Vol. 524 No. 3
2 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the recent discussion he has had on continuing UN sanctions against Iraq, which has caused the loss of 1.5 million lives, more than half of them children; and the action he proposes to take on the Security Council in this regard. [22334/00]
The suffering of the people of Iraq, especially children, and the problems in implementing the United Nations humanitarian programmes in Iraq, continue to be of deep concern to the Government. We have consistently raised within the United Nations and the EU the urgent need to improve the conditions of the general population in Iraq. The Security Council clearly needs to take full account of the grave humanitarian situation of the Iraqi people in its further consideration of the sanctions issue. Our policy has been to advocate further reductions in the number of refusals and delays by the sanctions committee in clearing supplies contracted under the oil for food programme.
The Taoiseach and I raised these issues with the US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, in Washington in March, and urged the United States, as a permanent member of the Security Council, to seek to reduce the delays on needed medicines and spare parts for infrastructure. The Secretary of State, Mrs. Albright, listened carefully to the concerns we expressed about the effects of the sanctions on the people of Iraq, especially children. She pointed out the lack of co-operation by the Iraqi authorities with the positive humanitarian provisions in UN Resolution 1284 which was adopted by the Security Council last December, but rejected by Iraq. Our concerns have also been presented in discussions at official level with our British counterparts. Under the provisions of Resolution 1284 the ceiling on the export of oil to fund the purchase of humanitarian supplies was unconditionally removed.
The Council has introduced an accelerated procedure for the approval of humanitarian supplies which has been in operation since the beginning of March. Under this streamlined procedure, some $2 billion worth of contracts for the food, education, medical, agricultural, water and sanitation sectors have been approved on a basis of notification of the Council. On 24 March, the Council agreed to make a greater allocation for spare parts for the ailing Iraqi oil industry, doubling this budget to $1.2 billion. Nevertheless, the UN Secretary General in his report to the Council of 8 September expressed concern about the negative impact on the rehabilitation of Iraqi infrastructure of holds and delays by the sanctions committee in clearing supplies contracted under the oil for food programme.
The Government has also addressed these humanitarian concerns directly. A £100,000 grant by Ireland Aid to the International Committee of the Red Cross was agreed last week to address the rehabilitation of health facilities in Iraq as well as water and sanitation facilities.
Security Council Resolution 1284 also provides for the suspension of sanctions in return for Iraqi co-operation with a new disarmament supervisory commission and full compliance with all conditions imposed by the Security Council.
Additional InformationThe basis for the continued imposition of sanctions on Iraq remains the Iraqi Government's refusal to co-operate with the UN Special Commission appointed to verify the dismantling of Iraq's programme to acquire weapons of mass destruction. The Government regrets that Iraq has not so far fully complied with the resolutions adopted by the Security Council, including those provisions concerning Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. With the necessary co-operation from Baghdad, greater progress can be made in the suspension and ultimate lifting of sanctions.
We hope that further progress will be made on this issue by the time we take our seat on the Security Council in January. As a member of the council, we will consider the position in Iraq in the light of developments and in line with the policy I have outlined above.
This is the first opportunity I have had to congratulate the Minister and all the staff of the Department on achieving one of the temporary positions on the Security Council. It was a great achievement.
Does the Minister agree in principle that the punishment of children and civilians is in breach of the Geneva Convention? Does he accept the principle that there can be 1.5 million deaths in ten years, including the deaths of 500,000 children in the name of punishing them because of who is the leader of the country? Is that his position?
My position is that, under the UN charter, we are obliged to obey the resolutions of the Security Council. However, and I have made this point clear on previous occasions, we have always stated that the imposition of any sanctions regime must be such as to affect the regime and not the people in a way that has caused humanitarian problems of the level to which the Deputy referred. There is some indication of progress in this matter, especially given what the Secretary General of the UN has had to say on these issues, and we hope progress can be made before the end of the year. I hope that, once we become members of the Security Council, we will see in what way we can address the question of sanctions as they affect innocent people who suffer at the hands of the regime as opposed to how they affect the regime directly. The point must also be made that it is open to the Iraqi regime to comply with the resolution to avoid the humanitarian hardships to which its own people are being subjected.
Will the Minister address the issues of Resolution 687 and Resolution 1284? International commentators who have examined both resolutions have suggested that it is the open-ended and non-specific nature of the two resolutions which causes a great deal of the difficulties. For example, if there were to be a new regime—
The Deputy should confine himself to questions.
How would one know when one's compliance was complete in a way that would satisfy either the United States or Britain? Does the Minister not agree that it will be part of Ireland's duty when it assumes its position on the Security Council to seek greater clarification on Resolution 687 or Resolution 1284? Will he return to the basic question I asked? A sanctions regime which affects infrastructure, health and the civilian population, especially children, is inconsistent with the guarantees given to such people in the Geneva Convention.
As I have stated, it has been, and continues to be, the view of the Government that we monitor the effect of the sanctions regime in such a way as to avoid delays of the humanitarian assistance provided for by the lifting of the ceiling pending full implementation of Resolution 1284. It has been brought to our attention that there have been delays and we have made representations consistently at UN level to seek to ensure that the sanctions committee avoids a situation where these delays continue, even though, unfortunately, we do not have compliance with Resolution 1284.
It was asked what discussions we have had and what position we envisage taking on this issue when we take up our membership of the Security Council. The Secretary General has raised this as an issue generally, not just concerning Iraq but others subjected to a sanctions regime. There is a need for the UN collectively to assess objectively the advantages and disadvantages of a sanctions regime and how a range of activities under the sanctions policy which will affect the regime rather than innocent people in those countries will be provided for, which is the reason sanctions are imposed.
The regime has been strengthened.
