Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Jan 2001

Vol. 529 No. 1

Written Answers. - UN Sanctions.

Jack Wall

Question:

95 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the plans the Government has to take an initiative, on its assuming a position on the Security Council of the United Nations, to put an end to the sanctions on Iraq that are causing loss of life and distress to the civilian population; and his views on the loss of life occasioned by the sanctions, one third of which is the loss of children's lives. [27820/00]

Dick Spring

Question:

102 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the action Ireland proposes to take as a member of the Security Council in relation to resolutions 1284 and 661 of the UN and their impact on the people of Iraq; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2235/01]

John Gormley

Question:

117 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will be pressing on our representative on the UN Security Council the urgency of removing UN sanctions on food and medical supplies that are causing such hardship to the Iraqi people, particularly to Iraqi children. [2263/01]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Cowen)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 95, 102 and 117 together.

The humanitarian situation in Iraq is of major concern to the Government. We are taking every opportunity at the United Nations and elsewhere to hold discussions on this complex issue with the various parties, including other Security Council members and key United Nations personnel. In these discussions we are stressing the urgent need to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people, especially children, and to greatly improve the conditions of the general population directly affected by the implementation of the UN sanctions.

As a member of the Security Council, our approach to the situation in Iraq is informed both by the need to address the human suffering and to ensure that Iraq complies with the decisions of the Security Council. All countries are required under the UN Charter to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council, and Ireland stands by this obligation.

Since the Security Council unconditionally removed the ceiling on the export of oil, the major problem is not one of revenue to fund the purchase of needed supplies. Instead it is a problem of clearing supplies contracted under the oil for food programme. There have been unacceptable hold-ups, due both to the inadequate level of co-operation by the Iraqi authorities and to the workings of the sanctions committee. The Security Council should take greater account of the humanitarian situation in its further deliberations on this matter. This is the most useful course to follow.

Our consistent policy, therefore, is to advocate more significant reductions in the number of refusals and delays by the sanctions committee in clearing supplies contracted under the oil for food programme. I have previously informed the House that the Taoiseach and I raised this issue with the former US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, in Washington last March, and I would urge the Bush Administration to accelerate the progress made in reducing the delays on needed medicines and spare parts for Iraqi infrastructure. I expect that, in any event, the new administration will wish to review existing US foreign policy positions.

Last March, acting under the provisions of Resolution 1284, the council introduced a streamlined procedure for the approval of humanitarian supplies. Under this procedure, $2 billion worth of contracts for the food, educational, medical, agricultural, water and sanitation sectors were approved on a basis of notification to the sanctions committee. A much enhanced allocation for spare parts for the ailing Iraqi oil industry, a doubling of the budget to $1.2 billion, was also approved. The Security Council has since built on these provisions, most recently in Resolution 1330 which extends the range of sectors requiring notification only. This progress needs to be developed further.

It is also essential that the Iraqi authorities co-operate adequately with the oil for food programme. For example, Iraqi failure to process orders has led to $1.5 billion worth of goods being placed on hold and Iraqi attempts to levy a surcharge on oil exports recently led to a suspension of exports. The Iraqi Government is also responsible for diversion of revenue through its large-scale oil smuggling.

I know that a delegation from the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs visited Iraq and Jordan last month and that the delegation was received at a high level. I will carefully study the delegation's report on the visit.

There is a growing international awareness of the need to ensure that economic sanctions, which are the alternative to the use of armed force, accomplish their intended objectives. This month, a working group of the Security Council has been examining the general question of the effectiveness of UN sanctions regimes. Its major report is due to come out within days. It is expected to stress the need to take much more careful account of humanitarian aspects. This should influence in a constructive direction the debate about the effect of sanctions on the Iraqi people.

The basis for the continued imposition of UN sanctions on Iraq remains the Iraqi Government's refusal to co-operate with the UN commissions appointed to verify the dismantling of Iraq's programme to acquire weapons of mass destruction. The ten years since the Gulf War is too long a period for the stand-off to persist at such a dreadful human cost. I call upon the Government of Iraq to comply finally with the resolutions adopted by the Security Council.

Security Council Resolution 1284 provides for the suspension of sanctions in return for Iraqi co-operation with a new disarmament supervisory commission, UNMOVIC, and compliance with the conditions imposed by the Security Council. I wish to see the necessary co-operation from Baghdad to allow concrete progress to be made on the suspension and ultimate lifting of the sanctions. This would be a major step towards the return of Iraq to its rightful place in the international community.

The Government has also directly addressed the humanitarian issues. A grant of £100,000 by Ireland Aid to the International Committee of the Red Cross was made last November to address the rehabilitation of health, water and sanitation facilities in Iraq.