Annan Says U.S. Responsible for Iraq Aid

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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Looks like Annan is kicking Bush to remind him that the world won’t allow occupation.

Annan Says U.S. Responsible for Iraq Aid

Secretary-General Kofi Annan told U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday that the United States is legally responsible for providing humanitarian aid to Iraqis “gravely affected by the war” in areas controlled by coalition forces.

President Bush promised on Sunday that “massive amounts of humanitarian aid should begin moving with the next 36 hours.” No aid has materialized, and Annan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and international aid agencies warn of a humanitarian crisis.

Scrambling to answer critics, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer blamed Saddam Hussein’s regime for slowing the flow of $105 million in U.S. aid by placing mines in the southern port of Umm Qasr, a key transport point on the Persian Gulf.

Annan stressed to Rice that the United Nations was prepared to provide humanitarian assistance but could not until security conditions allowed the safe return of U.N. staff, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

“Until then, humanitarian assistance would have to be provided by the United States and its coalition partners in those areas under their control,” he said.

Russia and other Security Council members emphasize that under the Geneva Conventions, occupying forces are responsible for providing humanitarian goods to sustain the population.

The U.S. and British decision to attack Iraq despite failing to get U.N. backing for war left the council deeply divided. Russia, France, Germany and China — which believed Saddam could have been disarmed peacefully through U.N. inspections — want to ensure that the immediate humanitarian costs of the war are paid by the United States and not the United Nations.

But the United Nations will still be a major humanitarian player in postwar Iraq.

Before the war, the U.N. oil-for-food program provided food, medicine and humanitarian aid to 60 percent of Iraq’s 22 million people — over 13 million Iraqis.

The program allows the country to sell unlimited quantities of oil provided the money goes mainly to buy food, medicine and other humanitarian goods. The proceeds from oil sales are deposited in a U.N.-controlled escrow account.

Annan wants to revive the program as quickly as possible, but a resolution to allow the secretary-general to run the program for 45 days is stalled. Russia, Syria and others insist it must not sanction the war or give the United States control over the escrow account, which contains billions of dollars, to pay for humanitarian relief.

The council scheduled closed consultations for Wednesday to discuss the proposed resolution. In another initiative, Annan is to meet Wednesday with heads of U.N. funds and humanitarian relief programs to discuss an appeal to donors for humanitarian aid of close to $2 billion.

Rice talked to Annan about adjustments to the oil-for-food program sought by the Bush administration, the U.S. scenario for postwar Iraq, and Washington’s desire to return sovereignty to the Iraqi people as soon as possible, said U.S. spokesman Richard Grenell.

Annan said any United Nations role in postwar Iraq beyond the provision of humanitarian assistance must be approved by the Security Council in a new resolution. He also emphasized the need to maintain Iraq’s territorial integrity “and the right of its people to determine their political future and exercise control over their natural resources,” Eckhard said.

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Is this guy for real? DUH

what kind of UN is this anyway? :rolleyes:

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Re: Annan Says U.S. Responsible for Iraq Aid

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by spoon: *
**Secretary-General Kofi Annan told U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday that the United States is legally responsible for providing humanitarian aid to Iraqis "gravely affected by the war" in areas controlled by coalition forces.

...] Russia and other Security Council members emphasize that under the Geneva Conventions, occupying forces are responsible for providing humanitarian goods to sustain the population.**
[/QUOTE]

Geneva Conventions ? No, those only apply selectively.

As an aside, Annan is right to highlight the responsibility of the US in this issue. i just don't think at this point that it is one of the priorities of the US government.

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Re: Re: Annan Says U.S. Responsible for Iraq Aid

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Nadia_H: *

i just don't think at this point that it is one of the priorities of the US government.
[/QUOTE]

It's very important.

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Re: Re: Re: Annan Says U.S. Responsible for Iraq Aid

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by underthedome: *

It's very important.
[/QUOTE]

Under wished that you would be in power but that one right now has less care for it.

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Re: Re: Re: Annan Says U.S. Responsible for Iraq Aid

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by underthedome: *
It's very important.
[/QUOTE]

Sorry, but with the utmost respect i am not so certain it is.

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Re: Re: Re: Annan Says U.S. Responsible for Iraq Aid

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by underthedome: *

It's very important.
[/QUOTE]

Bull "facting" ****.

