"The Human Cost of War in Iraq," a new report by the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) provides the most comprehensive evidence to date that a US-led military intervention in Iraq will trigger the collapse of Iraq's public health and food distribution system, leading to a humanitarian crisis that far exceeds the capacity of the United Nations and relief agencies. CESR's research team, which visited Iraq from January 17-30, included six experts in food security and nutrition, public health infrastructure, primary and public health care, and emergency and curative medicine. In addition to field surveys and interviews, the team obtained confidential U.N. documents on humanitarian conditions and emergency planning for war in Iraq. An Executive Summary of the report is now available at http://www.cesr.org/iraq/index.cfm?pageid=mission_report.

CESR has now released 3 of these "strictly confidential" U.N. planning documents. They warn of a "humanitarian emergency of exceptional scale and magnitude" based on the expected collapse of Iraq's civilian infrastructure following attacks on Iraq's electricity and transportation systems. One document, the Integrated Humanitarian Contingency Plan for Iraq and Neighboring Countries, estimates that "in the event of a crisis, 30 percent of children under five would be at risk of death from malnutrition." The confidential U.N. documents can be accessed CESR's website at http://www.cesr.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&catid=529&cpid=398.

As the United States tries to pressure the world into backing a new war against Iraq, it is essential that people everywhere unite in raising their voices to say NO to war!