MIDDLE EAST: Weekly round-up Number 28 for 24-30 June 2005

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

Key Humanitarian Developments in Iraq

Tuesday was the first anniversary of the return of sovereignty to Iraq following the US-led coalition invasion. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, speaking to journalists on Monday, said he believed that continuing insecurity in Iraq would not be resolved through military means. He said that a political settlement was the only way to achieve any lasting peace and this would entail talks between all the parties involved, including the insurgents.

“I think everybody agrees that it is essential that one makes the process in Iraq as inclusive and participatory as possible and also try to reconcile the Iraqis,” he said. “I think reconciliation and participation is part of the process, so if one can pull as many people in, it is important, because there is no military solution. You have to, as such, you need to bring in everyone,” he continued.

Annan responded when pressed on whether or not he would expect US forces to attend talks with insurgents.

"I think it's part of the process to try and resolve this politically and I think to try to explain to everyone in Iraq what they have to gain by coming into the process. So I have no difficulties with that. I think it is the correct thing to do."

Annan met US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday. After their meeting a statement was issued, saying their discussions had included the situation in Iraq. Annan had described to Rice the work of the UN electoral and constitutional teams in Iraq at their meeting.

"They agreed on the need to reach out to the Sunni community and that closer consultation between the United Nations and the United States would be useful and necessary," the UN spokesman said.

Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Hamud-Bidan said on Tuesday that his country wants to reduce the proportion of its oil revenues paid to the United Nations to compensate for damage caused by the Gulf War, according to an AFP report. An anonymous source told AFP that Hamud-Bidan had indicated to the regular meeting of the UN Compensation Commission's Governing Council in Geneva that it was considering a reduction from the current five percent to a figure of one percent.

The Governing Council holds quarterly meetings to examine claims and manage compensation payments to individuals, companies or governments following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the Gulf War in 1991.

Meanwhile, the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani, opened a three-day workshop in the Jordanian capital, Amman, attended by some 30 employees of NGOs involved in Iraqi human rights. The meeting aimed to help develop their work on several fronts: to promote their participation in advocacy work and human rights promotion at national, regional and international levels; to help to develop strategies for dealing with past, current and future human rights violations; to help build a network for sharing information and developing collaboration.

The workshop was organised by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to enable them to work as a more efficient and cohesive force in Iraq.

Iraq hopes to bolster its sovereignty by putting the country's official domain name on the internet within weeks, according to National Communications and Media Commission chief Siyamend Othman, speaking to the Jordanian news agency Petra-JNA in Amman.

"We hope to announce very soon the return of Iraq's domain name '.iq' back on the internet," Othman said. "We are at the final stages of negotiations for the return of '.iq' and we are quite optimistic that we can do so in the coming weeks."

Othman was attending an Iraq Development Programme (IDP) sponsored meeting. The London-based IDP seeks to promote and facilitate commercial development within Iraq, generate investment revenue, stimulate the country's economy and improve trade relations between Iraqi companies and the global business community.


CONTENTS:

IRAQ: NATO to open training centre in capital
IRAQ: Focus on the forthcoming trial of Saddam Hussein
IRAQ: Thousands of Karabila residents return
IRAQ: Leprosy treatment in the south very poor - officials
IRAQ: Doctors' salaries set to improve
IRAN: Hardliners win landslide victory in Presidential election
IRAN: Gruesome sentence upheld by Supreme Court
EGYPT: Journalists and human rights activists demand elimination of torture
EGYPT: Village declares itself FGM free
YEMEN: No assistance for tsunami victims

[ENDS]