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First Major Relief Convoy Rolls Into Iraq As Coalition Seeks to Clear Way for More Shipments

The Associated Press
UMM QASR, Iraq The first sizable relief convoy rolled into Iraq in a sandstorm Wednesday as allied forces struggled to clear the way for more aid shipments, using dolphins to remove mines from waterways and trying to subdue Iraqi fighters in the city of Basra.

Three days after President Bush promised “massive amounts” of humanitarian aid, seven large, battered tractor-trailers entered Umm Qasr carrying food and water donated by Kuwaitis. The convoy was escorted by U.S. soldiers.

“We planned for 30 trucks but we only got seven loaded because of the severe sandstorm,” said E.J. Russell of the Humanitarian Operations Center, a joint U.S.-Kuwaiti agency. The storm cut visibility to about 100 yards.

Hundreds of cases of water were stacked on three of the semis. The rest carried boxes of tuna, crackers, sweets and other food.

As the trucks lumbered past blasted buildings on the Iraq-Kuwait border, an Iraqi boy about 10 pointed to his mouth and shouted “Eat, eat!”

After days of fierce fighting that shut down the city of Umm Qasr, Iraqi youths cheered and swarmed British troops as they handed out yellow meal packets and bottles of water Wednesday. The troops, already in the city, were not part of the aid convoy.

“Umm Qasr is now secure as a port and as a town,” said Brig. Jim Dutton of the Royal Marines.

The town’s deepwater port is needed for any relief effort.

Plans to bring supplies to Iraqi civilians had been on hold for days because of fighting across southern Iraq. On Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice that the United States is legally responsible for providing relief aid.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer blamed Saddam Hussein’s regime for slowing the flow of $105 million in U.S. aid by placing mines in the port of Umm Qasr.

U.S. Navy helicopters flew two dolphins Makai and Tacoma into Umm Qasr, where they were to begin ferreting out mines Wednesday ahead of ships carrying relief supplies.

A British ship, the Sir Galahad, moved into the Khor Abdallah river Tuesday night with 211 tons of food and 101 tons of bottled water. It was to head up to Umm Qasr on Wednesday.

Iraqis have about five weeks of food left, according to estimates by the World Food Program. About 13 million people 60 percent of Iraq’s 22 million are completely dependent on food handouts

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20030326_464.html

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Jubilation turns to hate as aid arrives, Burhan Wazir, The Guardian, 26 March 2003

The young man wearing the brown shawl summed it up succinctly: “We want you to go back home. We do not want your American and British aid,” he said, his eyes flashing with anger.

If the British humanitarian taskforce had any doubts as to the legitimacy of his claims, the sudden burst of gunfire from a nearby building left no one in any doubt.

The first attempt to deliver aid to the Iraqi people was, in all respects, a practical and logistical disaster. A convoy of vehicles, including two water tankers and as many Warrior armoured vehicles, had set off from the abandoned Shaiba airfield earlier. The intent was to deliver food and water to win over the hearts and minds of the beleaguered Iraqis.

As the convoy pulled up inside the town, however, a crowd of predominantly young men ran towards it. Fights and skirmishes broke out for bottles of water. Iraqis asked for food and cigarettes. And while a cordon was quickly created, hundreds rushed towards the trucks, overpowering the soldiers.

“We have had no water and no food,” said Ali Abdullah, 50. He stood away from the crowd, stroking his beard and surveyed the scene intently as crowds of young men fought over the water.

“For five days now, we have been without electricity. Have you brought some electricity?”

The exercise had been beset with a number of difficulties from the outset. On leaving the nearby Shaiba airfield - a series of abandoned hangers, runways and outbuildings on the road to Basra - there had been innumerable delays as reports of violence filtered back from Zubayr. Earlier, there had been a delay in confirming security in the town.

Inside Zubayr, however, the distribution initially began with good nature. Young men joked with each other, smiled and passed around bottles of water. Within 10 minutes,however, an undercurrent of resentment flowed to the surface. The war, the bombing, sanctions and their cumulative toll all boiled over.

Jalil Ali, 25, the young Iraqi in the brown shawl, asked if any of the humanitarian aid was being provided by Americans.

“Take it back,” he yelled, pretending to push it away. “We want the Americans to go back home. We do not need them here. Go back home. I do not need this.”

