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These written answers were given to the House of Commons yesterday:
Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs what proportion of the revenue from sales of Iraqi oil was
allocated by the UN for humanitarian supplies to Iraq in each of the last
two years. [122511]
Mr. Hain: 67 per cent. of Iraq's oil revenue is allocated to the UN "oil
for food" humanitarian programme. With Iraq once again among the world's
five largest oil producers, and since the passage of resolution 1284, able
to export unlimited amounts of oil under this programme, a potential $10
billion will be available this year for the humanitarian programme.
Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs what assessment he has made of the capacity of the Iraqi oil
industry to pump the quantity of oil permitted by the UN Security
Council. [122504]
Mr. Hain: The passage of UN SCR 1284 in December 1999 removed the ceiling
on Iraq's exports under the "oil for food" programme. Together with the
recent recovery in world oil prices, this has boosted Iraq's oil exports
back to--if not above--their peak historical level of around $15 billion
per annum, seen only briefly in 1980. Iraq's Oil Minister has also
recently announced that Iraq is planning to increase further its oil
exports by about 700,000 barrels per day which would put Iraq among the
world's top five oil exporters. This means that an estimated $10 billion
should be available for the humanitarian programme in Iraq this year.
18 May 2000 : Column: 222W
The Iraqi oil industry needs spare parts in order to be able to sustain
this level of production. The Security Council doubled to $600 million the
allocation from "oil for food" for the purchase of oil spare parts earlier
this year in line with the UN Secretary-General's recommendation.
Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs (1) what is the Government's policy on delaying shipments of
humanitarian supplies to Iraq by the UN Sanctions
Committee; [122502]
(2) what steps he is taking to help expedite those shipments of
humanitarian supplies for Iraq that are being delayed by the UN Sanctions
Committee. [122503]
Mr. Hain: We expedite the supply of humanitarian goods to Iraq. We take
very seriously our responsibility as a member of the Sanctions Committee,
and scrutinise closely all applications. The Committee plays a vital role
in ensuring that Iraq does not acquire prohibited goods (such as arms and
weapons of mass destruction) and that Iraq spends "oil for food" money for
the benefit of the Iraqi people and not the Iraqi regime. Some contracts
cannot be processed because of insufficient information: lack of end-user
details, or even no description of the goods to be supplied. Others are
put on hold because there are dual-use concerns or because the goods in
question are not humanitarian in nature. In total, we put only a tiny
percentage of "oil for foods" contracts on hold (about 1 per
cent. overall).
Under Security Council resolution 1284, which Britain piloted through the
Council last year, Sanctions Committee procedures for approving
humanitarian contracts have been streamlined to ensure that contracts are
processed even more quickly than before. The Committee now reviews all
"oil for food" contracts within two (instead of five) working days, and it
has agreed lists of foodstuffs, medical, agricultural and educational
goods which no longer need to be referred to the Committee but simply
notified to the UN Secretariat. Working procedures for an expert group to
approve oil spare parts contracts more speedily have also now been agreed.
Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs what assessment he has made of the conclusion of former UNSCOM
officials that Iraq has been disarmed of its weapons of mass
destruction. [122535]
Mr. Hain: Up until its withdrawal from Iraq in December 1998, UNSCOM
consistently reported to the United Nations Security Council that serious
gaps remained in Iraq's declarations on chemical and biological weapons
and ballistic missiles. In March 1999, the United Nations Disarmament
Panel confirmed UNSCOM's analysis. We therefore believe it is essential
that Iraq allows United Nations weapons inspectors to resume their work.
Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs what is the value of humanitarian supplies for Iraq on hold at the
UN Sanctions Committee. [122501]
Mr. Hain: As at 31 March, 12,225 contracts under the 'Oil for Food'
programme, with a value of almost $15 billion had been received by the
United Nations
18 May 2000 : Column: 223W
Sanctions Committee. Of these, 1,180, with a value of $1.7 billion had
been placed on hold. The UK placed holds on only about 1 per cent. of
contracts received.
The UK's policy is to expedite the supply of humanitarian goods to
Iraq. We scrutinise all contracts to ensure that Iraq does not acquire
prohibited goods (such as arms and weapons of mass destruction), and that
it spends 'Oil for Food' money for the benefit of the Iraqi people and not
the Iraqi regime. Some contracts are put on hold because there are
dual-use concerns or because they lack crucial information, such as
end-user details or even a description of the goods to be supplied. The
vast majority of holds are released once further information or assurances
about end-use are provided.
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