INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CRUCIAL OPPORTUNITY TO GALVANIZE SUPPORT FOR IRAQ’S

GROWING HUMANITARIAN NEEDS, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS IN VIDEO MESSAGE

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message to the International Conference on Addressing the Humanitarian Needs of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons inside Iraq and in Neighbouring Countries, held in Geneva from 17 to 18 April:

This Conference is a crucial opportunity to focus international attention on the humanitarian consequences of the situation in Iraq.

The number of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced has increased significantly over the past year.  Their growing needs must be addressed.  We also need to look at the situation in affected neighbouring States, especially Syria and Jordan.

Iraq’s neighbours have been generous in receiving large numbers of Iraqis.  But they are finding it ever harder to sustain and provide basic services, such as health care and schooling.

For many fleeing Iraqis, resources are dwindling.  Many will soon become destitute.

I hope this Conference will galvanize international support to provide them with more protection and assistance.  And I hope it will mobilize resources for establishing much needed protection space.

For neighbouring countries, this means keeping borders open, and upholding the principle of no forced return.  It means ensuring access to health and education services.

For other receiving countries, it means continuing to provide asylum or other forms of protection.

For the Government of Iraq, it means recognizing the needs of these vulnerable populations.  It means working tirelessly to create conditions for their safe return, regardless of ethnicity or sectarian affiliation. 

For the international community as a whole, it means supporting humanitarian programmes.  It means creating resettlement opportunities for the most vulnerable, and working together to improve the prospects for the voluntary return of Iraqis as soon as possible.  And it means recognizing Palestinians as among the most vulnerable inside Iraq.  Many of them have tried to flee the country and are stranded at borders.

The United Nations will keep doing its part.  We will continue to provide humanitarian assistance.  We will work with the people of Iraq for reconstruction and recovery, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1546.  And we will work in partnership with the Government of Iraq and the World Bank for the success of the International Compact, to build a framework for Iraq’s economic transformation and integration into the regional and global economy.

These are complementary efforts:  providing immediate assistance to displaced Iraqis, and working for the longer-term goals of the International Compact.  Only a secure, politically stable and economically prosperous Iraq can reverse the tide of displacement.  And only through assistance from the international community in this difficult period can Iraq fulfil its enormous human and economic potential.

All of us must recognize that this situation is a global responsibility with international repercussions.  It will not resolve itself.  Let us face it head on, and address it together.

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For information media • not an official record