UN Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos is scheduled to visit Iran 17-18 August to discuss with senior officials in Tehran regional cooperation on humanitarian assistance, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told the daily press briefing on Thursday.
Her meetings will "focus on expanding regional cooperation on humanitarian assistance and strengthening the partnership between Iran and the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)" which she heads.
OCHA said in a statement that the visit will also be an "opportunity to draw attention to Iran's considerable experience and expertise in disaster management and humanitarian response and encourage Iranian engagement in the debate about the future of the humanitarian system, ahead of the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016." In a related matter, Dujarric said Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson met earlier today with Bishop Sarhad Jammo and Bishop Francis of Iraq's Chaldean American Community, leading a delegation of Iraqi Christian representatives and community leaders from throughout the US.
Eliasson "recognized the serious plight of religious minorities in Iraq" at the hands of the 'Islamic State' forces," and expressed his "deep compassion" for the victims and affected communities, Dujarric said.
Eliasson assured the visiting delegation that the UN is "now taking urgent humanitarian action," and underlined the "need for global solidarity and support to address the needs of these afflicted communities." In the meantime, the UN earlier today declared a 'level III emergency' for Iraq - the highest global humanitarian priority for the UN and partner agencies.
The Secretary General's Special Representative for Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, said the declaration will "facilitate the mobilization of additional resources in goods, funds and assets to ensure a more effective response to the humanitarian needs of communities impacted by forced displacement." Since mid-June, UN agencies have scaled up assistance and reached tens of thousands of people with food, water, shelter, health care and medical supplies.
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said it is working with other humanitarian partners to step up efforts to meet the growing needs of people arriving from Sinjar Mountain. According to OCHA Spokesman Kieran Dwyer visiting Irbil, tens of thousands of people are still trapped on the mountain, many with deteriorating health conditions.
According to UNHCR, some 15,000 Yazidis are seeking refuge inside Syria where its staff is working with local NGOs and UN partners to provide aid, and has begun transporting newly arriving Iraqi refugees from the border area to the Newroz camp near Al Qamishli, where it is providing tents, blankets, hygiene and other essential supplies.
In another related matter, Dujarric said the UN is delivering four shipments of humanitarian aid to several locations in the governorates of Aleppo, Idleb, Lattakia and Daraa in Syria from neighbouring countries, as stipulated by Security Council resolution 2165 which allowed the transfer to goods to needy Syrians through four border crossings without Damascus authorisation.
The four shipments represent almost 50 truckloads, including food for almost 5,000 households; household items for more than 14,000 displaced families, hygiene and sanitation supplies for more than 15,000 households and medical supplies for more than 22,000 households; as well as various other items.
"All the shipments arrived safely at their destinations without major impediments and the distribution of relief supplies by international and local implementation partners began immediately," Dujarric said.