Despite Narrow Coverage, Document Includes a Wide Range
By IraqSlogger, 26 April 2007
In today's papers, a new quarterly report released by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) gets short shrift. The papers tend to report on those issues disputed by US and Iraqi officials, but do not address the wider thrust of the report, which is the worsening humanitarian crisis in Iraq.
The 30-page report covers the UN Mission's assessment of the humanitarian situation in the country from January through March 2007.
Most of the coverage in today's papers has focused on the report's conclusions over the issues of detainees, which the Iraqi US governments have disputed, according to media reports. The papers have also recorded the dispute between the UN and the Iraqi government, after the Iraqi government refused to provide the UN with its statistics on civilian casualties for the first quarter of 2007.
However, the new document includes much discussion of other crucial humanitarian issues in Iraq, including the security situation, intimidation and violence against academics, freedom of expression and the practice of journalism, the deteriorating security situation of Iraqi minorities, the worsening the plight of Iraq's Palestinian refugees, violence and harassment of women, and the ongoing displacement of the civilian population of Iraq.
Moreover, the UNAMI document is a window into Iraqi society that other media cannot provide, much of it based on eyewitness and first-hand accounts from civilians in Iraq.
The agency monitors and records the humanitarian situation in Iraq, producing quarterly reports to document its findings. UNAMI receives information and conducts interviews directly with Iraqis and Arab refugees living in Iraq.
According to the document, UNAMI has a staff of 30 between its three offices in Amman, Baghdad, and Irbil.
On the question of the security situation and sectarian violence, some of the report covers familiar turf, concluding that sectarian violence was most pronounced in areas with diverse ethnic and religious groups such as Baghdad and in the governorates of Babil, Diyala, Salahuddin and Nineveh." In Baghdad, "areas most affected by the violence in Baghdad were those where armed groups competed for territorial domination, such as al-A’dhamiya, al-Dora, al-Khadhimiya and al-Ghazaliya, as well as Sadr City," the report writes.
However, the report covers the entire country, and UNAMI also expresses concern over the human rights situation in relatively quiet areas, less frequently heard from in the media:
Relatively quieter areas of Missan, Wasset, al-Muthanna and Dhi-Qar governorates were also affected by the overall climate of instability, as well as by tensions resulting in part from the rapid influx of displaced populations. Particularly prevalent were targeted assassinations, among the victims being former Ba’ath Party members, professional groups, students, members of minority groups and security officials.
Importantly, UNAMI expanded its coverage in the Kurdish regions of Iraq, which have been relatively stable compared to the rest of the country. The report expresses concern regarding the human rights violations in these areas as well, writing:
During this reporting period, UNAMI further expanded its monitoring and reporting activities in the three northern governorates under the authority of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), where the security situation remained stable. Infringements to freedom of expression, including press and media freedoms, were of serious concern. Equally serious was the lack of due process with regard to detainees held by Kurdish security forces (Asayish), the majority on suspicion of involvement in acts of terrorism and other serious crimes. Hundreds have been held for prolonged periods without referral to an investigative judge or charges brought against them. UNAMI also noted the absence of serious measures by the KRG authorities to address the growing level of violence against women, including prompt investigations and criminal prosecution of perpetrators.
In its discussion of violence against civilians, UNAMI writes:
The distinction between acts of violence motivated by sectarian, political or economic considerations was frequently blurred as a multitude of armed and criminal groups claimed responsibility for numerous acts of terror. The prosecutorial and investigative capacity of the Iraqi state was and is likely to remain inadequate in the face of relentless attacks by armed groups operating with impunity under the umbrella of both Sunni insurgent groups and Shi’a militia.
UNAMI also notes with concern the complaints it received in the first quarter of the year of continuing collusion between militas and elements of the security forces, including in such activities as abductions and killings.
As noted above, the document continues, looking at a wide range of humanitarian issues in Iraq, including violence and intimidation of Iraqi minorities, Palestinians, and women, academics, and journalists, and the plight of Iraqis displaced by conflict and violence, all based on information collected by UNAMI staff, much of it first-hand accounts from Iraqi and Arab victims or eyewitnesses.
Take a look at the full document here, to see how much was left out of today's reporting: UNAMI_HR_Jan_Mar_2007.pdf
Citation: "UN Iraq Report: More Than the Media Lets on," IraqSlogger, 26 April 2007.
Original URL: http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/2520/UN_Iraq_Report_More_Than_the_Media_Lets_on