GENEVA -- A UN human rights expert sharply condemned the invasion of Iraq and the global anti-terror drive, accusing the US-led coalition of using food deprivation as a military tactic and of sapping efforts to fight hunger in the world.

Jean Ziegler sharply condemned the invasion of Iraq and the global anti-terror drive, accusing the US-led coalition of using food deprivation as a military tactic in a report to the UN human rights commission. (AFP/Orlando Sierra)

"The situation of the right to food in Iraq is of serious concern," the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler, said in a report to the UN human rights commission.

The report also highlighted "widespread concerns about the continued lack of access to clean drinking water" and allegations by British campaigners that water sources were deliberately cut off by coalition forces.

"Those are the allegations, but what is proven is that at Fallujah, denial, the blockade imposed on food and the destruction of water reservoirs was used as weapon of war," Ziegler told journalists.

He insisted that the practice was a "clear violation" of the Geneva Conventions and delivered a firm condemnation of any attempt to deny food or water supplies.

The UN expert insisted he was not judging the legitimacy of the invasion or the tactics used by military forces.

"I am simply maintaining a firm condemnation, very firm, of the humanitarian consequences of this strategy and the military tactics applied since March 2003 by the occupying forces," he said.

Citing previous studies reported last year, the report said that "acute malnutrition amongst Iraqi children under the age of five has almost doubled from four percent to 7.7 percent," since Saddam Hussein was toppled.

A US official said Ziegler's comments were "unfortunate."

"First he has not visited Iraq, secondly he's wrong," said US ambassador Kevin Moley.

Moley said the rise in malnutrition rates began in 2002 and 2003 under Saddam Hussein's regime, and the rates were still lower in Iraq than "throughout the Arab world."

"He's taking some information that in itself is difficult to validate and juxtaposing is own views which are widely known about the war in Iraq and suggesting the two are linked," he told journalists.

"Vaccination rates, food aid have improved dramatically since the fall of Saddam Hussein," the US envoy added.

Overall efforts to tackle terror groups and the invasion of Iraq had also drained precious resources away from fighting hunger in poor countries when they should be doing the opposite, the UN expert said.

The wide-ranging report on global food rights also warned that more people could die as aid programmes in crisis areas, notably in Africa, were obliged to cut down food deliveries.

The World Food Programme had cut food rations by about one third in February 2004, bringing them "drastically under" international minimum nutritional standards, according to Ziegler.

"This will bring higher mortality in the camps, because aid is being redirected towards the 'War against Terror.' This is unacceptable," he added.

Ziegler's report said the resources spent on "the international 'Alliance against Hunger' remain pitiful, when compared to the billions of dollars spent on the 'War against Terror.'"

"The amount of aid being provided for development and famine relief is falling, as money is redirected towards strengthening national security and the fight against terrorism."

"Yet the fight against terrorism should incorporate efforts to reduce hunger, poverty and inequality," it added.

Ziegler urged authorities in Iraq to ensure that reconstruction was carried out "in ways that address chronic malnourishment and do not undermine the future food security of the Iraqi people."

Copyright © 2005 Agence France Presse

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