"This document is a report of the results of a project managed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to assess contaminated sites in Iraq. The work was carried out over the period January 2004 to July 2005 in Iraq, with support activities in Jordan, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The project was managed by the UNEP Post-Conflict Branch, based in Geneva. The project was overseen by the United Nations Development Group for Iraq in its role of coordinator for the entire UN development programme within Iraq. The Iraqi Government partner was the Ministry of the Environment (MoEn). The project covers contaminated land issues at the national level and also for five individual sites selected for priority assessment."--P. 16.

In July 2004, the UN Environment Programme was awarded a project for Strengthening environmental governance in Iraq through environmental assessment & capacity buildingÓ. One of the major elements of the project was to assess contaminated sites in Iraq, in partnership with Iraq's Ministry of the Environ. This report contains the findings of this project. Contents: the environmental site assessment project; country context; capacity building activities; site identification & screening; site assessment activities; Al Qadissiya results & recommendations; Al Suwaira results & recommendations; Khan Dhari results & recommendations; Al Mishraq results & recommendations; Ouireej results & recommendations; & conclusions. Illustrations.

This report is an up-to-date compilation of the various activities undertaken by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Iraq between 2003 and 2006. It makes an objective assessment of the impacts of UNEP's intervention and documents the lessons learnt in implementing the activities in a complex situation such as Iraq. The publication provides a significant insight into the overall success of UNEP's intervention in Iraq.

Human rights and the norms of modern warfare -- Humanizing the laws of war -- The implosion of Iraq : "shock and awe," insurgency, and sectarian terror -- The Gaza wars, 2008-2014 : human rights agency and advocacy -- Who's responsible? Justice and accountability -- "Kind-hearted gunmen" : human rights and humanitarian intervention.

This study focuses on the state of Iraq's environment following decades of armed conflict, economic sanctions and the absence of environmental management principles in national planning. It highlights options to tackle the environmental threats to human health from disrupted or contaminated water supplies, inadequate sanitation and waste systems, as well as for wider responses to address longer-term environmental risks. At present, following the conflict in March/April 2003, restoring law and order is a key priority for dealing effectively with humanitarian and environmental problems.

"For almost 30 years, including during the period of occupation by the US- and UK-led Coalition Provisional Authority, authorities in Iraq have failed to provide Basra's 4 million residents with safe drinking water. The water crisis came to a head in 2018, when at least 118,000 people were hospitalized with rashes, abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea because of contamination of the water in the Shatt al-Arab, the river Basra sits on. A severe water shortage from upstream has led to seawater incurring into the Shatt al-Arab so that farmers have had to irrigate their land with salt water - losing most of their produce over the last decade. This continuing water crisis is a result of a complex combination of factors including mismanagement of upstream flows leading to too little water coming to Basra; pollution in Basra and further upstream, including raw sewage, garbage, oil spills, and industrial and agricultural waste; damming by neighboring Iran and Turkey; and climate change. Corruption, including by local authorities, has also led to illegal use of precious freshwater resources. Since last summer the government has refused to make public any of its investigations into why the water poisoned people. Nor has it announced any significant measures to improve the quality of water in Basra in coming years. Iraqi authorities have an obligation to secure Basrawis' right to use their land and to safe drinking water and to inform the public when water sources are unsafe. Where authorities have violated these rights, they should ensure that people can access an effective remedy against those responsible"--Page 4 of cover