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This came from the USIA website. Is this a proper copy of a UN document? FACT SHEET: HUMANITARIAN AID UNDER THE SANCTIONS REGIME The National Security Council has released the following updated fact sheet on the UN's Oil-for-Food program for Iraq: (begin text) Humanitarian Aid Under The Sanctions Regime >From the outset, the UN has provided humanitarian exemptions to the economic sanctions it imposed upon Iraq following Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. These exemptions for food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies are designed to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people while preserving the integrity of the sanctions regime. The sanctions currently in force are necessary to compel Saddam Hussein's compliance with the terms of the cease-fire which he agreed to following the Gulf War, and which, seven years later, he has still failed to meet. He alone has the power to lift these sanctions by complying with all relevant UN resolutions.The Oil-for-Food Program The U.S. originally proposed the "oil-for-food" program in 1991, immediately after the Gulf War. This program allows Iraq to export crude oil for the purchase of humanitarian goods under UN supervision. All proceeds from oil sales are deposited into an escrow account controlled by the UN. Iraq may draw from this account to purchase food, medicine and humanitarian supplies through approved contracts only. Deductions are made for war reparations, humanitarian purchases for northern Iraq, and operating expenses. Saddam Hussein rebuffed this humanitarian gesture for almost six years in hopes of cynically manipulating the plight of the Iraqi people to gain international sympathy. UNSCR 986 was finally implemented in December 1996, establishing the oil-for-food program with a $2.1 billion ceiling over six months. The UN has consistently renewed the oil-for-food program. UNSCR 1111, adopted in June 1997, and UNSCR 1143, adopted in December 1997, each extended the program for six months. Since the program was first implemented, over 6.3 million metric tons of relief has arrived in Iraq. UNSCR 1153In February 1998, the UN voted to further increase the oil-for-food program by adopting UNSCR 1153. The amount of humanitarian aid available to the Iraqi people under UNSCR 1153 represents the most extensive relief effort in the history of the United Nations. The $5.256 billion in oil sales it authorizes over the first six-month period is without precedent. The following comparisons offer a sense of the program's magnitude: -- According to UN figures, the amount of aid available under UNSCR 1153 is nearly equivalent to the total amount of worldwide humanitarian assistance provided to all countries targeted by the UN for relief over the past three years combined ($3,887,648,218). -- The amount of oil exports authorized by UNSCR 1153 is more than double that permitted by previous oil-for-food resolutions. Since 1996, the sanctions committee supervising the oil-for-food program has approved over 2,000 contracts for humanitarian aid to Iraq worth more than $4 billion total, averaging approximately $225 million per month. When UNSCR 1153 is fully implemented, the average amount of aid will exceed $550 million per month for the six months it is in effect. As a further indication of its commitment to improve the humanitarian situation, the UN recently authorized the export to Iraq of $300 million in parts and equipment needed to increase its oil drilling capacity to the levels permitted by UNSCR 1153. These infrastructure improvements would ensure that the oil-for-food program's full potential can be achieved and the maximum quantities of food and medicine can reach the Iraqi people.Saddam Hussein's Manipulations Saddam Hussein's spending habits prior to and during implementation of the oil-for-food program clearly demonstrate that he has no intentions of alleviating the plight of his people. -- The Iraqi regime continues to build lavish palaces, hide its weapons of mass destruction, and hoard food for its elite military units, instead of devote resources to the caring and feeding of its people. -- Since implementation of the oil-for-food program, the Iraqi regime has drastically reduced its own food purchases by some $300 million to $500 million per year. Were the sanctions lifted today, prior to the regime forsaking its threatening chemical and biological weapons programs, Saddam Hussein would doubtless divert the vast sums he could generate in oil sales to reconstituting his arsenal. Oil-for-food would quickly become oil-for-tanks. The oil-for-food program relies on over 150 dedicated UN observers, who travel without restriction throughout Iraq, ensuring that food and medicine are delivered to the Iraqi people and not to government warehouses. Despite attempts by Saddam Hussein to limit their movements and deny relief to certain parts of the country, the UN observers have ensured an equitable distribution of humanitarian aid throughout Iraq. Since 1991, the U.S. has led efforts in the Security Council to meet the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people through the oil-for-food program. As the largest donor to UN humanitarian programs, the U.S. plays a central role in the implementation of all multi-lateral relief efforts. Although the U.S. is determined not to lift the economic sanctions until Saddam Hussein fully complies with all UN resolutions, it is equally committed to minimizing the humanitarian consequences for the Iraqi people.Updated August 18, 1998(end text)# # # Mark Parkinson Head of IT and Computer Services Bodmin Community College Cornwall PL31 1DD United Kingdom tel: 01208 72114 fax: 01208 78680 -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To be removed/added, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk, NOT the whole list. Archived at http://linux.clare.cam.ac.uk/~saw27/casi/discuss.html