IRAQ UNITED NATIONS SITUATION REPORT 17 - 30 January 2004 OVERVIEW ► On 30 January 2005, Iraqis participated in the first free elections in fifty years. The international community hailed the elections as a success and await the final outcome expected to be released in the near future. While most attention has been focused on the elections, the humanitarian community continues to express concern over the situation of displaced persons living in and around Falluja. The UNCT for Iraq is currently preparing the 2005 Strategic Plan outlining AQ AQ AQ expected projects and programmes for the period 2005-2007. The plan is based on a process of wide consultations with Iraqi partners and is in line with the National Development Strategy. IR HUMANITARIAN ► The situation of displaced persons in and around Fallujah continues to be closely monitored as the FOR return and recovery process inside the city gathers pace. UN and IOM partners continue to assess humanitarian and protection needs and provide emergency assistance in the areas of food, water, non-food items, health, and education throughout the IDP locations. Moreover, the UN offered material support in the form of non-food items to the IIG’s relief and reconstruction plans for the city. Large numbers of residents are reportedly returning to stay inside Fallujah despite the harsh living conditions, which include a lack of adequate shelter, water, electricity, health, and education. Internal displacements throughout the rest of the country, whether due to military operations or ethno-religious tensions, remain a major concern, especially in the areas of Mosul and Kirkuk. UN ELECTORAL ASSISTANCE ► Public Outreach Material Distribution: Over the reporting period, 5,000 Civic Education Handbooks and 2,500 flipcharts which were printed in Amman and shipped to Baghdad. Distribution within Iraq was taken over by the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq’s (IECI) public outreach division. An additional 4,000 manuals are being distributed through the domestic observation networks. SSISTANCE MISSION As sample materials, an English version of Civic Education is being distributed to donors and the diplomatic community in Jordan and oversees, as well as to NGOs and other associations. This version was produced for illustrative purposes only. The public outreach graphic designer assisted in the production of two voter information leaflets which were printed in Baghdad. These leaflets were used to inform voters in Ninewa and Anbar TIONS A Governorates that they could register and vote on polling day and to disseminate the message, A “one person, one vote". UNAMI Electoral Assistance continued development of web pages explaining the UN’s technical assistance role in the run-up to the January 30 Iraqi elections. Web pages have been uploaded to the UNAMI (www.uniraq.org ) website. Electoral Material Logistics: The logistics operation of bringing in electoral material to Iraq was completed on the 25 January 2005. IECI logistics returned to Baghdad after the completion of the operation. All UN logistics advisors have returned to the Amman support office. UNITED N UNAMI Reporting Unit 1/13 IRAQ UNITED NATIONS SITUATION REPORT 17 - 30 January 2004 A concept document on post elections activities has been prepared and will be revised by the Chief Electoral Officer and Electoral Assistance Division HQ. This will include a continuation of technical and capacity building of IECI staff in addition to assistance to the National Assembly on constitutional articles relevant to elections. Staffing:Staffing: One Amman Logistics staff was deployed to Iraq on 26 January 2005 to support the UN team in Baghdad. It is expected that UN electoral staff will start leaving Baghdad in small groups AQ AQ AQ for debriefings in February in order to allow for the return of the team into Baghdad by the first week of March 2005 for continuation of activities. IR HUMAN RIGHTS ► As a follow up to the consultative meeting of forensic experts on enforced or involuntary disappearances in Iraq, held last 8-9 November 2004, the Ministry of Human Rights of the Iraqi FOR Interim Government (IIG) and the UNAMI Human Rights Office convened a four-day Policy Group meeting from 14-17 January 2005 to consider the establishment of a National Centre for Missing and Disappeared Persons in Iraq. The Policy Group called upon the IIG to establish a National Centre for Missing and Disappeared Persons in Iraq, for Iraqis and other nationalities, and for that purpose 1. Take the appropriate measures under the law by enacting the required legislation which will enable it to act in accordance with its mandate, which will guarantee its financial and administrative independence, and 2. Ensure that, initially, the National Centre is supported by the Ministry of Human Rights, pending the enactment of legislation establishing the Centre as an independent body. The Policy Group also called upon Iraqi society, institutions, and individuals to cooperate fully with the National Centre to ensure that the fate of those who are missing or who have involuntarily disappeared is determined and that the information is given to the families. In addition, the Group called upon the international community to extend its support to the National Centre by assisting with the provision of the expertise and resources that it will require for the successful pursuit of its humanitarian objective. SSISTANCE MISSION PROGRAMME ► EDUCATION AND CULTURE (Cluster 1) Cultural Heritage Training Course: The UNESCO Iraq Office, Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Iraq Unit, Jordanian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Embassy TIONS A of Germany in Baghdad, and Embassy of France in Baghdad have signed the minutes of A discussions in Amman on 31 January 2005 on “Cultural Heritage Training Course for Iraq, Comprehensive Preservation/ Management”, due to take place in Amman from 15 February-23 March 2005. The trainees will include 10 technical experts in conservation, preservation, and management of archaeological sites and five conservation architects. UNESCO’s role in the training course will be to provide professional advice on the course programme, dispatch two experts on “International Standard on Conservation” from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and “International Law for Protection Practices” from the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and the Restoration of Cultural UNITED N Property (ICCROM), and to organize training course/sessions allocated for the UNESCO team according to training course schedule. UNAMI Reporting Unit 2/13 IRAQ UNITED NATIONS SITUATION REPORT 17 - 30 January 2004 This workshop is considered as a follow-up to the previous “Workshop on Cultural Heritage and Museum Management in Iraq”, organized by JICA jointly with UNESCO last September 2004. It is part of Japan/JICA’s plan to implement a technical cooperation programme for Iraqis in Jordan for the coming three years. Conservation Laboratories of the Iraqi National Museum: The Rehabilitation of the Conservation Laboratories of the Iraqi National Museum funded by the UNESCO/Japanese Funds-in-Trust has AQ AQ AQ been fully implemented. The project aimed at restoring the proper functional shape of the museum’s labs. Following this stage, there will be a provision of equipment to the laboratories IR and the organization of a training course for the lab’s staff in Japan. Accelerated Learning Programme: ALP is a new programme in Iraq targeting those out of school children and youth who were excluded from or dropped out of schooling. This programme, FOR covering children aged 14 to 18 years, condenses six years of primary school study into three years. UNICEF organized a workshop for officials from the Curriculum Department at the Ministry of Education (MoE) from 18-20 January in Amman. The purpose of the workshop was for MoE and UNICEF to prepare a joint plan of action for an Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP). This programme will first be piloted in 10 governorates in Iraq, benefiting 750-1000 children in each of the selected governorates. These governorates were chosen based on their relatively low school enrolment rates according to the 2003 school survey conducted by MoE and UNICEF. New ALP departments were established in the 10 Directorates of Education (DoEs) and are already functional. Special questionnaires were developed and a survey on eligible children in the selected governorates was conducted. A condensed curriculum developed by MoE is now under revision and will soon be printed. School Survey: Volume III (School Atlas) of the school survey report is currently being prepared. MoE and UNICEF agreed that MoE will start preparing the Atlas outline to ensure delegates from SSISTANCE MISSION the GIS section in MoE will come to Amman by mid-February to work with the UNICEF team on finalizing the design of the Atlas. Volume III is expected to be released by March. Comprehensive School Rehabilitation: 10 schools in Baghdad were completely rehabilitated by UNICEF and implementing partners and handed over to Directorates of Education. Contracts for the rehabilitation of seven schools have been approved and rehabilitation works will soon begin. The rehabilitation of 74 schools is in progress and new contracts have been approved for an TIONS A additional 10 schools. A Rehabilitation of Water and Sanitation Facilities: The rehabilitation of water and sanitation facilities is ongoing in 20 schools in Missan governorate including providing new water tanks,