• Listen to this segment

GUESTS: Zahir Janmohamed, Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa with Amnesty International; Hicham Hassan spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Iraq

As the invasion and occupation of Iraq enters its sixth year, the humanitarian situation remains disastrous. This week the International Committee of the Red Cross and Amnesty International released reports about human rights in Iraq on the fifth anniversary of the war. According to the ICRC, the current Iraqi crisis is one of the most critical in the world, and that the Iraqi health care system in particular lacks sufficient medical supplies and qualified personnel to administer necessary services. As a result, countless lives have been lost. The ICRC report also notes that since the occupation, Iraqis have greatly suffered from a lack of access to clean water and sanitation. Sewage systems, affected by an infrequent electricity supply, have lead to contamination and cholera outbreaks. Meanwhile, Amnesty International’s report entitled “Carnage and Despair,” examines the pervasive poverty and violence that has gripped Iraq for the past five years. Amnesty cites staggering statistics such as the fact that hundreds of people die violently every month, and four in ten Iraqis live on less than a dollar a day. The group predicts that any prospects for stability and economic recovery for Iraq are, unfortunately, grim.

Download the ICRC report here: http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/
htmlall/iraq-report-170308?opendocument

Download the Amnesty International Report here: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/
report/carnage-and-despair-iraq-20080317