WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1666/98 by Patricia McKENNA to the Commission. Sanctions against Iraq
Date: 1998-05-29
Institutions: European Parliament, MCKENNA
Subjects: Iraq, financial aid, foodstuff, humanitarian aid, import, international sanctions, medicinal product, security of supply













EUR-Lex - 91998E1666 - EN






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91998E1666

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1666/98 by Patricia McKENNA to the Commission. Sanctions against Iraq  


Official Journal C 402 , 22/12/1998 P. 0150 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1666/98by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Commission(29 May 1998)Subject: Sanctions against IraqIn response to my oral question H-317/98(1), the Commission stated, as I was already aware, that food and medicines have never been subject to sanctions.Can the Commission therefore confirm that it believes that sanctions do not have any effect on the availability of food and medicines in Iraq?Does the Commission accept that there is a contradiction between its positions that sanctions are an effective tool to cripple Iraq economically and that these sanctions do not have a detrimental effect on the supply of medicines and food to the poorest people in Iraq?Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission(30 June 1998)While the United Nations (UN) security council resolution No 661 (1990) permits the sale or supply of supplies intended strictly for medical purposes, and, in humanitarian circumstances, foodstuffs, it does not mean that the supply of these goods is without international control. Resolution No 661 created a committee to ensure the effective implementation of the resolution and called upon all states to co-operate fully with the committee in the fulfilment of its task.The means of procurement of foodstuffs and medicines by the government of Iraq has been limited through the imposition of sanctions. With the implementation of resolution 986 (1995), the oil for food deal, the international community provided Iraq with substantial means of procurement. However, only in the first quarter of 1997 did goods purchased under the oil for food deal begin to arrive in the country. Consequently, medicines have been in short supply.Iraq has always been a net importer of foodstuffs and domestic production is estimated to be stable at the pre-1990 level of one third of requirements. The amount of approximately USD 1 800 million a year allocated under the first two phases of the oil for food deal is close to the pre-1990 food import levels of between USD 2 000-3 0000 million. Although it has been reported that sanctions are having an effect upon domestic production, free food distribution in the three northern governorates is acting as a disincentive to local cereal producers and problems are emerging in animal husbandry such as screw worm which is developing in the South of Iraq due to the collapse of the veterinary sector. Strategic food stocks are considered by some to be insufficient to deal with irregularities in supply.The Commission is aware that economic sanctions as well as the policies of the government of Iraq have had a detrimental effect on the supply of medicines and food to the poorest people in Iraq. Since 1990, it has therefore provided approximately 230 MECU for humanitarian aid actions to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable of the Iraqi people.(1) Debates of the European Parliament (April 1998).