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UN: Iraq worse than planned for
04/11/2006 09:00 - (SA)
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| An Iraqi soldier stands guard at a checkpoint in central Baghdad. (Samir Mizban, AP) |
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Geneva - The United Nations refugee agency expressed alarm on Friday at the worsening humanitarian crisis in Iraq.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the situation was worse than it had planned for during the United States-led invasion in 2003, and that it was not being addressed by donors.
Sectarian violence was driving more people to flee for other areas of Iraq or abroad, with about 140 000 abandoning their homes every month.
"UNHCR officials who have just returned from the region warned we are facing an even larger humanitarian crisis than we had initially prepared for in 2002 and 2003," chief UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond was quoted as saying in a statement.
"Yet we're sorely lacking funds to cope with the growing numbers of displaced and increasingly desperate Iraqis needing help within and outside their country."
While the UN agency had a budget of $154m for a feared exodus during the US-led invasion, it now has a budget of $29m to help Iraqi refugees, and that has only been 60% funded.
The international community has pledged billions for reconstruction and development, but much of that has not been spent because of the security situation, and humanitarian programmes have been neglected, he said.
"We're calling for a renewed focus on the humanitarian crisis in the region," said Redmond.
UN says hundreds more will flee
He said the agency had briefed donor countries about its concerns on Thursday.
Its funding gap has already forced UNHCR to suspend some activities, and some of its employees have agreed to defer drawing their salaries to ensure aid continued to reach refugees.
UNHCR estimates that there are at least 1.6 million Iraqis displaced internally, and up to 1.8 million in neighbouring states.
Many fled their homes prior to 2003 but, of the internally displaced, 425 000 left this year.
About 2 000 Iraqis arrive in neighbouring Syria every day, and about 1 000 a day in Jordan, said the agency.
Unless a modicum of security was introduced and the humanitarian situation improved, the agency feared more Iraqis would flee their homes.
"We fear hundreds of thousands more Iraqis who have waited to see an improvement in the situation are now teetering on the brink of displacement," warned Redmond.
"Many urban professionals have already fled. Doctors, teachers, computer technicians and other skilled people crucial to the country's stability and well-being are leaving."
- AFP
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