Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 29 May 2001

Vol. 537 No. 2

Written Answers. - UN Sanctions.

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

123 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the Government will support an approach at the UN Security Council in relation to Iraq which would involve a lifting of general sanctions and their replacement by an embargo on the import of arms and arms related material coupled with monitoring by the UN at the border and an agreed UN inspection mission in Iraq. [15592/01]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Cowen)

The current oil for food programme is due to expire on 4 June. Proposals for an overhaul of the sanctions regime are currently under review.

The proposals involve a reversal of the existing scheme. It would no longer be the case that all imports must be authorised and every import contract assessed to establish that it had no potential military use. Rather all imports would be allowed into Iraq unless they appear on a controlled goods list. Import contracts would be reviewed by the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and imports would be monitored at the border.

We have stated our position that the economic and development needs of the people of Iraq do not have to be put on hold pending full compliance with the Security Council resolutions and that we wish to see the system operate so as to allow these needs to be met fully within the constraints required to ensure that Iraq does not seek further to develop weapons of mass destruction or threaten its neighbours. In this regard the new proposals appear to be a step in the right direction. However, we will need to examine them carefully.

It remains the Government's wish to see the lifting of the UN economic sanctions against Iraq altogether. To bring this about it is necessary for Iraq to cooperate with the United Nations disarmament supervisory commission and to demonstrate, with concrete evidence, its peaceful intentions, especially with regard to its neighbours.