Children in Iraq need aid, envoy says

UNITED NATIONS, May 1 (UPI) -- The U.N. envoy for children in armed conflict zones called on the Iraqi government to target more reconstruction funds to schools and basic child services.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, the secretary-general's special representative for children and armed conflict, said improving the security situation is not enough to address the humanitarian needs of school-aged children in Iraq.

"Supplying them with U.S. military security is just not enough. There is a need to actually do the work, to try and get humanitarian access," she said.

She called on the Iraqi government to set aside "a large portion" of its budget surplus for humanitarian services.

Coomaraswamy said barely 50 percent of all children in Iraq attend school and 80 percent of Iraqi children suffer from psychological trauma, particularly in Basra.

She also called on the U.S. military to respect its international obligations by extending basic humanitarian and educational services to the over 1,500 children held in government detention.