Benon Sevan, executive director of the United Nations oil-for-food program, said on Sunday that the program needs "constant adjustments" to meet the needs of sanctions-hit Iraqis.
"It is essential for the U.N. Security Council and the Sanctions Committee to look at the present regulations and procedures and to make the necessary adjustments for the purpose of meeting the needs of the Iraqi people," he said.
Sevan made the comments after concluding his month-long visit to Iraq. He arrived in the Iraqi capital on January 14 for the fact-finding mission.
During the visit, Sevan held talks with senior Iraqi officials, such as Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, Oil Minister Amir Muhammad Rashid, Trade Minister Mohammad Mehdi Salah and Health Minister Umid Medhat Mubarak, who complained that the program had failed to ease the suffering of the Iraqi people.
Iraq has been under sanctions since its invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
As an exception to the stringent sanctions, the United Nations launched the oil-for-food program in 1996, which allows Iraq to sell oil and use part of the revenues to buy food, medicine and other essentials to offset the impact of the sanctions.
However, the contracts Iraq signed with other countries under the program must be vetted and approved by the U.N. Sanctions Committee, in which the U.S. and Britain are two dominant members.
Iraq has complained that a total of 2361 contracts, with a value of 7.3 billion U.S. dollars, have been put on hold by the Sanctions Committee.
( February 11, 2002)
