 refugees, with the others living in cities.
IRAQ: Focus on Oil-for-Food handover
After months of negotiations, WFP hands over nearly 900 United Nations Oil-For-Food contracts covering food, transport and handling equipment to the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) running Iraq, and the Iraqi trade ministry on 21 November. According to plans laid down by recent UN Security Council resolution 1483, no new Oil-for-Food contracts were signed with effect from 21 November.
IRAQ: First group of UN assisted refugees from Iran return
The first group of assisted Iraqi refugees arrived home from Iran on 19 November. They were driven into southern Iraq with the help of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and NGOs. The refugees were from the Ashrafi camp in southwestern Iran, which is home to the largest community of Iraqi refugees, who arrived there over the last three decades. There are about 202,000 in all in the country, mainly in the west, with 48,000 sheltered in 22 camps overseen by the Iranian government
DECEMBER
IRAQ: New UN report released
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan released a report on Iraq in the week starting 8 December, stating that basic human rights had improved, but that insurgency could not be resolved solely by military action; what was needed was a political response from a more inclusive governing body. The report said security could be tightened for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, now based mainly in Cyprus, but that would be time-consuming and very costly to effect. Annan also appointed an Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Iraq. "I am naming a senior person to run the UN operations from the region, and that individual is Mr Ross Mountain, who has had extensive experience with the UN and in other crisis areas from East Timor to Afghanistan, to Lebanon, to Haiti. He will be in charge of our office, which will be based in Nicosia, and with a presence also in Amman."
IRAQ: NGOs sceptical over change in security
While initial bursts of celebratory gunfire and people dancing in the streets marked the capture of the former dictator, Saddam Hussein, on 13 December, international aid agencies remaining in Baghdad said the event was unlikely to have a positive effect on the security situation. Business quickly returned to normal, as people questioned each other about whether the man in American custody really was their former president. "I don't think it will help us as an NGO," Heide Feldemann, the programme director of Help, a German NGO, told IRIN in Baghdad.
IRAQ: War crimes tribunal established
Iraqi leaders created a special tribunal to prosecute people suspected of crimes against humanity, with backing from the US-led administration, it was announced on 11 December. A five-judge panel will hear the cases of suspected war criminals and those accused of gross human rights violations in Iraq using local laws, Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, the rotating president of the US-appointed Governing Council said in a press conference in Baghdad. However, international standards will be applied, including Geneva Conventions on war signed in 1949. Numerous international experts would be involved, said a Coalition official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
IRAQ: Annan meets advisory group
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan met his advisory group on Iraq for the first time on 1 December, a move aimed at persuading countries in the region to support the same approach to the post-conflict country, a UN statement said. At the end of the meeting, Ambassador John Negroponte of the United States told reporters Annan had said he would appoint an acting Special Representative for Iraq very soon, but gave no details. The group, meanwhile, shared ideas with Annan for improving Iraq's economic development, political outlook and military and police security.
