Note Verbale addressed by OCHA to all Permanent Missions to the United Nations Office in Geneva

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs presents its compliments to the Permanent Missions to the United Nations Office in Geneva and would like to express appreciation for the efforts underway or planned by Member States to meet the basic needs of affected Iraqi civilians during the on-going armed conflict in the country.

A number of bilateral initiatives have already been undertaken to provide in-kind and personnel assistance for the region. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs would like to present the request to be kept informed by your Governments of any provision of humanitarian assistance, whether in kind, financial or deployments of personnel. This information will enable the United Nations system to have an overall picture of the humanitarian assistance being provided to war-affected Iraqi civilians, as well as provide the wider humanitarian community, including regional bodies and non-governmental organizations, with information on available resources to aid efficient usage.

Kindly provide such information to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva at the following fax number: + 41 22 917 0023 or to ochageneva@un.org. Where possible, the '14-point' format should be used to report on humanitarian assistance. This format ensures the needed information is available to track assistance. The form is available on www.reliefweb.int/fts/donors/donors.asp

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs would like to avail itself of this opportunity to draw your attention to three information sources on humanitarian developments in the region maintained by this Office and reflecting UN system-wide efforts and information on Iraq as well as other humanitarian emergencies:

1. www.humanitarianinfo.org: The website of the Humanitarian Information Center (HIC) for Iraq provides a common service to the humanitarian community working in Iraq and the surrounding countries as well as humanitarian partners. The HIC website was established by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and works under the overall guidance of the Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq (UNOHCI). It is updated daily with detailed information on humanitarian operations and situation reports;

2. www.reliefweb.int: Daily updates from governmental and non-governmental organizations are available for up-to-date information about Iraq and other humanitarian crises. The link to financial tracking provides tables reflecting contributions and pledges against the Flash Appeal by sector, by appealing agency and by donor;

3. www.irinnews.org: This is a humanitarian news service that provides analytic reports, interviews and daily country updates for Iraq and other emergencies.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Permanent Missions to the United Nations Office in Geneva the assurances of its highest consideration.

Geneva, 15 April 2003

Facsimile: + (4122) 917-0023
Telephone: + (4122) 917-1234