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 held discussions with the various parties at the UN and would hope that further progress will have been made on this issue by the time that we take our seat on the Security Council in January. As a member of the council, we will be considering the situation in Iraq both in the light of developments and also in line with Government policy. Ireland stands by its obligation under the UN Charter to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council.
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 greater 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 this issue 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 EU, in a common statement at an open debate of the Security Council in April on the question of sanctions in general, made clear our view that sanctions should be carefully defined and focused and should minimise the negative humanitarian impact on the general population and particularly the most vulnerable sectors. The Council also discussed the streamlining of procedures for approving humanitarian exemptions, as well as a study on how to avoid negative collateral effects of sanctions on third countries. These are important elements which have guided our considerations on continuing UN sanctions programmes.
In response to widespread international concern, the Security Council, acting under the provisions of Resolution 1284, has unconditionally removed the ceiling on the export of oil to fund the purchase of humanitarian supplies.