War: not in my name

(b) Late last year UNICEF called for support to:

• rapidly increase attention and action to meet the immediate needs of children and families inside Iraq - focusing on all vulnerable groups;
• widen humanitarian access to Iraqi children and their families in conflict zones, behind security barriers and in detention centres; and
• strengthen Iraq’s capacity and initiatives to improve governance and mobilise its own resources to invest in national recovery.

It went onto stress that the needs of Iraq’s children depend, to a great extent, on sufficient financial resources being made available. Have these calls been answered by us, and if so, how?

(c) What is the Rudd Government going to do to address the issues raised in the International Committee of the Red Cross March 2008 report (PDF 448KB)?

In particular, what if anything does the government propose to do to address its suggestion that “... As a matter of priority, every Iraqi man, women and child should have regular access to health care, electricity, clean water and sanitation. Moreover, all those involved in the conflict and those who can influence them must do everything possible to ensure that civilians, medical staff and medical facilities are not harmed. This is an obligation under international humanitarian law that applies to all parties to an armed conflict - both States and non-State actors ...”?

(d) Is the Rudd Government aware of calls made by Ms Jolie, Goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in April this year for the international community to make the education of Iraqi children a higher priority in order “... to reach them and help them deal with their future ...”?

(e) Is the Rudd Government aware of the European Network of Ombudspeople for Children June 2008 report?

Assuming it is, what steps are you taking to ensure the speedy release of all women and children that may remain in detention centres in Iraq (such as Camp Bucca, Camp Cropper, Fort Suse, or elsewhere)?

3. Iraqi refugees and resettlement programs

(a) According to Amnesty International’s June 2008 report Rhetoric and reality: the Iraqi refugee crisis the international community is evading its responsibility towards refugees from Iraq by promoting a false picture of the security situation in Iraq when the country is neither safe nor suitable for return. It further states that “… the Government of Iraq and states involved in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, in particular the USA and the UK, highlight ‘improved’ security or ‘voluntary’ returns to Iraq out of political expedience, to demonstrate that their military involvement has been a success …” Does the Rudd Government agree with and will it adopt all “international community” recommendations outlined in this report? If not, why not.

Amnesty International also reported this year that:

The sectarian violence in Iraq has forced millions of Iraqis to flee their homes, creating a displacement crisis that has become one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters in recent years. According to UNHCR, around 4.2 million people are now displaced. These include 2.2 million internally displaced and over 2 million refugees outside Iraq. The vast majority of those forced to leave Iraq went to Syria and Jordan … after so little assistance came from the international community, the authorities in both Syria and Jordan introduced strict visa requirements on Iraqi nationals … These new restrictions have all but cut off the last escape routes for Iraqis needing refuge from the violence in their country …