Top UN relief official in Iraq meets top US civilian on security, food procurement
The top United Nations relief official in Iraq met with the top United States civilian official there today to discuss
the lack of security hampering UN relief efforts, and the use of money from the UN Oil-for-Food programme to pay Iraqi
farmers for the upcoming spring harvest.
“From a UN perspective, our immediate concerns are related with security in the broad sense: law and order, not for us
as persons but for the society,” Ramiro Lopes da Silva, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, told reporters after
meeting in Baghdad with Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, head of the US-run Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian
Assistance.
For his part, Mr. Bremer said: “We had a very good discussion about the ways in which the United Nations and its
specialized agencies can assist us in our programme of recovery here in Iraq…We had a very friendly and I think
successful meeting.”
Among issues discussed was the possibility of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) paying Iraqi farmers for the current
wheat and barley harvest with money from the Oil-for-Food programme, under which sanctions-bound Baghdad was allowed to
use oil revenues to buy humanitarian supplies, Mr. Bremer added.
He said Mr. Lopes da Silva had agreed that the WFP begin spending that money as early as next week, in order to put
money belonging to the Iraqi people under the programme into the hands of the farmers who are right now beginning their
harvest.
Mr. Lopes da Silva again stressed the security issue. “Under Security Council Resolution 1472 (which adjusted the
Oil-for-Food programme after hostilities broke out), we have the authority to undertake local procurement. We wish to
engage in the local procurement of the incoming cereal harvest, but obviously an issue related with that undertaking is
the overall law and order so we can move money, and the technicians from the Ministry of Trade can go around and do the
purchasing.”
In answer to questions, Mr. Lopes da Silva said Mr. Bremer indicated that security “is in the top of his agenda, not
only for our humanitarian work but even because of the impact it has on the political process.”
Asked whether he was satisfied there would be changes in the security situation, he replied: “Yes, I am satisfied with
the commitment indicated by Ambassador Bremer to take a little bit of a more controlled approach to this situation. He
committed himself to look at these issues; that is at the top of his agenda.”