February 11, 2009 4:58 PM
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U.N.: Iraq Withholding Death Figures
U.N. officials accused the Iraqi government Wednesday of withholding civilian death figures to avoid portraying a "very grim" situation, adding that the humanitarian crisis was worsening despite the U.S.-led Baghdad security crackdown.
Those findings, contained in a human rights report by the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, drew a sharp rebuke from the Iraqi government, which said "this unbalanced report" called into question the credibility of the U.N. staff here.
The report covered the three months ending March 31 and avoided any judgment of the military effectiveness of the security operation, which was formally launched in mid-February.
Nevertheless, the report raised questions about the impact of military operations on Iraqi civilians, alleging, for example, that whole families were often taken into custody at random during security sweeps.
"The government of Iraq continued to face immense security challenges in the face of growing violence and armed opposition to its authority and the rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis," the report said, adding that "the use of torture and other inhumane treatment" in government detention centers "continues to be of utmost concern."
Those findings are likely to fuel the debate in the United States over calls from the Democratic-controlled Congress to begin withdrawing U.S. troops by Oct. 1. The report could also complicate U.S. and Iraqi efforts to win commitments from Iraq's neighbors for substantial financial aid during a regional conference in Egypt next week.
"Accusing the Iraqi government of not releasing the civilian death toll with the goal of understating casualties and underplaying detentions, the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq's human rights report has already become the target of both U.S. and Iraqi officials," said CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk from the United Nations.
In the report, the U.N. mission noted that government officials had claimed "an initial drop" in the number of killings in late February following the launch of the Baghdad security plan. But the report said the number of casualties "rose again in March."
That finding was based on Iraqi and foreign media reports of attacks, the United Nations said. The report was unable to provide official, comprehensive death figures because the Iraqi government refused to release them.
During a press conference, U.N. human rights officer Ivana Vuco said the government did not give an official reason for refusing to release the numbers.
But she said the government was apparently "becoming increasingly concerned about the figures being used to portray the situation as very grim."
"Unofficially, however, in a number of follow up meetings to their decision, we were told that there were concerns that the people would construe the figures to portray the situation negatively and that would further undermine their efforts to establish some kind of security and stability in the country," she said.
In a statement, the Iraqi government expressed deep reservations about the report, terming it "inaccurate in presenting information" and lacking "credibility in many of its points."
"Also, it lacks balance in presenting the situation of the human rights situation in Iraq," the statement added.
"The publication of this unbalanced report ... puts the credibility of the U.N. office in Iraq on stake and it aggravates the humanitarian crisis in Iraq instead of solving it," the government said.
The statement offered no explanation for withholding casualty figures nor provided any numbers.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Those findings, contained in a human rights report by the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, drew a sharp rebuke from the Iraqi government, which said "this unbalanced report" called into question the credibility of the U.N. staff here.
The report covered the three months ending March 31 and avoided any judgment of the military effectiveness of the security operation, which was formally launched in mid-February.
Nevertheless, the report raised questions about the impact of military operations on Iraqi civilians, alleging, for example, that whole families were often taken into custody at random during security sweeps.
"The government of Iraq continued to face immense security challenges in the face of growing violence and armed opposition to its authority and the rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis," the report said, adding that "the use of torture and other inhumane treatment" in government detention centers "continues to be of utmost concern."
Those findings are likely to fuel the debate in the United States over calls from the Democratic-controlled Congress to begin withdrawing U.S. troops by Oct. 1. The report could also complicate U.S. and Iraqi efforts to win commitments from Iraq's neighbors for substantial financial aid during a regional conference in Egypt next week.
"Accusing the Iraqi government of not releasing the civilian death toll with the goal of understating casualties and underplaying detentions, the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq's human rights report has already become the target of both U.S. and Iraqi officials," said CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk from the United Nations.
In the report, the U.N. mission noted that government officials had claimed "an initial drop" in the number of killings in late February following the launch of the Baghdad security plan. But the report said the number of casualties "rose again in March."
That finding was based on Iraqi and foreign media reports of attacks, the United Nations said. The report was unable to provide official, comprehensive death figures because the Iraqi government refused to release them.
During a press conference, U.N. human rights officer Ivana Vuco said the government did not give an official reason for refusing to release the numbers.
But she said the government was apparently "becoming increasingly concerned about the figures being used to portray the situation as very grim."
"Unofficially, however, in a number of follow up meetings to their decision, we were told that there were concerns that the people would construe the figures to portray the situation negatively and that would further undermine their efforts to establish some kind of security and stability in the country," she said.
In a statement, the Iraqi government expressed deep reservations about the report, terming it "inaccurate in presenting information" and lacking "credibility in many of its points."
"Also, it lacks balance in presenting the situation of the human rights situation in Iraq," the statement added.
"The publication of this unbalanced report ... puts the credibility of the U.N. office in Iraq on stake and it aggravates the humanitarian crisis in Iraq instead of solving it," the government said.
The statement offered no explanation for withholding casualty figures nor provided any numbers.
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