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All of these articles concern the UN's new proposals for improving the humanitarian situation in Iraq. * UN urged to allow investment in Iraq (Financial Times): "The humanitarian situation in Iraq will continue to be a dire one in the absence of a sustained revival of the Iraqi economy, which in turn cannot be achieved through remedial humanitarian efforts." * Proposal to ease Iraq oil scheme (BBC Online): "The gravity of the humanitarian situation of the Iraqi people is indisputable and cannot be overstated.'' * Two more articles on the UN's new proposals (Associated Press) (basically repetition of the above, but more details about the Kuwait and disarmament panels) * Iraq Ambassador: "Anything short of lifting sanctions, I don't think there is a way out.'' (Associated Press) * Baghdad: London's suggestions an attempt to keep sanctions forever (Arabic News) ******************** The Financial Times, Thursday 1 April 1999 UN urged to allow investment in Iraq By Roula Khalaf, Middle East Correspondent, in London A panel set up by the United Nations Security Council to study the humanitarian situation in Iraq has recommended that foreign companies be allowed to invest in Iraq's oil sector to raise the country's export capability, diplomats said yesterday. The panel, made up of four senior UN officials, was one of three established by the Council with the aim of formulating a new policy on Iraq, following last December's US and British air raids and the policy divisions among the five permanent Council members. It found that Iraq had moved from relative affluence to poverty since sanctions were imposed. Literacy rates had dropped from 75 per cent eight years ago to 53 per cent today; infant mortality was now the highest in the world. While it did not urge the eight-year-old UN sanctions be lifted, it suggested a partial easing would let foreign companies invest in the oil sector, and other industries battered by sanctions. Diplomats said the panel made clear that the oil for food programme, allowing Iraq to sell limited amounts of oil to buy humanitarian goods, was inadequate. "The humanitarian situation in Iraq will continue to be a dire one in the absence of a sustained revival of the Iraqi economy, which in turn cannot be achieved through remedial humanitarian efforts," the panel said. The recommendations were welcomed by France, which, with Russia and China, has called for a lifting of sanctions. Diplomats said yesterday that the US and Britain were likely to oppose proposals for investments in Iraq. Security Council members are likely to disagree over their reading of the results of the 20-member disarmament panel. Aid agency officials close to the UN said it recommended this week that Iraqi disarmament be moved to a reinforced monitoring and verification phase meant to ensure Iraq did not redevelop weapons it had eliminated. The panel said intrusive inspections would have to continue under this phase, since the bulk of disarmament work had been finished, but important issues remained to be settled. Analysts said this would provide the US and Britain with ammunition to argue that sanctions on Iraq should remain in place. The panel suggested that Unscom, the UN commission charged with Iraqi disarmament, should be restructured. But it did not call for abolishing the commission and setting up a new one, as countries sympathetic to Iraq on the Security Council have wanted. Analysts said the disarmament panel failed to produce recommendations that might entice Iraq to agree to the return of inspectors. The panel said it was up to the Security Council to find ways of convincing Iraq to resume co-operation. It warned, however, that the longer inspection and monitoring activities remained suspended, the greater the risk that Iraq might reconstitute its proscribed weapons programmes or retain prohibited items. A third panel reporting to the Council this week dealt with Kuwaiti prisoners taken by Iraq during its 1990 invasion. Its findings are believed to have been that Iraq has yet to give adequate information. ******************** BBC Online, Wednesday, March 31, 1999 Published at 11:30 GMT 12:30 UK World: Middle East Proposal to ease Iraq oil scheme Medical supplies are desperately needed in Iraq's hospitals Foreign companies should be allowed to invest in Iraq's oil industry to provide money for food and medicine, says a United Nations panel investigating Iraq's humanitarian needs. "The gravity of the humanitarian situation of the Iraqi people is indisputable and cannot be overstated," the panel said. The group added that money from the sales would still be expected to pass through the UN. Iraq's infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world. Baghdad has always resisted the "oil-for-food" program, which lets Iraq sell $5.2bn of oil every six months to buy humanitarian aid. But even the permitted $5.2bn is not achieved at present, because of low oil prices and production limits. Following the release of the report's details over the last few days, senior officials in Washington welcomed the recommendations. They suggested a more flexible future for relief programs - provided they help the Iraqi people and not the government. No end to sanctions The four-member UN panel is not calling for an end to the oil embargo imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. Iraq has demanded