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Since it's been a quiet day (so far) on this list, I thought I'd give you all the chance to read the worrying letter from Benon Sevan, Executive Director of the UN Office of the Iraq Programme, of 7 January, that has been commented on a couple of times by list members. The full text, plus the latest data on the status of contracts is at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/societies/casi/info/undocs/status020108.pdf (Apologies in advance for the poor scanning quality, and for the size of the file - 400KB. I hope it's all legible). The data show that approximately 30% of electricity and water / sanitation contracts (by value) have been placed on hold by the sanctions committee, and just under 25% of education and communication / transportation contracts too. Quotes in addition to those already circulated: "The absolute level of holds has been continuously rising during the past year, with a temporary drop in May 2001 following a campaign by this Office, and a small decrease in September 2001, largely due to the release of several high-value applications." .. "I truly regret that the situation regarding holds, which has affected adversely the effiency and effectiveness of the programme, has not improved despite our strenuous efforts and the special meetings of the Committee experts to reverse the trend in the individual sectors ... I should like to appeal to all members of the Committee to exert greater and more determined efforts in addressing the increasingly high volume of holds placed on applications, now approaching $5 billion." Glen. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq For removal from list, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk CASI's website - www.casi.org.uk - includes an archive of all postings.