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--------- Begin forwarded message ---------- From: "UN News Service" <UNNews@un.org> To: <news11@list.un.org> Subject: REPRESENTATIVE IRAQI BODY VITAL FOR RECONSTRUCTION EFFORTS - UN AID OFFICIAL Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 12:00:53 -0400 Message-ID: <000201c33a69$caf92ad0$720a960a@un.org> REPRESENTATIVE IRAQI BODY VITAL FOR RECONSTRUCTION EFFORTS - UN AID OFFICIAL New York, Jun 24 2003 12:00PM The top United Nations aid official for Iraq made a strong plea today for the establishment of a representative Iraqi interim administration, without which he said the world body could not even begin to assess or address the reconstruction needs of the war shattered country. "Without an Iraqi entity being in place, we cannot even begin our task," the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, Ramiro Lopes da Silva, told an informal meeting of UN relief agency officials and other interested parties at UN Headquarters in New York. Mr. Lopes da Silva, who also highlighted the adverse impact on UN operations of the lack of security, which was producing "a siege like mentality," said: "A fundamental precursor to any process is the establishment of a representative Iraqi interim administration to lead the re-construction process. "The absence of a platform that permits the Iraqi people to express their expectations is one of the main immediate constraints in the (UN) planning process," he added. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, who was consulting with all sectors of Iraqi society, defined the major challenge facing the UN as being "to interpret the aspirations of the Iraqi people and respond to these needs," Mr. Lopes da Silva declared. Turning to the security issue, he said that although the United States-run Provisional Authority had taken determined steps to address the general lack of law and order, criminals were increasingly organized, armed resistance against the coalition continued, and "lack of security continues to inhibit our action." Referring to the general feeling of insecurity, he said: "Commercial activity is restricted as people stay at home, children are not sent to school, and a siege mentality is in evidence. Looting and re-looting of rehabilitated infrastructures is creating a deep sense of frustration among the population and the humanitarian community. Limitation of UN staff movement affects assessment and delivery capacity." The Provisional Authority was committed to improving the situation, he added, but "given the magnitude of the task and the need to retrain the Iraqi police, the agencies recognize that the situation is unlikely to improve quickly." 2003-06-24 00:00:00.000 ________________ For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news To change your profile or unsubscribe go to: http://www.un.org/news/dh/latest/subscribe.shtml --------- End forwarded message ---------- ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk