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The war in Iraq — at least the
acute phase — is over, but the way ahead is fraught with
uncertainties. The most obvious question being asked is: what
will Iraq be like once it regains its sovereignty?
For the moment, the situation is still unstable and a host
of day-to-day humanitarian problems are taking precedence
over the future organization of the country, even if the two
aspects are inextricably linked.
Between 20 March and mid-April, the
Iraqi population — in particular civilians — suffered
terribly from the effects of the bombardments and fighting.
Thousands of people were killed or wounded, many of who were
unable to receive prompt medical care, while numerous towns
were left without water and electricity. The ICRC's decision
to remain in the country during the hostilities to ensure
that a minimum of vital operations was maintained is to be
commended. The dialogue fostered with the Iraqi leadership
during the ICRC's 23-year presence in the country enabled
it to accomplish its tasks with the necessary support of the
relevant authorities including the current occupying forces.
Its action helped save lives through the distribution of medical
supplies to hospitals and the repair of water-pumping stations
in dangerous zones. For its commitment, the organization paid
a high price: one of its delegates, Vatche Arslanian, lost
his life in the course of his duties after being caught in
crossfire in Baghdad on 8 April.
When independent information was hard
to come by during the conflict, the ICRC went to great lenghts
to provide an objective view of the humanitarian situation
in a variety of languages, including Arabic.
Acting on the needs
During the hostilities, the ICRC's
three main areas priorities were to ensure the treatment of
war wounded through assistance to hospitals in the form of
medical materials and fuel; to supply of clean water to vital
institutions and the population at large; and the protection
of prisoners of war, internees and the most vulnerable sectors
of the civilian population. As soon as the security situation
allowed it, the ICRC with the support of about 30 different
National Societies reinforced its staff — 500 staff including
120 expatriates — and began to extend its activities
according to the most pressing needs and to carry out in-depth
assessment.
As regards water supply, ICRC expatriate and local technicians
and employees of the Iraqi services are working round the
clock to rehabilitate water-pumping stations and sewage systems
in Baghdad and other towns around the country. At the request
of both parties, the ICRC is facilitating contacts between
American and British forces and the Iraqi civil authorities
with respect to the restoration of water, sewage and electricity
services and rubbish collection: indeed, in conformity with
the Fourth Geneva Convention, the provision of basic services
is the responsibility of the United States and the United
Kingdom in thier capacity as occupying powers.
Operating out of its offices in Baghdad
and in Erbil and Suleimanyeh in the north and Basra in the
south, ICRC teams are active in all the worst hit regions
and are striving to meet needs as they arise. Programmes include
supplying food and basic assistance to the most vulnerable
such as the homeless and victims of the widespread looting,
in particular medico-social institutions. Orphans, handicapped
and elderly people are among the main beneficiaries of this
assistance.
Another major threat is the remnants
of war and anti-personal mines laid throughout the country.
Movement's awareness programmes are a crucial step in this
race against time.
Concerted action
Responding effectively to the needs
in Iraq is a major challenge for the whole International Red
Cross and Red Crescent Movement. For a start, the Iraqi Red
Crescent has disintegrated at the leadership level, although
local branches are still managing to function to varying degrees
depending on the region. Supporting the rebuilding of the
National Society will doubtless be a priority for the International
Federation in accordance with a time frame that still needs
to be established. As lead agency, the ICRC is currently focusing
in part on the creation of a platform on which to bring together
National Societies interested in participating in a coordinated
Movement effort in Iraq. Following the meeting of 33 National
Societies in Baghdad in mid-May, more staff-on-loan and rapid
impact assistance projects are being implemented, while in-kind
contributions and material donations are distributed as needs
dictate.
"It is important that the Movement
is as widely operational as the needs dictate, in particular
the Red Crescent Societies which have a potentially important
role to play in the rehabilitation phase," stresses Balthasar
Staehlin, ICRC delegate-general for the Middle East. Achieving
this objective will no doubt depend primarily on how the situation
evolves within Iraq in the coming months.
More broadly, public order and security
as well as the current lack of an effective public administration
is affecting all rehabilitation efforts.
The missing
As a result of the war, many Iraqis
are without news of their loved ones and are anxious for any
sign of life. To meet this demand, the ICRC has set up near
Geneva a unit of the Central Tracing Agency dealing specifically
with the war in Iraq, which is centralizing data pertaining
to prisoners of war and the restoration of family links. The
unit comprises more than 50 people, mainly translators, keyboard
operators, IT specialists and various experts in detention
and tracing matters. According to Pierre Barras, head of the
unit, "Our two priorities are closely linked, that is,
to compile a register of prisoners of war and missing persons
and to re-establish contact between members of Iraqi families
dispersed by the conflict." More than 7,000 prisoners
of war and civilian internees in the hands of US and British
forces were registered in the south of the country during
the first three weeks of April — their number decreased
to 2,000 in early May due to releases. Moreover, more than
7,500 short messages entitled 'safe and well' were collected
in Iraq and immediately transmitted to their addressees elsewhere
in the world through the ICRC and the network of National
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. In the long run, the
ICRC's major task will be to handle the issue of the missing
including cases from the Iraq-Iran war, the Gulf war, Saddam
Hussein's regime and this latest war launched by allied forces.
Jean-François Berger
Jean-François Berger is ICRC editor of Red Cross,
Red Crescent magazine.
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