Whether or not Iraq is on the brink of civil war, it is in a human rights crisis, the top U.N. official for Iraq said Monday after briefing the Security Council on the situation in Iraq and a U.N. report on the country. We recognize a situation in Iraq that does not cry out for a definition it is a human rights crisis, the figures tell the story there, U.N. special representative for Iraq Ashraf Qazi told reporters after the meeting. He declined to debate whether the country was almost in civil war or actually in civil war as U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan asserted earlier this month. Qazi stressed the importance of involving Iraq s neighbors in dealing with issues of security. I have been struck by the unanimity with which they now recognize that Iraq s problems cannot be addressed by concentrating exclusively on the domestic political dynamics of Iraqis alone, he told the Security Council. Qazi was heartened by the fact that Iraq had reached out to its neighbors to prepare for a regional conference on the future of Iraq, although he noted that Iraqis above all must take responsibility for their future. All regional countries see it is in their interest to contribute to the peace and unity of Iraq as a matter of priority and to participate in efforts to ensure that their contributions collectively assist the government and people of Iraq, Qazi said.