Around him, his friends giggled. Not far away, people rushed out of earthen buildings and raced down a dual carriageway. Ali, however, seemed to realise the irony only too well. “They bomb. And now they want to give water and food. How can they do both? How?” It was then that the gunfire erupted.

Earlier, the soldiers had been optimistic but pensive. After enduring a rainy and windy night in the disused hanger at the Shaiba airfield, the convoy had been well intentioned. It was a curious sight: a line of trucks bearing much-needed humani tarian aid - aid that betrayed all the hallmarks of an occupying force, but aid nonetheless. The Iraqis, while initially jubilant, were quickly sceptical.

“I need electricity,” said Moyed Abdullah, 33. “I need to power my house. See the electricity lines? They are not working; they have not been working for days. Do you bring any electricity?”

Around him, British and US soldiers struggled to control the crowds. Time and again, the Iraqis were pushed back - always, they seemed to slip in under the makeshift rope-line. After a while, it seemed, it was better simply to stand back and wait for the inevitable to happen.

The burst of gunfire from across the road finally stopped all attempts to supply the aid. As soldiers leapt into the jeeps, a Warrior turned round and took out the position the gunfire had come from. And with daylight fast fading, the humanitarian task force decided to speed back to its base at Shaibah airfield.

Tomorrow, they will undoubtedly try again to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi civilians. And presumably tomorrow, they will encounter yet more resentment.

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Looks like the poorest people of Iraq are paying the ultimate price for the US’s illegal invasion and colonization.

Convoy hijacked in aid ‘disaster’, Ryan Dilley, BBC, 27 March 2003

The much heralded operation to distribute humanitarian aid to the people of the Iraqi border town of Safwan on Wednesday has been a “disaster”, according to the vice chairman of the Kuwaiti Red Crescent - the organisation which despatched the lorry convoy of food parcels.

Dr Hilal Al-Sayer told BBC News Online that the tens of thousands of prepared meals and ration kits of rice, oil, sugar and cereals destined for farms just north of the Iraqi border, had instead been hijacked soon after leaving Kuwait. “That aid didn’t get to the farms where the women and children are, our people lost control and young Iraqi men began emptying the trucks,” he said. “It went to the well, young and healthy.”

Mr Al-Sayer says British troops advised staff from the Red Crescent (the local equivalent of the Red Cross) to abandon almost all their lorries to the crowd, since it was considered too dangerous to intervene to save the estimated 45,000 meal packs. "We didn’t expect this sort of aggression. One of our workers phoned me to say that he had been hit on the head as these people threw the boxes from the trucks.

“This desperation shows the poverty in which these people have lived,” said Mr Al-Sayer.

Kuwaiti Red Crescent convoys have been trying to cross over into the areas of Iraq occupied by US-led forces for several days, but have been delayed because of security fears. The arrival of aid in Safwan was heralded by some as a sign that Washington and London were making good on promises to feed the Iraqi people. However, only two lorry loads of aid reached the farms as intended, where Mr Al-Sayer says it was handed out “very nicely” to families.

Mr Al-Sayer says he hopes the chaotic scenes of Wednesday will not be repeated again. “The aid was there, but not the organisation. We will do better next time.”

The border area around Safwan and Umm Qasr - where the arrival of a British army water tanker on Wednesday also prompted ugly scenes - is only very sparsely populated. If aid proves difficult to deliver in this region, it raises questions about how easy it will be to feed the populations of larger towns and cities. “We will get it right in Safwan, but Basra will be a different kettle of fish for us,” said Mr Al-Sayer.

Other aid agencies ready in the region say Wednesday’s Safwan convoy has “raised some concerns”. Eileen Burke from Save The Children says her organisation carefully assesses local needs and sets up a distribution network before sending in any aid. "We identify the families most in need, so that we can target them with the aid.

“We then make sure it goes to the right people and that they do take it home to their families,” she told BBC News Online. The fighting in southern Iraq has seen most aid workers flee the country, meaning there is little reliable information about the needs of the Iraqi people and what supplies will be needed to help them, says Mercy Corp’s Cassandra Nelson. “We’re relying on second-hand reports.”

Iraqis are reliant on aid. Before the war, the UN was bringing 3,500 tonnes of aid into Umm Qasr’s port every day. The fighting has seen this UN operation shut down and the port is yet to reopen. Reports also suggest Safwan is no longer secure enough for aid to be sent there.

