Time - Out

Statement by Women's Caucus of the United Nations

Non-Governmental Organizations

Read into the Record of the Commission for Social Development

February 11, 1998

We the women of the world demand that this Commission and the United Nations as a whole address the issue of the current humanitarian crisis in Iraq.

We have come together here to talk about the participation and rights of vulnerable and excluded groups. There are few groups in the world right now as vulnerable or excluded as the women and children or Iraq.

* 150,000 Iraqis died during the Gulf War, during which 88,500 tons of bombs were dropped

* More than a million Iraqis - mainly women and children - have died since then as a result of poorly targeted economic sanctions

The women of the world call for a time-out in the rush to go to war so that doctors, humanitarian agencies and concerned citizens can go into Iraq to provide essential services and supplies and report to the world on the human cost within Iraq of the Gulf War and ensuing sanctions.

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The Commission for Social Development, meeting at UN Headquarters February, 1998, focused on how to promote social integration and the participation of all people in the development process, especially those who are disadvantaged and vulnerable.

Certainly, the general public of Iraq are as deserving of protections and opportunities under the United Nations system as those of any other nation.

This Statement of the Women's Caucus provided by the Peace Caucus.

Mission Statement
United Nations Website on Security Council Resolution 986 (Oil for Food) and Dept. of Humanitarian Affairs Efforts in Iraq
Cities Nurturing a Culture of Peace