ESCWA TO CONVENE POST-WAR MEETING ON IRAQ IN BEIRUT, 9 - 11 JULY

BEIRUT, 7 July (UN Information Service) -– The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) will bring together Arab and international experts in a meeting entitled, "Iraq and the Region after the War", from 9 to 11 July at the United Nations House, Riad El-Solh Square, Beirut, Lebanon.

Opening at 10 a.m. on 9 July, the meeting will discuss alternative courses of action to be undertaken by governments and peoples in the region, including Iraq.  It will also consider possible action by intellectuals and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) aimed at confronting the challenges of economic, social, cultural and humanitarian reconstruction and development in Iraq.

Participants at the meeting will deliberate proposals provided by various parties to cope with the occupation and reconstruction in Iraq, with the aim of highlighting the views of experts from the region.  They will also try to place these efforts within an international legal framework, taking into consideration the following issues:  human rights; good governance; culture of democracy and tolerance; monitoring and assessment of action on the ground; actual initiatives for reconstruction; the need to mobilize the international community's contribution and to properly formulate the role of the United Nations and other international agencies; and the lessons learned from earlier reconstruction efforts, such as those in Lebanon, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, East Timor, Cambodia, and Iraq after 1991.

In that connection, main topics of discussion will be:  the impact of war in Iraq and the region; the reconstruction, rehabilitation and development of Iraq, including social safety nets in the absence of State subsidies; the role of the civil society and international community; and the ongoing reconstruction process.

Several papers to be discussed during the meeting will focus on, among other aspects:  the impact of the Gulf crisis on developing countries; housing and physical infrastructure in Iraq; environmental impact of war on Iraq; the impact of the Gulf crisis on the economies of Western Asian countries; the impact of the Gulf crisis on the social situation in Western Asia; oil for food and oil for reconstruction; the economic and financial situation in Iraq; and the impact of the war in Iraq on information and communication technologies.

For more information, contact:  www.escwa.org.lb or the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, fax: (961-1) 981510, tel: (961-1) 981301, 981311, 981401; P.O. Box 11-8575, Beirut, Lebanon

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