“Security is our biggest concern. Securing the area for our aid should be the military’s number one priority,” said Ms Nelson. Several aid agencies say they are unwilling to send in lorries escorted by US-led forces, for fear this will destroy their impartiality and neutrality in the conflict.

However, it is still too dangerous to send unarmed convoys over the border. “There are reports of looting and lawlessness,” says Ms Nelson. **“If it is this bad just over the border, I can’t imagine what it is like heading deeper into Iraq.” **

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A letter from the Secretary General of Amnesty International, Irene Khan: Iraqis’ rights: Protecting the innocent.

I don’t think she’s just talking about Iraq…

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Aid agencies say UN should run the country, Charlotte Denny and Ian Black
The Guardian, 3 May 2003

Aid agencies called for the United Nations to take over running Iraq yesterday and warned that the power vacuum was threatening to undermine efforts to deliver vital relief supplies.

Just a day after President Bush declared military operations over, Britain’s five biggest aid agencies and their Muslim counterparts described the situation in the country as “serious and deteriorating”.

Broken water plants and sewage systems threaten to spread disease epidemics, according to the agencies, and hospitals, already under strain before the war, are struggling to cope with serious outbreaks of disease.

“The people of Iraq are suffering,” the agencies said. “In parts of the country, the situation is critical. Hospitals are overwhelmed, diarrhoea is endemic and the death toll is mounting. Clean water is scarce and diseases like typhoid are being reported in southern Iraq.”

The agencies said occupying forces were failing in their duties under the Geneva convention to ensure the orderly delivery of humanitarian assistance.

Local militias have forced people out of their homes and threatened hospitals, aid workers reported.

“In a country made up a mosaic of ethnic, religious and tribal groups, this can only lead to more turbulence and more misery for those civilians caught in between.”

To fill the power vacuum, the agencies said the UN had to be put in charge of Iraq’s transition to democracy.

“**For any solution to be sustainable, the UN has to have a central role in overseeing and managing the transition to a representative, accountable and democratic Iraqi government,” the agencies said.

“Time is running on, and still there has been no agreement on the role of the UN in the coordination or reconstruction of the country.”**

Britain and the rest of Europe would prefer to see the UN in charge of running the country, but hardliners in Washington have scorned the idea, preferring to put a ‘made in America’ stamp on the reconstruction effort led by the retired US general Jay Garner.

Poul Nielson, the EU’s aid commissioner is expected to stress the need for the UN to be given a central role when he visits Baghdad next week.

Mr Nielson, a critic of the US-led war, is to meet senior officials from the UN and the Red Cross. It is not clear whether he will meet Mr Garner.

EU countries want a new UN resolution to create a clear international legal framework for postwar Iraq.

The union has allotted allocated €31m (£24m) aid to Iraq since the war began, distributing the money through the Red Cross, Unicef, and other aid agencies. It is now considering whether to set up its own Baghdad office.

The EU’s first aid delivery was held up last night after the US refused permission for its plane to land in Baghdad.

A diplomatic source said the plane was to have flown via Turkey, but the United States was concerned it might be shot at when it entered Iraqi airspace.

Virgin’s chief executive, Richard Branson, flew into Basra airport yesterday with 60 tonnes of medical supplies aboard the first commercial airliner to arrive in Iraq since the war.

The UN also landed its first supplies last night in Umm Qasr in a ship carrying 14,000 tonnes of rice.

But with the security situation preventing free movement around the country, aid agencies said delivering the supplies would be a challenge.

The World Food Programme said rice would be distributed by the end of May, when households are are likely to run short of supplies.

Before the war, Umm Qasr handled most of the humanitarian aid shipped to Iraq under the UN oil-for-food programme, which allowed Iraq to sell oil to buy food and medicine.

About 60% of Iraq’s population was estimated to be dependent on food rations delivered since 1997 to offset the effects on civilians of international sanctions.

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Iraq set to swallow up countless billions as costs soar, US admits, Suzanne Goldenberg and Jamie Wilson
The Guardian, 28 August 2003

The US government, which is spending $4bn a month keeping its troops in Iraq, admitted yesterday that the cost had risen rapidly, and that the price of reconstruction was “almost impossible to exaggerate”.

Bremer: Iraq Effort to Cost Tens of Billions
Peter Slevin and Vernon Loeb, Washington Post, 27 August 2003

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Re: Annan Says U.S. Responsible for Iraq Aid

american puppet :rocketup: :2guns: