UN Security Council hails dispatch of UN Teams to help with Political Transition in Iraq by UN News / SBS World News 7:58am 25th Mar, 2004   24 March 2004 – Ahead of the planned transfer of sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government on 30 June, the Security Council today strongly supported Secretary-General Kofi Annan's decision to send United Nations experts to Iraq to help with the handover of power and future elections.    "The Security Council calls on all parties in Iraq to cooperate fully with these United Nations teams, and welcomes the security and other support provided to them by the Iraqi Governing Council and the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority)," the current Council President, Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sablière of France, said in a statement delivered at an open meeting.    The Secretary-General's Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi and his aides, along with an electoral assistance team, will head to Iraq "as soon as possible," according to the statement.    They will assist the Iraqi people in the formation of an interim Iraqi Government to receive sovereignty on 30 June while supporting preparations for direct elections "to be held before the end of January 2005," the President said.    Mr. Annan's decision to return the UN to Iraq came after an exchange of letters last week with the Iraqi Governing Council in which the interim President of that body, Mohammed Bahr Al-Uloom, wrote of its continuing belief that the world body must play an important role in Iraq.    The Secretary-General also received a similar letter from the Administrator of the United States-led CPA, L. Paul Bremer, expressing the belief that the UN has a significant role to play in assisting Iraq. Both letters voiced hope that the UN would return to the country as soon as possible.    States must aid Iraq, UN expert tells Commission on Human Rights in Geneva    25 March 2004 – The international community must help Iraq to foster democracy, the United Nations expert charged with monitoring abuses in the country today told the Geneva-based Commission on Human Rights.    Andreas Mavrommatis, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iraq, said the global community owed it to the long-suffering Iraqi people to stand by them, providing the necessary training and expertise in diverse fields to enable them to carry out the daunting task of reconstruction and reconciliation, eradicating the culture and remnants of 30 years of a regime that used oppression as its only political tool.    Welcoming this position, Iraq's delegate, Ousama Badedine voiced full support for the Special Rapporteur's position, saying his country is ready for reconstruction and democracy. He added that daily acts of terrorism were creating a climate of fear, but efforts were being made to restore rights by lifting restrictions imposed by the previous regime.    In his written report to the Commission, Mr. Mavrommatis says Iraq's security situation has had an adverse effect not only on the long-overdue reconstruction of the country and the alleviation of the Iraqi people's suffering, but also on efforts to investigate past violations. He notes that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have made allegations regarding the conditions of detention of people arrested by Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) forces, as well as about unnecessary innocent civilian casualties during security operations by the CPA.    In a subsequent update to the report, the Special Rapporteur says he has received important documents about past violations and recommends speeding up the process of criminal investigations in connection with grave human rights violations. He adds that all mass graves must be secured, while the process of identifying remains must be accelerated.    27.3.2004.    EU CALLS FOR GREATER UN IRAQ ROLE. (SBS World News)    The European Union has again called for the United Nations to step up its role in Iraq after 14 people were killed in fresh bloodshed, most in heavy battles north of Baghdad and the restive town of Fallujah.    After a two-day summit in Brussels, EU leaders reaffirmed their support for a greater UN role in Iraq, but warned insecurity remained a major obstacle to rebuilding the country.    Brussels "looks forward to the UN playing a vital and growing role endorsed by the UN Security Council in the run-up to transition and beyond," the leaders said in a statement. "A strong UN role in this political transition process is an essential element for its success," they said. But they warned "the security situation in Iraq remains a major impediment to successful political and reconstruction processes".    UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on March 18 agreed to send his envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and a team of experts back to Iraq to help prepare for elections and a new government set to take power in three months.    Meanwhile, violence has again raged on the ground. A US military spokeswoman said that four Iraqi Civil Defence Corps personnel were killed and four wounded in heavy fighting with insurgents north of Baghdad. In Fallujah five people were killed after masked insurgents with rocket-propelled grenades, assault rifles and mortars confronted US Marines, hospital sources said, An Iraqi reportedly working as a cameraman for the US television network ABC was also killed. Another two Iraqis were killed and 14 others wounded in a land mine blast in a picnic area on the outskirts of the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, police said.
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