I propose to take Questions Nos. 99 and 100 together.
I refer the Deputy to my reply to his priority question about the humanitarian situation in Iraq which responds to these questions also.
The Government remains deeply concerned about the suffering being endured by the Iraqi people. While the oil for food programme in operation since 1996 has resulted in the stabilisation of malnutrition rates, it has not halted the collapse of the health system and the deterioration in water supplies. The Government made an emergency humanitarian grant of £100,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1999 to assist its relief work in areas such as medical support for the victims of war, prisoners' welfare and water and sanitation. The ICRC has been present in Iraq since the early 1980s and is working to restore a level of basic health care to the country.
The Government has also been providing support to the Iraqi Marsh Arabs who are currently seeking refuge in Iran. The Marsh Arabs are Shia Muslims whose traditional homes in the Iraqi wetlands have been destroyed as a result of a massive drainage programme carried out by the Iraqi Government. The majority of the refugees live in camps which depend on assistance provided by the Iranian authorities and the international donor community. In the past three years Ireland Aid granted a total of £358,000 to AMAR, the only NGO operating in this area of southern Iran, to fund basic health care, water and sanitation facilities and to organise supplementary feeding centres.
The European Union has been consistent in its response to the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people over recent years. Since 1997, almost 19 million euros have been disbursed by the European Community Humanitarian Office. This programme acts as a complement to the humanitarian aid allowed under the oil for food arrangement. ECHO has focused on the most vulnerable and on areas where it would be most useful and cost-effective, such as the renovation of water supplies, support for malnourished children and the rehabilitation of hospitals.
Iraq is a party to the International Covenants on Human Rights, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and has observed the reporting requirements under this convention. However, it has consistently argued in these reports that the sanctions imposed by the Security Council have been responsible for the deterioration in, and lack of protection of, economic and social rights in Iraq. The Government believes that, in line with the requirements of the covenants, there should be no discrimination of any kind in the observance of international human rights standards and would call on the Government of Iraq to abide by its obligations under international human rights treaties and international humanitarian law.
