Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Iraq

UN and international donor community support Iraqi initiative to reconstruct the Shrine of Imam Ali Al-Hadi and other damaged religious sites

Baghdad-27 February 2006 - The Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General in Iraq Mr. Ashraf Qazi, confirmed on Monday, UN / UNESCO support to the Iraqi initiative to rebuild the Shrine of Imam Ali Al-Hadi and other damaged religious sites.
Mr.Qazi, accompanied by his Deputy for Humanitarian Reconstruction and Development, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, participated in a donor coordination meeting chaired by the Iraqi Minister of Planning Dr. Barham Saleh. Mr. Qazi explained that the UN, through its Iraq trust fund and UNESCO's technical expertise, is ready to assist in rebuilding the damaged structures.

The meeting was attended by the head of the Shi'a Waqf Shaikh Saleh El-Haidary and head of the Sunni Waqf Shaikh Ahmad Al-Samarrai, as well as representatives from Austria, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Turkey, United Kingdom, the United States and the World Bank.

The heads of the Shi'a and Sunni Waqfs welcomed the support of the international community and indicated that the initiative will also cover rehabilitation of the damaged churches.

SRSG Qazi had issued a statement to the Iraqi people on Saturday, 25 February 2006, pledging UN commitment to help reconstruct the damaged structures, and calling for calm and unity among Iraqis.