War In Iraq: Managing Humanitarian Relief
War In Iraq: Managing Humanitarian Relief
Table of Contents
  1. Executive Summary
After Iraq: How the U.S. Failed to Fully Learn the Lessons of a Disastrous Intervention
After Iraq: How the U.S. Failed to Fully Learn the Lessons of a Disastrous Intervention
Report / Middle East & North Africa 1 minutes

War In Iraq: Managing Humanitarian Relief

The impassioned controversy that surrounded the decision to invade Iraq had the unfortunate consequence of impeding coordination of humanitarian relief operations. Now that the war has begun, it is important to deal with the urgent task of meeting the needs of the Iraqi people.

Executive Summary

The impassioned controversy that surrounded the decision to invade Iraq had the unfortunate consequence of impeding coordination of humanitarian relief operations. Now that the war has begun, it is important to deal with the urgent task of meeting the needs of the Iraqi people. That will require steps by those who were opposed to the war, in particular European governments and NGOs, to agree to work in close coordination with the United States and put their plans and their funding on the table. And it will require steps by the United States to eschew a dominant role in the post-conflict humanitarian effort and hand coordination over to the United Nations.

The scale of the humanitarian consequences of the war in Iraq is still unclear. But regardless of the war’s intensity or duration, there are bound to be new tragedies – to add to the devastation of Iraq’s economy and social fabric already caused by two earlier wars, twelve years of sanctions and an authoritarian government far more intent on its survival than on the well-being of its people.

Largely as a result of the political controversy and uncertainty that preceded the war, planning and preparations for relief efforts have been plagued by inadequate coordination. Today, the fears are of inadequate funding, excessive U.S. control over the relief effort and, within that, the unfortunate appearance (if not reality) of military pre-eminence, and the exclusion of European and other international NGOs that have considerable on-the-ground experience and of the Iraqi institutions with which they worked.

It is too late to undo the damage that already has been done. It is not too late to minimise its impact and put the longer-term reconstruction effort on the right track – as a multinational effort under the UN’s authority. Humanitarian cooperation also is a good place at which to start rebuilding both ties that have been frayed by the prior diplomatic battle and the credibility of essential institutions, like the UN, that suffered in the process. All sides will have to do their part.

A UN-led humanitarian effort, working in close coordination with the U.S., with other governments and international NGOs and, crucially, with the numerous capable Iraqi groups and institutions, is the optimal way to proceed if the rebuilding of Iraq is to get off to a proper start.

Amman/Brussels, 27 March 2003

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