for a lifting of the embargo, while France has suggested such a move could persuade Baghdad to allow weapons inspections to resume. Senior UN officials on the panel said that even if stringent UN sanctions were lifted "it will take a long time before the infrastructure is repaired and the economy recovers." The permanent Iraqi mission to the UN had no comment on Tuesday. Three panels The panel of experts was one of three established by the Security Council in February to provide a basis for an Iraq policy which the 15 divided members could accept. The other panels, on disarmament, and the repatriation of prisoners and property after the invasion of Kuwait, have also reported recently. The disarmament group recommended that a more intrusive long-term monitoring system be set up to complete the disarmament of Iraq. The repatriation panel criticised Baghdad for the absence of a credible explanation on missing archives and military material. Observation mission The UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has recommended the extension of Unikom, the observation mission on the border of Iraq and Kuwait. Concluding the half-yearly review of Unikom, Mr Annan said it continued to receive the co-operation of the Iraqi and Kuwaiti authorities. It has 1,311 staff under a Finnish commander. ******************** U.N. Seeks New Iraq Relationship By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Writer, Wednesday, March 31, 1999; 4:11 a.m. EST UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The Security Council has a host of recommendations to try to chart a new relationship with Iraq in the aftermath of December's U.S. and British airstrikes. More importantly, however, is whether Iraq will agree to any of the council's final decisions. Baghdad has been relatively silent for the past month as three technical panels have tried to assess the status of Iraq's disarmament, humanitarian situation and reparations to Kuwait, and make recommendations. But Iraq is unlikely to be pleased with at least one conclusion of the humanitarian panel, which in a report Tuesday didn't recommend lifting the oil embargo Iraq has suffered under since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Iraq has demanded the embargo be removed, arguing that it has rid itself of its weapons of mass destruction and thereby satisfied U.N. conditions for easing the sanctions. Instead, the panel recommended improvements and some alterations to the U.N. humanitarian program, which allows Iraq to sell limited amounts of oil -- $5.2 billion over six months -- to provide humanitarian aid for its people. The report suggested the export limit be removed. And because Iraq currently cannot meet the $5.2 billion limit due to low oil prices and production limits, the report also suggested the council consider authorizing foreign investment to improve Baghdad's export abilities. By allowing private companies to bring in spare parts and maintain Iraq's dilapidated oil machinery, the $300 million Iraq is allowed to spend to buy oil spare parts and equipment could be funneled to buy more aid, the report said. The panel also suggested, among other things, that Iraq be allowed to buy humanitarian goods without consulting the U.N. sanctions committee. The Security Council established the panels in February after coming under pressure to better provide for Iraqis and in an attempt to restart arms inspections that were halted by December airstrikes. The panel looking into the status of Iraq's weapons programs said Monday there were still disarmament-related questions but said answers could be found through a system of monitoring. In the Kuwaiti report released Tuesday, the panel concluded that Iraq had not provided sufficient explanations about missing Kuwaitis or cooperated enough in returning looted property. The Iraqi U.N. mission had no comment Tuesday. ******************** UN: Investment Recommended in Iraq By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Writer, Tuesday, March 30, 1999; 9:59 p.m. EST UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The Security Council should consider letting foreign companies invest in Iraq's oil industry so more proceeds can go to buying food and medicine for needy Iraqi civilians, a U.N. panel recommended Tuesday. Iraq should also be allowed to export as much oil as it can to help finance U.N. humanitarian programs -- provided the revenues continue to be funneled through the United Nations, the panel's report said. ``The gravity of the humanitarian situation of the Iraqi people is indisputable and cannot be overstated,'' the report said. Notably, the panel did not call for a lifting of the oil embargo imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. Iraq has demanded that the embargo be lifted, and France has suggested such a move could persuade Baghdad to allow weapons inspections to resume. A senior U.S. official said Washington was willing to consider the reports recommendations and said it would be flexible in providing more humanitarian relief -- provided it helps the Iraqi people and not the government. The Security Council established the panel of experts in February after coming under pressure to better provide for Iraqis and in an attempt to chart a new relationship with Baghdad that fell apart after the U.S.