MIDDLE EAST: Weekly round-up Number 13 for 12-18 March 2005

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

Key Humanitarian Developments in Iraq

Earlier this week, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the convening of the transitional national assembly of Iraq in Baghdad on Wednesday.

In a statement, Annan said this marked an important step in the country's political transition process and hoped that the transitional government would be formed quickly so that the national constitution could be drafted.

In an address to the assembly, as it was inaugurated, the UN Special Representative for Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, said that the Secretary-General wished to assure the Iraqi people and their elected representatives that the United Nations would continue to support their efforts in the political and economic reconstruction of their country.

In addition, on a visit to the southern city of Basra this week, Qazi noted that the UN remained engaged in southern Iraq through the work of its local staff and implementation partners.

The UN Assistance Mission to Iraq (UNAMI) has recently opened a liaison office in Basra to coordinate and oversee activities in the south. Depending on security, UNAMI officials said they hoped to increase the scope and scale of humanitarian operations.

Nearly 24 UN funds, programmes and agencies are working under UNAMI to provide humanitarian support to Iraq and coordinate international aid.

Mid-week, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced it was assisting in the training of 12 Iraqi civil servants in a 10-day session for tracking donors.

"The Iraqi administration needs a clear picture and understanding of where rehabilitation projects are being implemented, who is the funding source, what sectors are involved, in which region, and how they link to other aspects of reconstruction such as the National Development Strategy," said Annie Demirjian, UNDP focal point for the project launched in Amman, capital of neighbouring Jordan.

Training will be given to the 12 participants in management and operation of the Donor Assistance Database (DAD) to be housed in the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation in Baghdad, a UNDP statement said. DAD is a web-based information collection, tracking and planning tool to immediately identify who is doing what where.

Similar databases have already been successfully created by UNDP in other post-crisis countries to coordinate rehabilitation efforts and avoid overlaps, such as Afghanistan.

"Our role is to enhance the managerial and technical capacity of ministry staff so they can confidently use this database as a unique planning tool," Demirjian said. "The key to sustainability is that the database be owned and operated by local resources."

Meanwhile, the international media reported on Friday that the trial of a Dutch businessman accused of selling chemicals to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to make nerve and mustard gas, was due to open in Rotterdam.

Frans van Anraat is accused of war crimes and genocide for selling chemicals allegedly used in the 1988 attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja, where more than 5,000 people died. In the past, van Anraat denied being aware of the attack.

According to prosecutors, evidence for the case against van Anraat was obtained from the former head of Iraq's chemical weapons programme, Ali Hassan al-Majid, otherwise known as Chemical Ali. He was charged with masterminding the mustard gas Hallabja attack.

A warrant for van Anraat's arrest for alleged export violations was issued by the US while he was living in Iraq for more than 10 years up until the conflict in 2003, according to a BBC report.

After the toppling of Saddam's regime in April 2003, van Anraat returned to the Netherlands where he was arrested in December 2004.

CONTENTS:

IRAQ: Ethnic tension on the rise in Kirkuk
IRAQ: New assembly meets amid tight security but no agreement made
IRAQ: Evidence of insurgents using child soldiers
IRAQ: UN concerned over suspected looting of dual-use sites
SYRIA: Interview with UNDP Resident Representative

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