Work
20.September 2004 - 00:00
Ethnic discrimination in the funding and administration of reconstruction in Iraq
Korhola's question: In the past decade, the Chaldo-Assyrian community in northern Iraq has not benefited from UNDP activities under the oil-for-food programme (UN Resolution 986), which was administered by local government. In 2001, funds were refused specifically in the case of Chakalla in the Dohuk governorate. For that reason, reconstruction of Chaldo-Assyrian villages in northern Iraq has been limited, and the funding has had to be provided from donations collected by the Chaldo-Assyrian diaspora in Europe, Australia and the US.
The diaspora has had to provide funding for school construction and maintenance as well as for curriculum development so as to preserve the Aramaic (Syriac) language. Unless help for education is provided in areas with large numbers of Chaldo-Assyrians, we may well witness the extinction of this ancient language.
The diaspora has also had to supply funds for women’s organisations, childcare facilities and computer training in northern Iraq.
Diaspora help is limited. Accordingly, it is essential for international funds to be allocated equitably to this oldest of indigenous ethnic groups in Iraq.
The European Union is indirectly involved through the United Nations and directly through its own efforts in the general reconstruction of Iraq. An EC Paper on Medium-Term Strategy on Iraq is currently being drawn up.
1. What mechanisms have been put in place so as to ensure that, in future, the funding and administration of projects do not result in ethnic and religious discrimination?
2. Can the Commission take measures to scrutinise funding allocation in Iraq and guarantee that, out of the generally allocated funds, an equitable amount reaches all ethnic communities and that, in the north, compensation will be paid for past discrimination?
3. Can the Commission take measures to have Chaldo-Assyrian personnel included on the local fund-administration staff throughout those areas in Iraq where Chaldo-Assyrians live in order to prevent future discrimination in the distribution of aid?
Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission
The Commission is not in a position to verify the statements made on the position and treatment of the Chaldo-Assyrian population in Iraq, including during the operation of the Oil For Food Programme, which was run by the former Iraqi authorities under the auspices of the United Nations. However, the Commission fully supports the view that the Iraqi state should safeguard the traditions and assure the rights of all of Iraq’s population, regardless of ethnic or religious status.
The European Union is contributing to Iraq’s social, political and economic reconstruction. However, funding for reconstruction provided from the Community budget is being channelled via the multilateral framework: to the United Nations’ organisations as well as the World Bank. Where reconstruction is concerned, funds are being managed by the international organisations as part of a multi-donor trust fund – the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI). The Commission is not presently directly involved in funding reconstruction projects in the field.
Humanitarian aid, provided through the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), is accorded without discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnic group, religion, sex, age, nationality or political affiliation and is guided by the needs of the victims
1. While the Commission agrees that respect for minority groups – ethnic, religious or otherwise – in the allocation of Iraq’s resources is crucial for the future stability of Iraq, in the context of the IRFFI the Commission is not in a position to scrutinise individual projects. The Commission is however – via the IRFFI donor committee – actively encouraging the United Nations and the World Bank to ensure that their programmes and activities avoid ethnic and religious discrimination and will continue to pay close attention to this dimension of the reconstruction effort both in monitoring the work of the IRFFI and through our contacts with other actors.
2. The Commission firmly believes that decisions on programme financing should be taken in response to identified needs, including relative poverty. Allocating donor resources on ethnic or religious grounds risks exacerbating, rather than decreasing, social tensions. Moreover, given the lack of recent and credible data on the present composition of the Iraqi population, it is difficult to see that an ‘equitable distribution’ could be defined in practice.
3. The Commission is not in a position to determine United Nations and World Bank local personnel policies.
Korhola's question: In the past decade, the Chaldo-Assyrian community in northern Iraq has not benefited from UNDP activities under the oil-for-food programme (UN Resolution 986), which was administered by local government. In 2001, funds were refused specifically in the case of Chakalla in the Dohuk governorate. For that reason, reconstruction of Chaldo-Assyrian villages in northern Iraq has been limited, and the funding has had to be provided from donations collected by the Chaldo-Assyrian diaspora in Europe, Australia and the US.
The diaspora has had to provide funding for school construction and maintenance as well as for curriculum development so as to preserve the Aramaic (Syriac) language. Unless help for education is provided in areas with large numbers of Chaldo-Assyrians, we may well witness the extinction of this ancient language.
The diaspora has also had to supply funds for women’s organisations, childcare facilities and computer training in northern Iraq.
Diaspora help is limited. Accordingly, it is essential for international funds to be allocated equitably to this oldest of indigenous ethnic groups in Iraq.
The European Union is indirectly involved through the United Nations and directly through its own efforts in the general reconstruction of Iraq. An EC Paper on Medium-Term Strategy on Iraq is currently being drawn up.
1. What mechanisms have been put in place so as to ensure that, in future, the funding and administration of projects do not result in ethnic and religious discrimination?
2. Can the Commission take measures to scrutinise funding allocation in Iraq and guarantee that, out of the generally allocated funds, an equitable amount reaches all ethnic communities and that, in the north, compensation will be paid for past discrimination?
3. Can the Commission take measures to have Chaldo-Assyrian personnel included on the local fund-administration staff throughout those areas in Iraq where Chaldo-Assyrians live in order to prevent future discrimination in the distribution of aid?
Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission
The Commission is not in a position to verify the statements made on the position and treatment of the Chaldo-Assyrian population in Iraq, including during the operation of the Oil For Food Programme, which was run by the former Iraqi authorities under the auspices of the United Nations. However, the Commission fully supports the view that the Iraqi state should safeguard the traditions and assure the rights of all of Iraq’s population, regardless of ethnic or religious status.
The European Union is contributing to Iraq’s social, political and economic reconstruction. However, funding for reconstruction provided from the Community budget is being channelled via the multilateral framework: to the United Nations’ organisations as well as the World Bank. Where reconstruction is concerned, funds are being managed by the international organisations as part of a multi-donor trust fund – the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI). The Commission is not presently directly involved in funding reconstruction projects in the field.
Humanitarian aid, provided through the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), is accorded without discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnic group, religion, sex, age, nationality or political affiliation and is guided by the needs of the victims
1. While the Commission agrees that respect for minority groups – ethnic, religious or otherwise – in the allocation of Iraq’s resources is crucial for the future stability of Iraq, in the context of the IRFFI the Commission is not in a position to scrutinise individual projects. The Commission is however – via the IRFFI donor committee – actively encouraging the United Nations and the World Bank to ensure that their programmes and activities avoid ethnic and religious discrimination and will continue to pay close attention to this dimension of the reconstruction effort both in monitoring the work of the IRFFI and through our contacts with other actors.
2. The Commission firmly believes that decisions on programme financing should be taken in response to identified needs, including relative poverty. Allocating donor resources on ethnic or religious grounds risks exacerbating, rather than decreasing, social tensions. Moreover, given the lack of recent and credible data on the present composition of the Iraqi population, it is difficult to see that an ‘equitable distribution’ could be defined in practice.
3. The Commission is not in a position to determine United Nations and World Bank local personnel policies.