-British airstrikes in December. The 15-member council will consider the report along with one on the status of Kuwaiti prisoners of war and another on Iraq's disarmament. In the Kuwaiti report, also released Tuesday, the panel concluded that Iraq had not provided sufficient explanations about missing Kuwaitis or cooperated enough in returning looted property. The panel looking into the status of Iraq's weapons programs said Monday that there were still disarmament-related questions that needed answers. The Iraqi mission had no comment Tuesday. Baghdad has always resisted the ``oil-for-food'' program, which lets Iraq sell limited amounts of oil -- $5.2 billion worth over six months -- to buy humanitarian aid. Iraq accuses Washington of using the program to maintain sanctions, which cannot be lifted until U.N. weapons inspectors report that Iraq has disarmed. Baghdad says it has met that requirement. Iraq currently cannot meet the $5.2 billion it is allowed to export because of low oil prices and production limits, the report suggests the council consider authorizing production-sharing agreements between Baghdad and foreign oil companies that would be monitored by the United Nations. By allowing private companies to bring in spare parts and maintain the oil infrastructure, the $300 million Iraq can spend to buy oil industry spare parts and equipment could be funneled to buy more aid, the report said. The panel also suggested Iraq be allowed to buy humanitarian goods without consulting the U.N. sanctions committee. ******************** Iraq Ambassador: Lift Sanctions By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Writer, Wednesday, March 31, 1999; 7:02 p.m. EST UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Iraq will most likely reject any proposal for renewed U.N. relations that doesn't include an end to the punishing sanctions imposed during the Persian Gulf War, Iraq's U.N. ambassador said Wednesday. Ambassador Saeed Hasan gave his preliminary response to recommendations this week by three technical panels, which met for a month to assess the status of Iraq's disarmament, humanitarian situation and reparations to Kuwait. Hasan stressed that he hadn't read the panel's recommendations and hadn't received any official reaction from Baghdad. But he said reports of the proposals indicated ``no real solutions'' to the problems Iraqis face after more than eight years of sanctions which have crippled Iraq's economy. ``Our position is clear,'' Hasan said in an interview. ``Anything short of lifting sanctions, I don't think there is a way out.'' But the humanitarian panel didn't recommend lifting the oil embargo imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Iraq had demanded an end to the embargo and France had suggested lifting it as a way to persuade Baghdad to allow U.N. oversight of its weapons programs resume. Instead, the panel suggested a series of improvements to the U.N. oil-for-food program, which lets Iraq sell limited amounts of oil to buy food and medicine for its people. Because Iraq currently cannot meet the $5.2 billion limit due to low oil prices and production limits, the report suggests the council consider authorizing foreign investment to improve Baghdad's export abilities. The oil-for-food program, ``is not working and it won't work,'' even with the improvements, Hasan said. ``It really destroyed the Iraqi economy.'' The panel looking into the status of Iraq's weapons programs said there were still disarmament-related questions -- but said answers could be found through a system of monitoring. When asked whether Baghdad could live with monitors taking over the more confrontational disarmament-related work of U.N. weapons inspectors, Hasan replied: ``Sanctions lifting is something Iraq might live with, not transferring certain disarmament issues to monitoring.'' ``We think all disarmament requirements have been achieved,'' he said. The Security Council is still badly divided over the December airstrikes which halted inspections. While discussions are expected to start next week, no decisions are expected for some time. ``There's a lot of meat there to discuss,'' Britain's U.N. Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock said Wednesday. ``But remember that the politics of this has got to click in due course, and we'll see how the council plays out.'' The United States and Britain have more strictly enforced the no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq, while Iraq has challenged those patrols. The zones are designed to protect dissidents in those parts of Iraq. Allied jets have repeatedly attacked Iraq's air defense system, most recently on March 19 in the southern no-fly zone. ******************** Baghdad: London's suggestions an attempt to keep sanctions forever Arabic News, Iraq, Politics, 3/31/99 Iraq has opposed British suggestions to upgrade the oil-for-food program, considering it an attempt to keep economic sanctions against Iraq forever. The British ambassador at the United Nations, Jeremy Greenstock, has suggested forcing Iraq to put is petroleum exports under the supervision of the United Nations and allowing the delay of Iraq's payments to the Gulf War compenation fund. Meanwhile, an Iraqi official source accused Britain "of seeking to obtain comprehensive control over his country and keeping the Iraqi people as a lasting hostage to an unjust embargo." ******************** -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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